Cyber warfare - a new form of contemporary socia conflicts

Challenges of small states for informational action in regard to capacity development

“…Due to insufficient capabilities to respond militarily to airstrikes, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia actively used its own media, foreign journalists and the influence of the Internet to influence global and regional public opinion around the world in order to achieve a strategic national interest -the preservation of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. "In order to realize the stated strategic goal, the establishment of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had to achieve three operational goals through informational action: 1) maintaining domestic support for security forces' operations in Kosovo and Metohija and countering NATO attacks; 2) creating discord between NATO members and influencing their determination to wage war and 3) gaining the support of the international public" (Putnik, 2012). "During the conflict between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO, both sides in the conflict, in an effort to reach a wider audience, dominantly used the Internet (Vuletić, 2004) as a medium for conducting information operations.…”

“…Indeed, the efforts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia government to shape international public opinion seemed primitive compared to the capabilities of modern information operations based on cyber weapons and attacks on computer networks. And yet, these efforts were effective (Putnik, 2012). The information activities of the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were primarily realized by information-perceptive methods, that is, by sending appropriate media messages to target groups.…”