The instruments of national power (diplomatic,informational, military, and economic) provideleaders in the US with the means and ways ofdealing with crises around the world. Employingthese means in the information environmentrequires the ability to securely transmit, receive,store, and process information in near real time.The nation's state and non-state adversaries areequally aware of the significance of this newtechnology, and will use information-relatedcapabilities (IRCs) to gain advantages in theinformation environment, just as they would usemore traditional military technologies to gainadvantages in other operational environments. Asthe strategic environment continues to change, sodoes information operations (IO). Based on thesechanges, the Secretary of Defense nowcharacterizes IO as the integrated employment, during military operations, of IRCs in concert with other lines of operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the decision making of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting our own.