The People’s War – An asymmetrical assault on critical infrastructure
- Post by: David Wallace
- May 29, 2021
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Increased instability in the United States has attracted unwanted attention from adversaries who now look to exploit our civil unrest more than ever before. This discussion will address the general modus operandi behind their attacks and how critical infrastructure owners and operators must pivot their security purview to gain awareness of the evolving threats. In order to do this, a quick brief on a military tactic called the people’s war is required.
The people’s war was originally developed in the 1930s and 1940s by Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Mao Zedong was regarded as the PRC’s chief military strategist in the Chinese socialist revolution. The people’s war utilizes asymmetrical warfare to accomplish subversive objectives where outright military action may not accomplish the desired end result.
In the Naval Postgraduate School archives, a paper on the “People’s Wars” by Gordon H. McCormick notes that when narrowly defined, the people’s war utilizes guerrilla warfare in military tactics, but that broadly defined it can be used as an insurrection to weaken or overthrow governmental institutions. A populous insurrection could involve months or years of behind the scenes political work of building a revolutionary movement of those who feel disenfranchised until it catalyzes a final uprising, or the displacement attempts of the current government, regime or rule of law.
This information brief will be helpful for owners and operators who are:
1. Concerned about current events and civil unrest that could impact their utility
2. They are uncertain if their security program is equally matched to the emerging threats
3. How to appropriately score the security measures that would have to be defeated in order for a critical asset to be successfully compromised.
Join us for a webinar on Jun 22, 2021 at 11:00 AM MDT to find out more: Register now!