Cyber-Terrorism: A Threat To The United States

The most recents detections of how cyber warfare is inevitably coming was the accusations of Russia hacking the the Democratic National Committee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email’s releasing damaging evidence against them which ultimately lead to Donald Trump being named the President of The United States (Diamond, 2016). The effects of cyber warfare have leaked over in to televise series, forming shows such as CSI cyber, and the gaming world, Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare. Neglect regarding cyber security can: undermine the reputation of both the government and elected officials; force unacceptable expenditures associated with the cost of cleaning up after security breaches; cripple governments' abilities to respond to a wide variety of homeland security emergency situations or recover from natural or man-made threats; and disable elected officials' ability to govern (Lohrmann, 2010). Classified information such as overseas operators and attacks, missile locations, response plans and weaknesses, and much more cripples America’s ability to defend itself from enemies both foreign and domestic. To combat cyber terrorism is the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, or CISA. In an article titled “Why Cybersecurity Information Sharing Is A Positive Step for Online Security” it is discussed that under CISA, the Department of Homeland security will have more responsibility for domestic cybersecurity. CISA’s fundamental purpose is to better enable cybersecurity information to be shared between the private and public sectors (2016). The sharing of threat information between public and private sectors can give the the United States a head start by allowing them to share information rapidly and more often to combat enemy threats while still providing safety for privacy and civil

235). The war on terrorism is not always fought by conventional means. Law enforcement at all levels of the government faces other terrorist forms of attacks such as cyber warfare. Cyber warfare or cyber terrorism can greatly damage our government; therefore, the intelligence community and law enforcement should partner up to find methods in preventing, preparing for, and responding to cyber-attacks. We must not forget the importance of communities and building positive rapport with them, because they are our eyes and ears towards combating foreign and domestic

Most ISIS practice customs from the 7th century, but the methods they use to fight a war are 21st century techniques. ISIS have an advanced computer network that uses social media to attract terrorists worldwide to help them attack countries like the United States. Many countries have been victims of cyber attacks but may not realize it until long after the security breach occurred.

As a growing majority of middle class families fall victim to the economic devastation of the Great Recession, suffering from prolonged unemployment, depleted job markets and a rising cost of living, the threat of potential terrorist attacks striking America and its interests seems to have faded into the proverbial background of our collective consciousness. With a transfer of power from the hawkish Bush Administration to President Obama and his more diplomatic approach, major media outlets in print, on television and in the blogosphere, which just a few years ago regaled with patriotic fervor while espousing the possible peril awaiting the nation, have all but abandoned their coverage of terrorist activity. This reversal in focus by both individuals and institutions may simply be a natural response to the reduced capabilities of al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks, as confirmed by the leading authority on terrorism and its effects, and national security analyst for the CNN network, Peter Bergen, who observed recently that "the Obama administration has played a large role in reducing terrorist threats by continuing and scaling up many of former President George W. Bush's counter-terrorist methods" (Bennetch 1).

Today however, a new type of warfare has emerged and occurs when outside entities conduct an attack on a power grid, network, or both with the intent of causing damage. This type of warfare is called cyber warfare. In the United States computers control everything. It is no secret that hostile countries and terrorist organizations are cognizant and they know our economy, security, and infrastructure can be crippled by a successful cyber-attack. Examples of potential targets for cyber terrorists include military bases, water systems, banking facilities, air traffic control centers and power plants. Even the Commander in Chief, President Obama has stated the threat of a cyber war is real and we must prepare for it and increase our security measures. First, this paper will discuss cyberterrorism and cyber-attacks as they pose a direct threat to national security and the economy. Then, we will review cyber-attacks against the U.S. from China, Iran, and Russia along with the impact and possible ramifications from those attacks. Finally, this paper discusses U.S. strategies to minimize the impact of cyber-attacks.

One key issue in Homeland Security and Emergency Management is the threat to cyber security. Terrorism has evolved over the years to more sophisticated and planned out attacks. Some of the attacks are stopped before the plans are carried out thanks to our nations Homeland Security experts, but many attacks go unnoticed by the public and security professionals, this is because of the method of cyberterrorism. Cyberterrorism can be described as varied as stealing data and hacking, planning terrorist attack, causing violence, or attacking information systems (Foltz,2004). The act of cyberterrorism leaves many people and our nation vulnerable if the terrorist is successful at stealing critical

Hypothesis: The United State’s foreign policy will make a shift in the coming years to focus more intently on suppressing individual groups that use terrorism as a political strategy, rather than focusing on specific and identifiable States as in the past. The organizations mentioned before will be using the Internet to coordinate attacks, as well as attempt to hack US Government systems to their advantage. As a result, cyber security and antiterrorism stand to be the biggest future challenges for American foreign policy.

Guns, knives, and conventional explosives have so far remained the weapons of choice for most terrorists; however, recently terrorist have gone to the tactics of using vehicles as well, since such weapons can cause many casualties and are relatively easy to acquire and use. But some terrorist groups now show interest in acquiring the capability to use chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) materials [Federal Emergency Management Agency, (July 2002)]. It is difficult to predict the likelihood of a CBRN attack, but most experts agree that today's terrorists are seeking the ability to use such agents in order to cause mass casualties [Federal Emergency Management Agency, (July 2002)]. Cyber-attacks are often considered in the same context with CBRN. Respectable experts have published sobering scenarios about the potential impact of a successful cyber-attack on the United States. Already, hackers and criminals have exploited some of our vulnerabilities [National Research Council. (2007)]. Terrorists are making extensive use of the new information technologies, and a conventional terrorist attack along with a coordinated cyber-attack could exponentially compound the damage [National Research Council. (2007)]. This changing nature of the terrorist threat raises the stakes in getting American counterterrorist policies and practices

Tomorrow’s terrorist may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bomb (National Research Council1). The United States Department of States defined terrorism as: “…premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents.” Terrorism not only occurs on the real life today but also on the internet. As the technology rapidly developed, there is an increase in the usage of internet, the threat comes along the way. Due to the occurrence of internet terrorism-generating fears to the public, the term “Cyberterrorism” was coined by Barry Collin in the 1980’s (Cyberterrorism Defined). The definition of cyberterrorism differs from various legal systems and government

The article “Defending America in Cyberspace” in the journal The National Interest authored by Keith Alexander, Emily Goldman, and Michael Warner taught me much about how the Department of Homeland Security handles America’s cyber threats. The Department of Security is the lead agency in protecting America from domestic cybersecurity incidents. It stated how America fights Cyber crime and security threats. In this day and age, countries are very vulnerable to skilled hackers. Some of them not even under the age 18.

Cyber security is a major concern for every department, business, and citizen of the United States because technology impacts every aspect of our daily lives. The more we use technology the more complacent, we get with the information that is stored within our cyber networks. The more complacent, we get, the more vulnerable we become to cyber-attacks because we fail to update the mechanisms that safeguard our information. Breaches to security networks are detrimental to personal, economic, and national security information. Many countries, like Russia, China, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, now have the abilities and technology to launch cyber-attacks on the United States. In the last five years there have been several attacks on cyber systems to gain access to information maintained by major businesses and the United States Government. Cyber-attacks cause serious harm to the United States’ economy, community, and the safety, so we need to build stronger cyber security mechanisms. Based on my theoretical analysis, I recommend the following:

As a direct consequence of September 11, a number of substantial challenges lie ahead in the area of counter-terrorism..   The most prominent of these is the changing nature of the terrorism phenomenon.  In past years, when terrorism was largely the product of direct state sponsorship, policymakers were able to diminish prospects for the United States becoming a target using a combination of diplomatic and military instruments to deter potential state sponsors.  Today, however, many terrorist organizations and individuals act independently from former and present state sponsors, shifting to other sources of support, including the development of transnational networks.

For thousands of years warfare remained relatively unchanged. While the tactics and weapons have changed as new methods of combat evolved, men and women or their weapons still had to meet at the same time and place in order to attack, defend, surrender or conquer. However, the advent of the of the internet has created a new realm of combat in which armies can remotely conduct surveillance, reconnaissance, espionage, and attacks from an ambiguous and space-less digital environment. Both state and non-state actors have already embraced this new realm and utilized both legal and illegal means to further facilitate their interests. What complicates cyber security further is as states attempt to protect themselves from cyber-warfare, private

According to Furnell and Warren (1999), Evidence suggests that technology is growingly seen as a potential tool for terrorist organizations and the widespread use of information technology by terrorist groups and organizations has led to the birth of a new class of menace termed “Cyberterrorism”. Cyberterrorism could be used in many diverse ways. Sometimes, a country’s pivotal infrastructures could be shut down and harmed using computer network and tools. There have been impediments in trying to give a clear and concise definition to the term “cyberterrorism”. But Denning (2007) which supersedes Denning (2000) gives an unambiguous definition to cyberterrorism:

From the advent of the Internet, there came with it the opportunity for any of its users to have access to any information they seeked right at their fingertips. With this access; entertainment, market opportunities, educational information, productivity, and global communication were able to grow and flourish, however with these gains seen came with it the weakening of the once secure national strength seen in nations. In the last two decades cyberspace has been defined as the 'fifth battleground’ for international relations, with the aspects of cyber war, cyber terrorism, and cybercrime as some of the largest threats to the security of the national and international community. (Popović, 2013) With this ‘fifth battleground’ of the cyberspace thrown into the international battlegrounds of old, its effectiveness and effect on the both the modern state and the international bodies of the world, posing the question of how will this increased accessibility to the cyberspace will affect national security in the coming years?