Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy

Citation
Rand Corporation,  Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy (John Arquilla & David Ronfeldt eds., 2001) (full-text).

Overview
The concepts of cyberwar and netwar encompass a new spectrum of conflict that is emerging in the wake of the information revolution. Netwar includes conflicts waged, on the one hand, by terrorists, criminals, gangs, and ethnic extremists; and by civil-society activists (such as cyber activists or WTO protestors) on the other. What distinguishes netwar is the networked organizational structure of its practitioners &mdash; with many groups actually being leaderless &mdash; and their quickness in coming together in swarming attacks. To confront this new type of conflict, it is crucial for governments, military, and law enforcement to begin networking themselves.