Zersetzung was designed to side-track and switch off perceived enemies

of the use of psychological subversion: Suppose the hacker needed access to a certain classified military computer called, say, IBAS. He would obtain the name of the base commander or other high-ranking official, gain access to the DNS network, (which is the separate military telephone network) and dial up the computer center he needed to reach, which was often in a secured facility. The person who answered the phone would usually be a low-ranking enlisted person, and the hacker would say something like, “This is Lieutenant Johanson, and General Robertson cannot access his IBAS account, and he’d like to know WHY?“ This is all said in a very threatening tone of voice, clearly implying that if the general can’t get into his account right away, there will be severe negative repercussions, most likely targeting the hapless person who answered the phone.