Essay on Cyber Terrorism

As the internet usage has increased, it also has become an element for radicalization, therefore, develop a national cybercrime unit model to analyze potential terrorist attacks, addressing virtual space and technology.

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.

So let us all start at the very beginning. What is the major threat behind cyber terrorism and cyber vandalism? Once you take a major look at the early years, the internet and websites were commonly introduced

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

When I think of the word terrorism, the first thing that pops into my mind is 9/11. A day I will never forget, as I am sure countless other Americans will not as well. I never took the time to truly think about a terrorist, what they are thinking, what their motives are, or whom they are trying to hurt or even why they are terrorist. In doing this research, I have acquired knowledge about not only the ‘traditional’ terrorist but also the cyberterrorist. In some ways these criminals are similar, and the reasons behinds their actions sometimes overlap, yet they also are different. Although some people, including myself, could get the two of them confused, they are not the same.

In order to properly answer the question posed we must first define what cyber-war and cyber-terrorism are. The Oxford Dictionaries defines cyber-war as “The use of computer technology to disrupt the activities of a state or organization, especially the deliberate attacking of communication systems by another state or organization:” Although there is no dictionary definition of cyber-terrorism, The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has defined it as “the use of computer network tools to shut down critical national infrastructures (e.g., energy, transportation, government operations) or to coerce or intimidate a government or civilian population.” The author defines cyber terror as “the intimidation of civilian enterprise through the use of high technology to bring about political, religious, or ideological aims, actions that result in disabling or deleting critical infrastructure data or information.”

Due to rapid expansions in both transportation and communication technology, terrorism has become an international threat and is now a serious global risk. Beck (2002: 9) states that the ‘risk of terrorism exponentially multiply with technological advancement. With the technologies of the future-genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics, we are opening a new Pandoras box’. This suggests that as more sophisticated technology is introduced new terror risks proliferate at an exceedingly fast pace. For Cronin (2002), international terrorism is not only a reaction to globalisation; globalisation is also a facilitator of international terrorism; suggesting that globalisation is a vital component in the structure and mechanisms of international terrorism. With advances in technology and particularly transportation, terrorist activity is no longer restricted to particular geographical jurisdictions.

“Terrorist groups are increasingly computer savvy, and some probably are acquiring the ability to use cyber attacks to inflict isolated and brief disruptions of US infrastructure. Due to the prevalence of publicly available hacker tools, many of these groups probably already have the capability to launch denial-of-service and other nuisance attacks against Internet-connected systems” (Mavropalias, 2011). This issue is seen within articles published through many al Qaeda websites. ‘As terrorists become more computer savvy, their attack options will only increase” (War on Terrorism, 2003). In a speech by Napolitano on May 30, 2012 to business leaders and government officials, said that besides "al Qaeda and al Qaeda-related groups," cybercrime is, "the greatest threat and actual activity that we have seen aimed at the west and at the United States. Unfortunately, it is a growth arena.” Napolitano cited a study by Symantec's Norton that estimated the cost of cybercrime worldwide at $388 billion -- more than the global market for heroin, cocaine and marijuana combined (Kalberer, 2012). This is an issue that has been a constant battle since 2012 when the Stuxnet worm was publicized. The internet can be a very reliable resource or a cyberweapon if put in the wrong hands. Al qaeda’s use of information technology have been deemed harmful to potential and established

Cyber attack has been a huge problem for so many years and there have been a lot of attempts to stop it but there have not been enough resources for this to happen. This paper offers more top to bottom clarification of Cyber attack, reasons, dangers, and defenselessness. It talks about the impact on individual; gives situations of Cyber attacks lastly clarifies ways that people can keep themselves from being casualties of Cyber attack. This paper will give insights on how Cyber attack impacted the United States a year ago contrasted with now, climate it has expanded or diminished. It will likewise talk about how Cyber attacks have made more individuals careful about how they reveal data and the sort of sites they visit that lead to them being victims of cyber attack.

The use of cyber attacks is a preferred method for cyber terrorists as the advantages far outweigh the traditional methods that have been committed by recent organizations. If a cyber attack was conducted, it would be cheaper to execute than traditional methods, cyber attacks are more difficult to trace, the possibility of hiding the identity and location of the attacker is appealing. There is also the reward of knowing there is no physical barriers or checkpoints to cross, a cyber attack can be done remotely from any location in the world, cyber attacks can cripple multiple targets, thus greatly affecting a larger number of people (Elmusharaf,

Technology in the twenty-first century changed terrorism quite a bit. The evolution of the internet introduced cyberterrorism to us. Cyberterrorism can be defined as the intentional use of computer, networks, and public internet to cause destruction and harm for personal objectives.

Prevalent to the current trend now is the dependency of the society on Information technology and communication systems. Every aspect of human life is one way or the other linked and controlled by information technology tools. The importance of information technology cannot be over emphasized as its unavailability could lead to a form of disaster or the other. Pivotal infrastructures like finance, healthcare, education and security are driven by information technology. However, information technology and its benefits are accompanied by vulnerabilities and risks that can be exploited by people with the necessary technical skills. Individuals like ‘Hackers’ and ‘Cyber Terrorist’ can cause disruption to information systems, commit financial fraud and also attack computers and networks. These attacks and disruptions could result to violence against people and properties. In some cases, death, serious injuries and severe economic loss could occur as a result of these attacks.

Since 2010 there have been over 13 major cyber attacks in the US, the FBI categorizes the severity of the attack based on what could possibly be at stake such as information on US citizens or hijacking of critical information . Cyber attacks are classified as crimes committed with the aid of a computer. Cyber crimes are considered felonies, however most people who commit the crimes can usually not be found. Recently there has been an uprising in cyber crimes, in the year 2017 alone 9 minor incidents have occured (minor attacks can consist of malware and internet “trolling” which is a form of cyberbullying) and 4 major crimes have been committed. Most crimes consist of identity theft, robbery, and hijacking private information. Recently programmers have been able to build security systems that can detect a threat almost immediately. With a growing expansion of technology protecting information gets harder day by day. Cyber security is the body of technologies, processes and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.

The United States government needs to focus less on physical warfare and more on cyber warfare.

Imagine if you were an employee of a large credit card corporation such as Visa or MasterCard. You can make up to $90,000 a year but all of a sudden your bank account was $0.00 along with all your coworkers, bosses and the company stock dropped to zero. There would be panic, chaos and disorder due to everyone losing their money. The culprit of such a chaotic situation was a result of a cyber-attack by a hacker. The cyber attacker hacked into the system and caused the databases to transfer all of the money into some bank accounts elsewhere. This is just one example of cyber terrorism and all the damage it is can do to people lives. Businesses corporations are usually not targets of terrorism, but government databases usually are targeted. Cyber terrorist often try to hack into government databases and steal information that would be valuable to America but dangerous in the hands of terrorist. Through cyber-attacks information for nuclear weapons, shut down codes or other government secrets can be gained by a number of terrorist organizations. “ cyber-attacks on our nation private sector and government networks have increased dramatically in the past decade” ( www.fbi.gov) This increase in attacks means that there is a higher chance that terrorist can shut major power grids and leave millions without power or disrupt the stock market to cause mass panic in the