Non-Kinetic Warfare (NKW) poses relentless threats like financial, social, informational and infrastructure attacks, undermining trust and security. A fragmented identity landscape, weak authentication, and rising IoT vulnerabilities leave organizations exposed. The solution? A unified identity fabric that integrates Zero Trust principles—strong authentication, centralized management, and continuous monitoring—for both human and machine identities. This approach reduces risks, enhances resilience, and protects critical infrastructure, making authenticated identities the cornerstone of national defense.

Securing the Cornerstone of Zero Trust: Authenticated Identities as the Frontline Defense in Non-Kinetic Warfare

We're living in a hyper-connected world filled with incredible opportunities. It also exposes us to a new kind of battleground – Non-Kinetic Warfare (NKW). The United States is under constant algorithm-enabled attacks from foreign and domestic entities, who have amplified societal division and political polarization for profit or positional advantage. These pervasive non-kinetic attacks on financial, industrial, medical, and governmental systems have disrupted social, political, and educational institutions, leading to increased feelings of disequilibrium and isolation and eroding trust in each other, our institutions, and governments worldwide. These factors profoundly impact individual psychology and safety, societal health and cohesion, and national security. The use of NKW tactics and the successful defense against these attacks will likely decide who prevails in the present global non-kinetic war and future kinetic wars. 

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly gets it. Her recent warnings about China-backed attacks on our critical infrastructure and the potential for widespread disruption if a conflict erupts in Asia should be a wake-up call for all of us. These attacks, designed to sow societal panic and cripple our national resilience, are the very definition of NKW – subduing an enemy without firing a shot. And it's not just nation-states; we're seeing non-state actors, hacktivists, and even criminal organizations using these tactics to disrupt and destabilize. Jen is spot on when she talks about the need for a shift in our thinking, emphasizing resilience and adaptation as key elements of our defense strategy.

In this new era of conflict where adversaries use mis- and disinformation, social engineering, and infrastructure intrusions to get what they want, Zero Trust is no longer a buzzword, it's a necessity. Think about it – our adversaries are constantly probing our defenses, looking for weaknesses to exploit. They're masters of deception, using phishing scams, social media manipulation, and even deepfakes to trick us into giving up our information or clicking on malicious links. Zero Trust, at its core, is a security framework built on the principle of "never trust, always verify.” It demands strict verification for every user and device trying to access resources, regardless of where they are or if they've been authenticated before.

And what's at the heart of Zero Trust? Securely authenticated identities. We need to know, without a doubt, that both human and machine identities are legitimate before they can access sensitive data and systems. This is the foundation upon which we can build a strong defense against NKW. If we can't trust the identities of the users and devices on our networks, we can't trust anything.

The Problem: Our Identity Landscape is a Mess

The reality is, today's identity landscape is fragmented and complex. Organizations rely on a patchwork of different systems and protocols for identity management, which creates vulnerabilities that adversaries are all too eager to exploit. Weak passwords, compromised credentials, and a lack of consistent authentication standards leave the door wide open for unauthorized access and malicious activities.

And it's not just about humans anymore. The explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and our increasing reliance on machine-to-machine communication adds a whole new layer of complexity. Every connected device is a potential entry point for attackers, which means we need to establish strong and verifiable identities for machines just like we do for humans. Think about the implications – compromised industrial control systems, manipulated medical devices, even weaponized smart home appliances. The threat is real and it's growing every day.

The Solution: A Unified and Robust Identity Enterprise

To effectively combat NKW, we need a unified and robust identity fabric that seamlessly integrates with our existing security infrastructure and provides strong authentication across all users and devices. This fabric needs to be built on these key principles:

• Strong Authentication: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) needs to be the standard for all users. combining something they know (password), something they have (token), and something they are (biometric) to verify their identity.
  
  
• Centralized Identity Management: We need to consolidate identity management systems to provide a single source of truth for all identities, streamlining authentication and authorization processes.
  
  
• Zero Trust Segmentation: Divide networks into smaller, isolated segments to limit the blast radius of a breach. Even if an attacker gets into one segment, they're blocked from moving laterally to other parts of the network.
  
  
• Machine Identity Management: We must establish strong identities for all IoT and other connected devices, ensuring that only authorized machines can communicate with each other and access sensitive data.
  
  
• Continuous Authorization: We can't just authenticate once and forget about it. We need to continuously monitor user and device behavior to detect anomalies and revoke access in real-time if something looks fishy.
  
  
• AI-Powered Threat Detection: Leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and respond to threats in real-time, making our security measures faster and more accurate.

Benefits of a Secure Identity Fabric

Implementing a secure identity fabric will give us a major advantage in the fight against NKW:

• Reduced Attack Surface: Strong authentication and authorization protocols make it more difficult for attackers to gain unauthorized access to systems and data.
  
  
• Improved Resilience: Zero Trust segmentation limits the impact of a breach, preventing attackers from moving laterally and causing widespread damage.
  
  
• Enhanced Trust: A unified identity fabric establishes a strong foundation of trust, ensuring that only authorized entities can access sensitive resources.
  
  
• Increased Agility: Centralized identity management streamlines authentication and authorization processes, making it easier to adapt to changing security threats.
  
  
• Better Compliance: A robust identity fabric helps organizations comply with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Conclusion

With NKW threats escalating, securing our identities isn't just a best practice anymore, it's a national imperative. By implementing a unified and robust identity fabric, we can strengthen our defenses, protect our critical infrastructure, and safeguard our national security. This isn't just about technology; it's about protecting our people, our institutions, and our way of life. As leaders in the defense and technology sectors, it's our responsibility to champion the adoption of strong identity solutions and ensure that authenticated identities become the cornerstone of our Zero Trust security posture. Only then can we effectively combat the pervasive and evolving threats of Non-Kinetic Warfare.

About the Author

As a former Signals Intelligence and Information Operations officer with more than 30 years experience defining, developing and delivering non-kinetic solutions for the Department of Defense and private industry, Chip Bircher leads technology development efforts for SOFTwarfare. During his military career, he established the Army’s Electronic Warfare and Cyberspace Operations capability proponents, and while the head of Information Operations for the Army led a team for the Chief of Staff examining Russian Next Generation Warfare in Ukraine and what it meant for the future of the Army.