A new section has been created to help the UK military conquer the online space.
The Information Warfare Group (IWG) will act as a focal point for digital expertise by bringing together existing departments at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom (DAUK):
- The Information Capability Branch;
- Defence Cyber School; and
- Defence Simulation Centre.
With conflict increasingly being waged in the virtual sphere, the IWG will also become a hub for specialist training to ensure personnel have the right skills to operate on the new front line.
What is 6th Division?
In August 2019, the British Army announced the reconstitution of 6th Division, last deployed in Afghanistan in 2011.
6th Division will focus on cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence, information operations, and unconventional warfare. 6th Division will complement:
- 3rd Division: “world-class warfighting force”; and
- 1st Division: “provides specialist soldiers and equipment to develop other nations’ armies, deal with disaster and humanitarian crises worldwide and enable our warfighting division.”
Based at Upavon, Wiltshire, it is the Army’s first dedicated information warfare formation and consists of:
- 77th Brigade;
- 1st and 11th Signal Brigades;
- 1st Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade; and
- Specialist Infantry Group.
The 77th Brigade, a core part of 6th division, was set up in 2015, amid mounting concerns that Britain was facing an increasing number of cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns by Isis and other terror groups, and hostile states such as Russia.
It includes web specialists, a content team, an information warfare team, combat camera teams and communications operations officers.
Reference
Owen, J. (2019) British Army Ramps Up Information Warfare Capability to meet 21st-Century Threats. Available from World Wide Web: https://www.prweek.com/article/1593186/british-army-ramps-information-warfare-capability-meet-21st-century-threats. [Accessed: 26 January, 2020].
