Cyber Terrorism as A Threat Of The Twenty First Century

Cyber terrorism is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for large companies and corporations across the globe. The use of the internet and its interconnectedness serves as a double-edged sword for these companies and corporations. The definition of Cyber Terrorism according to Merriam-Webster is “terrorist activities intended to damage or disrupt vital computer systems” (Merriam-Webster). Different techniques of this terrorism can include computer viruses, disruption of networks, and attempts to hack systems of corporations. Over recent years, terrorists have used the internet as an advanced communication tool which they can quickly spread resources and plans to perform different attacks. The information and technological advantages these terrorist groups have attained can be described as instantaneous and unpredictable. Stopping cyber terrorism rests in the hands of every citizen. Of course, cyber terrorism poses less of a physical attack than an actual violent terrorist attack. Cyber terrorism can disrupt the lives of every citizen of the imposing country. The stopping of these threats and attacks comes down to each and every citizen of the targeted nation. There must be full cooperation to stop cyber attacks, just like violent ones.

During the beginning stages of cyber terrorism, groups would simply just deface the website. This defacement would just be vandalism or graffiti on the website. As the advancement of computers and the internet improved immensely, the fear of larger cyber terrorist attacks also grew. After 9/11 the U.S. began its war on terror. This meant that cyber terrorism was being looked at on the same scale as violent terrorism. One of the first major cases of cyber terrorism occurred in 2004 when a Romanian terrorist group gained access to the computers of a research station in Antarctica. The culprits were stopped before any damage could’ve been done. More than 50 lives were endangered just because of the small incident. To fully understand cyber terrorism, one must look at the countries who face the most threats and danger. The United States, of course, is high up on the list for countries under the greatest threat. Its agencies have kept a special eye out for any potential act of terrorism. The author Rhea Borja talks about a series of hackings on U.S. high schools, affecting the students and the community. “In suburban Chicago, four high school students hacked into their school’s computer network in October and tampered with their grades. That same month, an 18year-old in Sacramento, Calif., was arraigned on 89 felony counts for hacking into his school district’s network. And in Massillon, Ohio, three high school students cost their district at least $400,000 after they penetrated school computers last summer to raise grades for themselves and others.”(Borja). These mentioned cyber attacks were easy enough for high school students to do, so imagine the threat professionals have on the government and the military.

Social media allows users to communicate faster than any other media outlet. Cyber Terrorism in social media is used for money laundering, identity theft, online fraud, cyber attacks, and others (Parlakkılıç 172). The reason social media would be threatened is because of its popularity, inexpensiveness, and flexibility. Also, users have to enter personal information that could be compromised if ever an attack. More than half of the population on this planet uses social media. Cyber terrorists use social media to convey dark messages of corruption and threats that can hinder psychological activity. The goal is to spread fear and affect the entirety of society. Agencies have developed platforms where they can study the growth and prosperity of the website to see if it is in danger of an attack. “Today, 90% of cyber terrorist attacks are done on the internet through social media [9].”( Parlakkılıç 172). An example of a cyber-terrorist attack was Al Qaeda sharing videos of threats all over Youtube 10 years ago. Ever since then, different terrorist groups have used social media outlets to threaten and get their messages across. Awareness of terrorist groups will be the strategy of using mass media critical to its success in carrying out the mission, in addition, to improve morale in the group, is also a strategy in various levels to deal with and get multi-audience simultaneously with the aim of recruiting members. All social media outlets are growing and expanding, day by day. There must be constant monitorization of these sites in order to keep them safe for the millions of users. There are certain things users can do in order to be prepared for any form of attack. Users can keep their antivirus software up to date, never give too personal of information, and just learn simple security measures. The only people who can stop this terror is ourselves, and there are simple ways to do it.

As stated before, cyber terrorism can be small hacks of websites or it can be a full-fledged attack on informational systems. We, as users, can stop the smaller attacks, but how are the larger attacks handled? The lack of international agreement caused the UNODC to force all nations to cooperate when dealing with cyber terrorism. Law enforcement and internet companies work together to take down cyber terrorists. Also, any public wifi needs to be regulated in order to deny the terrorists easy access to information and wifi. Referring to legislation passed, Vilic states, “International legislation made great efforts to effectively counter fight cyber terrorism, both on international as well as at member states level” (VILIĆ 18). The main focus to prevent future attacks and planning to discuss these preventions is cybersecurity. The level of attacks and threats have opened the eyes of the U.S. government and all governments across the globe. Different tools are being used in order to enhance this cybersecurity. Governments have passed laws and signed treaties in order to reduce the vulnerability of a cyber attack. Governments have been treating online purchasing of illegal weapons as if the deal was being made in person. Like stated before, treaties have been signed that are attempting to diminish this whole cyberterrorism at once. Stated by Vilic, “Precautions are necessary in order to protect people from the physical threats, and that is the reason why security agencies should be prepared to deal with cyber attacks on the nation’s critical infrastructure which are hard to-forecast and very often reoccurring.”(VILIC 20).The sudden increase in cyber attacks has alerted governments and even militaries across the map to stop these tragedies.

There have been countless acts of terrorism that have struck not only the U.S. but internationally as well. From what I recall, back in 2014, North Korea hacked the database of Sony Pictures in order to halt the releasing of the movie The Interview. The movie was a backhand to the government of North Korea and they decided to take matters into their own hands. From personal experience, I bought the movie straight from Sony on the release day and the next day when I attempted to watch the movie and it was gone. This hack took down all of Sony’s budget and its profits as a whole. Governments of different countries usually catch all of the blame for not being able to stop these attacks when they occur. Although this may be, most of these cyber attacks are just fueled by activism. Terrorists in middle eastern countries search for activists in other countries to join their groups in order to gain intel inside of these countries. These recruited terrorists attempt to destroy their home nations from the inside. They are inspired by vengeance and whatever orders their overseers give them. There’s no telling what can be planned for the future.

Cyber terrorism is a ghost in the shadows and can strike at absolutely anyone at any time. Attacks can happen whenever and wherever there is any sort of technology. Any internet connection pulls in these terrorists and gives them a multitude of opportunities. These terrorists can take down important businesses and can even go to the extent of taking down entire governments. Terrorists are finding new and improved ways of infiltrating these internet connections and information as every hour passes by. Not one nation in the universe encourages cyber terrorism or the manipulation of the internet. In almost every society, where the internet and technology are present, cyber terrorism will always be present. According to Matusitz “The usage of technology and the internet for more than 60% of the day gives any cyber terrorist the opportunity to take advantage in this society”(Matusitz). Although the Internet protects the privacy and confidentiality of its users, at the same time, it makes it difficult to identify those users who are engaged in illegal activities. Online communication allows organizations to maintain and promote group identity, radical ideology, and indoctrination. There is so much we can do to prevent this to happen to us and all we must do is take a few simple precautions. Larger scale cyber attacks are being handled and shut down almost as soon as they appear by the governments of the nations under attack. Cyber terrorism is on it’s on course to be just as lethal as violent terrorism, so what should we do next?