World is against Information War

V. N. Lopatin1

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Entering a new century, humankind is facing a choice between war and peace again, but this time this is not a land or space war, not nuclear or chemical, but an information war.

It is a known fact today that techno sphere, artificially created by people, became comparable to biosphere; techno mass, artificially created by people within 200 thousand years, significantly dominates natural biomass, created by nature within 5 billion years. With the widespread use of information technologies, speed and volume of the results of people’s activities will increase multiple times, that will include waste products, where information waste and so-called “harmful information” will be a large component. Such an activity significantly aggravated already existing conflicts and created a real threat to destroy natural balance of biosphere, and due to that, ecological problems became global.

Today a person should be protected from himself and the results of his activity, especially in the realm of information. Taking into account the ubiquitous nature of information and growing dependence of all social processes on information technologies, this task of providing personal security while building global information society becomes particularly urgent: on the one hand, a man shouldn’t turn from “a creator” into “a cog” of info system; on the other hand, a man should be able to keep his psychological and physical health, his natural living conditions. According to psychological surveys, “homo sapience” gradually turns into “homo informaticus”, when hypnotizability of people within the last 15 years increased in three times (is over 90 percent). Besides traditional methods of managing society, groups of people and individuals (administrative-organizational, economic, social-psychological and legal), a special method of centralized influence on wide range of population becomes more popular – method of information management.

Understanding of these problems by humankind should speed the transition from one of the most aggressive forms – homo-faber (skilful human), homo-faber- sapiens to human moral-spiritual. At the same time, the necessity of protection from information weapons, information terrorism and information war is being discussed more often during the last years.

With the new information technologies and organization of international information exchange on a new level, information sphere of the strategy of national security became of first importance, according to the Security Department of the Russian Federation, directors of Russian Special Services and the Ministry of Defense of Russia. Based on the data of special services, by the beginning of the 21st century expenses for purchasing means of information war increased within the last 15 years in the USA in four times and are ahead of all armament programs. Information confrontation during the times of a regular war began to change to a new, higher level – information war.

International bans. Fight for peace and prevention of war by creating new types of armaments did not save humankind in the XX century from two world and numerous local wars. Continuation of the same logic of “fighting for peace” will bring only the new stage of arms race, while there is a lack of means for destroying old types of weapons of mass destruction, not to mention even simple interests of country’s and its citizens’ development in the new century. This increases the meaningfulness of mutual international efforts to prevent information wars and limit circulation of information weapons. Networks of international exchange of information increase possibilities of using information weapons, and complete ban on that might not be possible. Nevertheless, introduction of limitations of manufacturing and circulation of this kind of weapon, international ban on information wars, may and should be done. In 1996, this author came up with an initiative, which was supported by the committees of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and in December 1997 it became a political initiative of nine states – members of CIS. Inter-parliament Assembly of the CIS countries (according to the author’s paper) passed an address to the General Assembly of the UN, Inter-parliament Union, Parliament Assembly of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe and Parliament Assembly of the EU “On prevention of information wars”2 with a proposal to include in the agenda of sessions of these international organizations an issue regarding preparation and conclusion of international convention on limitation of development, manufacturing, distribution and use of information weapons and prevention of information wars. This, according to parliamentarians of CIS countries, was necessary for us in order not to waste means first for development of information weapons, and then for protection from them and then for their destruction, as we had it before with the nuclear, chemical and bacteriological weapons.

In the middle of 1998, Russia suggested for this initiative to be confirmed in the mutual declaration of the Presidents of Russia and the USA, which was done during the summit in Moscow on September 2, 1998. Then, on September 23, 1998, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a special message to the UN General Secretary with an attached draft of a Resolution of the UN General Assembly regarding these issues. Nevertheless in the resolution, that was accepted on December 4, 1998 by the UN General Assembly by consensus without voting (document A/ RES/53/70), which acknowledged expediency of development of international principles of global information systems security and maintained the necessity of informing the UN General Secretary on general issues of evaluation and providing of information security, proposals on definitions of “information war” and “information weapons”, comparability of the latter with weapons of mass destruction, development and use of the information weapons, were not taken into account.

After discussion of these problems at the international seminar in Geneva in August of 1999, in a new resolution of the 54th session of the UN GA No. 54/49, accepted by consensus on December 1, 1999, it was acknowledged that information technologies “could negatively influence security of a state, both in civil and in military sphere”, i.e. for the first time existence of the military and disarmament aspect of this problem was acknowledged. In the next resolution of the UN GA No. 55/28, also accepted by consensus on November 20, 2000, recommendations, adopted before, were confirmed, and also a study of corresponding international concepts, directed to strengthening of global information systems security was proposed regarding a search for possible measures to decrease existing and potential threats in the filed of information security. This is how Russian proposal of the new principles of international information security, approved by the CIS countries, gets to be implemented in the documents of the UN and could be the basis for passing of a special UN convention regarding these issues.

An alternative to information war, besides international bans, should and may be development of international collaboration in the interests of information peace.

Legislation in Russia

Development of a legislation concept in the information-psychological field began in 1990 in the Parliamentary Committee of the Supreme Council of the USSR on the issues of national security, led by academician Yu. A. Ryzhov, where this author was responsible, among others, for these issues as well.

In order to prepare a draft of the law, Conferences on information-psychological security in Moscow and Saint Petersburg (1996, 1997), and Ufa (1999); a Conference on information-psychological security of election campaigns at the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Science (Moscow, 1999); round tables at various scientific, public and state organizations were held; many articles and monographs on this problem were issued (See, for example, monographs of the members of the working group: V. N. Lopatin “Concept of legislation development in the field of information security”. 1998, - 158 p; A. A. Ter-Akopov “Personal security”, 1998, -194 p; V. D. Tsygankov, V. N. Lopatin “Psychological weapons and security of Russia”, 1999, -152 p; I. Smirnov, Ye. Beznosyuk, A. Zhuravlev “Psychological technologies: Computer psycho-semantic analysis and psychological correction on subconscious level”, 1995. – 416 p; A. A. Buhtoyarov “Psychological ecology of reality” 1999, - 95p; V. E. Lepskiy and others “Draft of the Concept of information-psychological security of the Russian Federation”, 1997, - 20p). In order to study experience in regulation of legal relationships in the sphere of information psychological security, there has been conducted an analysis of legislation of 32 foreign countries.

Psychological surveys were conducted in some regions of Russia regarding public comprehension of the importance of enactment of this law, and as a result high urgency and possible mechanisms of implementation of the law by public were determined (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Ufa, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Usinsk).

The Draft of a Federal law was examined twice at the sessions of the Expert Council of the State Duma Committee on security (1998, 1999), its provisions were discussed during parliamentary hearings (1999), at scientific-practical conference within V International Forum “Technologies of security” (2000), the draft has been published for discussion in the bulletin “Security” (1999), magazine “Legislation and practice of mass media” (2000) and presented on the Internet.

The following experts participated in the work on this draft as members of the working group (this author – Head of the working group): O. V. Abakumova – legal adviser of the Center of research of geopolitical and security problems of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences; V. K. Burtsev – Candidate of technical sciences, senior scientific worker of the State Inter-branch Center of System Researches; A. A. Buhtoyarov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Psychological Ecology of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences; V. N. Volchenko, - Doctor of technical sciences, Professor of Moscow Sate Technical University named after Bauman; Ye. K. Volchinskaya – Candidate of economic sciences, staff consultant of the Committee of the State Duma on security; L. P. Grimak, Doctor of psychological sciences, chief scientific worker of the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Russia; A. B. Ivanov – Head of the Information Center on Human Rights; V. K. Kanyuka – Candidate of biological sciences; V. Ye. Lepskiy – Candidate of psychological sciences, Head of the Laboratory of the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Science; G. I. Nikitin – Doctor of technical sciences, Department Deputy Head of the State Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Systems; I. N. Panarin – Department Head of Federal Agency of Government Communication and Iinformation; Ye. G. Rusalkina – Deputy Director of the Institute of Computer Psychological Technologies of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences; V. A. Ryabov – Head of the laboratory “Bureau of Personal Ecological Safety” of the International Informatization Academy; I. V. Smirnov – Doctor of medical sciences, Director of the Scientific Research Institute on Psycho-ecology of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences; A. M. Stepanov - Doctor of medical sciences, General Director of the Institute of Meta-analytical Researches, Professor; A. A. Ter-Akopov – Doctor of jurisprudence, professor of the Military University; A. N. Hlunovskiy – Doctor of medical sciences, Head of the Battle and Stress Damages Laboratory of the Central Scientific station of the Military Medical Academy named after Kirov; A. V. Shevchenko – chief specialist of the Ministry of Health of Russia; R. T. Farhtdinov – Candidate of sociological sciences, Chairman of the State Committee on the youth issues in the Republic of Bashkortostan. On December 3, 1999 this draft was presented by the author as a legislative initiative to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and from the new content of the State Duma, it was supported by 16 deputies who also appeared as constituent members of legislative initiative, including S. V. Stepashin, A. I. Gurov, N. D. Kovalyov, A. I. Aleksandrov, V. P. Vorotnikov.

At present time article 4 of the LAW of the Russian Federation “ON MASS MEDIA” (in the Federal Laws of 01.13.1995 N 6-ФЗ, of 06.06.1995 N 87-ФЗ, of 07.19.1995 N 114-ФЗ, of 12.27.1995 N 211-ФЗ, of 03.02.1998 N 30-ФЗ, of 06.20.2000 N 90-ФЗ, of 08.05.2000 N 110-ФЗ, of 08.04.2001 N 107-ФЗ, of 03.21.2002 N 31-ФЗ, of 07.25.2002 N 112-ФЗ, of 07.25.2002 N 116-ФЗ, of 07.04.2003 N 94-ФЗ, of 12.08.2003 N 169-ФЗ, of 06.29.2004 N 58-ФЗ, of 08.22.2004 N 122-ФЗ, of 11.02.2004 N 127-ФЗ, of 07.21.2005 N 93-ФЗ, of 07.27.2006 N 153-ФЗ) states that as of July 20, 1995, there is a ban on use of subliminal messages that influence people’s subconscious and (or) make a harmful impact on their health, in TV, video, movie, documentary and feature films, and also in computer files and programs of processing information texts, related to special mass media.

According to article 6 of the Federal Law “On weapons”, as of July 30, 2001, on the territory of the Russian Federation it is forbidden to circulate as means of civil and service weapons: “weapons and other objects, destructive ability of which is based on the use of electro-magnetic, light, heat, infrasound and ultrasound radiation and which have output parameters that exceed the amounts, set by state standards of the Russian Federation and norms of the federal body of executive power responsible for healthcare, and also mentioned above weapons and objects, manufactured outside of the territory of the Russian Federation”.

federal law “on sanitary-epidemiological well-being of population” (in the Federal Laws of 12.30.2001 N 196-ФЗ, of 01.10.2003 N 15-ФЗ, of 06.30.2003 N 86-ФЗ, of 08.22.2004 N 122-ФЗ, of 05.09.2005 N 45-ФЗ, of 12.31.2005 N 199-ФЗ) classifies environmental factors as following:

  1. biological (virus, bacterial, parasite and others),
  2. chemical,
  3. physical (noise, vibration, ultrasound, infrasound, heat, ionizing, non-ionizing and other types of radiation),
  4. social (nutrition, water supply, living conditions, working conditions, leisure);
  5. and other factors of environment which impact or may cause an impact on a person and (or) on health of future generations.

Article 27 of the given law sets sanitary-epidemiological requirements to the working conditions with the sources of physical factors affecting people, including:

  1. Conditions of working with machinery, mechanisms, units, devices, appliances, that are the sources of physical factors affecting people (noise, vibration, ultrasound, infrasound, heat, ionizing, non-ionizing and other types of radiation), should not cause a harmful impact on people.
  2. Criteria of safety and (or) harmlessness of working conditions with the sources of physical factors affecting people, including maximum permissible levels of impact, are set by sanitary regulations.
  3. Use of machinery, mechanisms, units, devices and appliances, also manufacturing, application (use), transporting, storage and burial of materials and waste products, that are the sources of physical factors affecting people, enumerated in the paragraph 1 of this article, are permissible in the presence of sanitary-epidemiological conclusion that the working conditions with the sources of physical factors affecting people meet the sanitary regulations.

In accordance with the METHODICAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON DEVELOPMENT AND PREPARATION FOR ADOPTION DRAFTS OF TECHNICAL REGULATIONS (Approved by the order of the Ministry of Industry and Power Engineering of Russia on April 12, 2006 N 78) under technical regulation, taking into account risk level, main types of injuries under unfavorable circumstances should include: П1 – injury of people, animals and plants by radiation (ionizing, electro-magnetic, heat and light) (p. 23.4.6).

Organization of works and monitoring of implementation of requirements for these laws in the civil sphere is put on:

  1. Federal Medical-Biological Agency and its territorial bodies;
  2. Federal service on monitoring in the field of consumer rights protection and personal well-being and its territorial bodies.

According to the ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION of November 10, 2005, N 669, “ON ORGANIZATION OF WORK REGARDING MEDICAL-BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL-ANALYTICAL TESTS OF CIVIL ARMS OF SELF-DEFENSE, OFFICIAL ARMS AND CARTRIDGES FOR THEM IN REGARDS TO ESTIMATION OF PERMISSIBLE IMPACT ON PEOPLE BY AFFECTIVE FACTORS OF THESE ARMS” organization of work on determination of norms of affecting people factors, conducting medical-biological and chemical-analytical tests of arms and other objects, affecting function of which is based on the use of electro-magnetic, light, heat, infrasound and ultrasound radiation, including those manufactured outside of Russia, is put on the Federal medical-biological agency.

According to the STANDARD PROVISION “ON TERRITORIAL BODIES OF FEDERAL MEDICAL-BIOLOGICAL AGENCY” (approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation on October 24, 2005, N 645), territorial bodies of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA of Russia) are regional Departments of FMBA of Russia and inter-regional Departments of FMBA of Russia, which exercise functions on control and monitoring in the sphere of sanitary-epidemiological well-being of the employees of organizations in different fields of industry with particularly dangerous working conditions.

A department, within limits of its scope, executes also:

(p. 6.1.23) control and monitoring of conditions of work with machinery, mechanisms, units, devices, appliances, that are the sources of physical factors affecting people (noise, vibration, ultrasound, infrasound, heat, ionizing, non-ionizing and other types of radiation) and also manufacturing, application (use), transporting, storage and burial of materials and waste products, that are the sources of physical factors affecting people.

According to the STANDARD PROVISION “ON TERRITORIAL BODY OF FEDERAL SERVICE ON MONITORING IN the field of consumer rights protection and personal well-being WITHIN CONSTITUENT TERRITORIES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION” (approved by the Order of the Ministry of health and social development of the Russian Federation on 04.24.2006 N 308) a territorial body of the Federal service on monitoring in the field of consumer rights protection and personal well-being is the Department of the Federal service on monitoring in the field of consumer rights protection and personal well-being on constituent territories of the Russian Federation, which exercises functions of controlling and monitoring in the sphere of sanitary-epidemiological well-being of population, protection of consumer and consumers’ market rights. A department, within limits of its scope, executes also:

(p. 8.1.1) state sanitary-epidemiological monitoring of:

conditions of working with machinery, mechanisms, units, devices, appliances, that are the sources of physical factors affecting people (noise, vibration, ultrasound, infrasound, heat, ionizing, non-ionizing and other types of radiation), use of machinery, mechanisms, units, devices and appliances, and also manufacturing, application (use), transporting, storage and burial of materials and waste products, that are the sources of physical factors affecting people.
 

In the military field

According to p. 41 of THE PROVISION «ON MILITARY-MEDICAL EXPERTISE”, approved by the Executive order of the Russian Federation on February 25, 2003 No. 123 (in Executive orders of the Russian Federation of 01.20.2004 N 20, of 12.31.2004 N 886, of 04.30.2005 N 274), if an injury, illness has been sustained by a military person under examination while he was on duty as a result of affect caused by sources of ionizing radiation, sources of electro-magnetic filed and laser radiation, then such an affectaffect should be considered a military injury. According to the INSTRUCTION “ON THE PROCEDURE OF MILITARY-MEDICAL EXPERTISE IN MILITARY FORCES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION” (approved by the Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on August 20, 2003 N 200 in the Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation of 08.02.2004 N 241; with amendments, made by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 02.27.2004 N ВКПИN ВКПИ 04-8) the Central Military-Medical Committee of the Ministry of Defof the Russian Federation (CMMC) is placedplaced under a duty of:

organization of military-medical expertise and examination in the Military Services of the Russian Federation, and alsodevelopment, together with the chief medical specialists of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, of the requirements regarding condition of public health in order to determine whether they are suitable for military service with sources of ionizing radiation, sources of electro-magnetic filed in the frequency range from 30kHz to 300GHz, and optical quantum generators.atorsThe Chairman of CMMC is a direct subordinate to the head of the Main Military-Medical Department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation – the head of the medical service of the Military Forces of Russia.ussia.

There is an administrative and criminal responsibility for violation of bans in the field of study.

Administrative responsibility may be placed in cases, stipulated by articles 13.4, 13.8, 13.15, 14.4, Code of Administrative Infractions of the Russian Federation:

  • for violation of rules of designing, construction, installation, registration and operation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices – notification or administrative fine will be imposed on citizens in the amount from one to three minimum wage with confiscation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices or without confiscation; on officials – from three to five minimum wages; on legal entities – from thirty to fifty minimum wages with confiscation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices or without confiscation;
  • for violation of rules of operation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices, rules of radio exchange or use of frequencies without following state standards, norms or permitted parameters of radio emission – notification or administrative fine will be imposed on citizens in the amount from three to five minimum wages with confiscation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices or without confiscation; on officials – from five to ten minimum wages; on individuals, performing business activities without forming a legal entity – from five to ten minimum wages with confiscation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices or without confiscation or administrative suspension of their activities for a period of up to ninety days with confiscation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices or without confiscation; on legal entities – from fifty to one hundred minimum wages with confiscation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices or without confiscation or administrative suspension of their activities for a period of up to ninety days with confiscation of radio-electronic and (or) high frequency devices or without confiscation (Article 13.4 Code of Administrative Infractions of the Russian Federation)
  • for manufacturing, sale or operation of technical devices, not complying with the appropriate standards or norms, regulating permissible levels of industrial radio interference – administrative fine will be imposed on citizens in the amount from one to three minimum wages with confiscation of technical devices or without confiscation; on officials – from three to five minimum wages with confiscation of technical devices or without confiscation; on legal entities – from thirty to fifty minimum wages with confiscation of technical devices or without confiscation (Article 13.8 Code of Administrative Infractions of the Russian Federation)
  • for sale of goods, performing works or doing services, not complying with the appropriate standards, technical conditions or samples on quality, completeness of set or packaging – administrative fine will be imposed on citizens in the amount from ten to fifteen minimum wages; on officials – from twenty to thirty minimum wages; on legal entities – from two hundred to three hundred minimum wages;
  • for making and (or) distribution of TV, video, movie programs, documentary and feature films, and also computer files related to special mass media and programs of processing of information texts, that have subliminal messages, influencing people’s subconscious and (or) causing a harmful impact on their health (abuse of mass media freedom) – administrative fine will be imposed on citizens in the amount from twenty to twenty five minimum wages with confiscation of the subject of administrative violation; on officials – from forty to fifty minimum wages with confiscation of the subject of administrative violation; on legal entities – from four hundred to five hundred minimum wages with confiscation of administrative violation (article 13.15 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Infractions);
  • for sale of goods, performing works or doing services, violating sanitary regulations or without the certificate of compliance (declaration of compliance), certifying safety of those goods, works or services for life and health of people – administrative fine will be imposed on citizens in the amount from twenty to twenty five minimum wages with confiscation of goods or without confiscation; on officials – from forty to fifty minimum wages; on individuals, performing business activities without forming a legal entity – from forty to fifty minimum wages with confiscation of goods or without confiscation or administrative suspension of their activities for a period of up to ninety days with confiscation of goods or without confiscation; on legal entities – from four hundred to five hundred minimum wages with confiscation of goods or without confiscation or administrative suspension of their activities for a period of up to ninety days with confiscation of goods or without confiscation (Article 14.4 Code of Administrative Infractions of the Russian Federation).

Retail sale of goods without a certificate of compliance is considered to be an administrative infraction and the responsibility for that will be administrative fine, imposed on citizens in the amount of from 2000 to 25000 roubles with confiscation of goods or without confiscation; on officials – from 4000 to 5000 roubles with confiscation of goods or without confiscation; on legal entities – from 40 000 to 50 000 roubles with confiscation of goods or without confiscation.ation.

[Lopatin paper sent to Professor Peter Phillips in September 2006. Translation by Tatyana Neronovaronova October, 2006.]
  

Footnotes

  1. Lopatin, Vladimir Nickolayevich - director of Scientific Research institute of intellectual property; Doctor of jurisprudence.  Return to text
  2. Passed on the 10th plenary meeting of Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the countries – members of CIS by Resolution No. 10-21 of December 6, 1997. Return to text

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