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initiated by the US. In this sense we are living in a most dangerous and
sensitive timeframe until our devices become fail-safe.
The analysis suggests the need for work on developing a “military
software science” to help understand these new phenomena. Such a science
would have a goal of providing a better interpretation and forecast of the
scenarios that countries embed in their military software. Such software would
not only improve our response posture but embed areas for human reason to
overcome electronic virtual situational mistakes.
Background: Implications of the Switch to a Digitized Force
There has been a massive shift from analog to digital representations of
data. Analog systems processed continuous voltage amplitudes and were costly
and specially designed which caused difficulties when sharing information with
other systems. Digital systems utilize rapidly switching “on” or “off” states of
binary “1” or A0" representations of data. Digital technology not only permits a
vast decrease in the size and cost of electronic hardware, but much of the task
of processing digital information can be accomplished in software rather than
hardware. This makes the digital format vastly more flexible which explains
our increased reliance on it.
The underlying commonality in all digital signal processing hardware,
and the ready ability to convert formats and process the information by using
software, have caused an explosion in information sharing among digital
systems. But it is this very ease of transmission, ease of extensive processing,
ease of changing the processing software, and consequent widespread sharing
of digital data that makes intrusion so scary; and so possible. If intrusion and
corruption succeed, stability disappears and the software’s 1’s and 0’s start
falling into unpredictable places, much like the ball that falls unpredictably into
the spinning roulette wheel. Stability could also be affected if the scenarios
embedded in the software are unable to handle unexpected anomalies
deliberately introduced by an opponent. 368 This is the game of digital roulette
nations play with the software in their advanced warning systems, rockets, and
satellites on a daily basis.
Such a game of digital roulette could result in serious mishaps or
instigate some catastrophic chain reaction of events. For example, what would
happen if one side develops the technology to present false radar blips on
JSSTARS (or the equivalent aircraft in other countries) in a manner so realistic,
extensive, and threatening that a potential opponent uses up an arsenal of cruise
368 Author’s discussion with Mr. Jay Willis, defense scientist.
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