The Dangers Of Terrorism And Terrorism

Domestic terrorist groups are violent extremists that want to attack the U.S. from the inside. Their intent is to frighten, pressure, and/or influence national principles. Today’s terrorist organizations are using cyberspace to spread their message. Training and online recruitment are also being made available by the Internet and social media websites. Some of the acts are lone-wolf attacks and others are collective attacks. Some examples of domestic terrorist groups that use cyberspace are Army of God, Sovereign Citizens, and Phineas Priesthood. The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on terrorism, stating that more people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists (Henderson, 2015). Terrorist

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.

Terror has become a common feeling in today’s world. Music concerts and churches have become targets for terrorist activity. People are now thinking twice about their safety before leave home. In the book Terror In The Mind Of God by Mark Juergensmeyer, he starts off talking about different terror acts and how it has changed how he views the world. He says, "On a different day, at a different time, perhaps in a different bus, one of the bodies torn to shreds by any of these terrorist acts could have been yours or mine" (Juergensmeyer p. 3). He goes on to talk about how he feels betrayed that his "personal security and order that is usually a basic assumption of public life cannot in fact be taken for granted in a world where terrorist acts exit" (Juergensmeyer 3). Terrorism is a huge concern for Americans today. We hear on the news about church shootings and attacks on people attending an outdoor concert. We begin to feel unsafe going out in public and enjoying basic activities.

One of the biggest challenges facing modern society is in the area of security, especially as it patterns to terrorism. The dynamics and severity of attacks on innocent citizens of different countries around the world continues to change over the years. In Europe, the frequency of terrorist attacks is also spreading to different countries. In fact, the 2017 Europol European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report concludes that more than 142 terrorist operations were reported across the European Union in 2016 alone. Also, the attacks caused the death of more than 140 people and about 378 more people were injured.

For example, they can shut down cell phone towers, cut power to trains, and turn off airport landing lights. In early October of this year, cyberattacks blocked access to very popular websites like Twitter, Netflix, and Amazon. They targeted such popular websites so that they could make the public known of their presence and what they can do. The author states, “It would be silent but enormously destructive. The two sides could block access to the Global Positioning System, disrupt air traffic control and electric grids, and block access to the internet or fill popular websites with propaganda - causing widespread chaos and fear.” In this passage, the author gives many examples of what these hackers are capable of. In conclusion, hacking and cyberattacks can be very destructive to all aspects of

As we move past defining terrorism we are now looking to give it an identity. Terrorism is an act that is acted out by groups and individuals. There are always some command grounds in differences when you evalute one terrorist to another. Person or group. Some command areas might be methods of employement and desired end result. One of the biggest difference between terrorists (group or person) is politics or motivatoin behind the act and a countinuing agenda. In order to obtain data and provide comparisons to such items as mentioned two executors of terrorism were selected. One individual Timothy McVeigh(domestic) and one group al-Shabaab (international). The intent of this paper will be to compare the key similarities and differences between Timothy McVeigh and al-Shabaab, reference one terrorist activity and the motives of the attacks for each and provide an assessment of which is a greater threat to the United States (threat should be interpreted as threat to the national security of the United States).

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 the past 20 years the United States along with the world have entered a period referred to as “New Terrorism” (Kurtulus, 2011). This new type of terrorism is generally indiscriminate, networked, based off religious ideologies, and committed by individuals and factions with little to no organizational structure (Kurtulus, 2011). The problem with the individuals who commit this new type of terrorism is that they are generally indiscriminate and do not necessarily have a selected target. The victims of these attacks are generally thrown into disarray with little to no explanation on why they occurred.

Terrorism has drastically become an occurring issue in America and many other foreign countries. An FBI agent, Keith Lourdeau claims that terrorist use media to obtain power by hacking companies for information and money, recruiting potential terrorist, and causing distress to our community. However, Lourdeau contradicts his argument by claiming that “If a terrorist lacked the technical sophistication to conduct a computer attack, and chose to recruit a hacker, potential damage would be increased if that hacker was an insider” (Lourdeau 2). Although it may be true that cyber terrorist might pursue cybercrime, the word use of “potential” leads readers to believe that such acts aren't prominent enough to be concerned of a terrorist attack. In fact, James Lewis, a director of Technology and Public Policy Program, argues that “exploits against Georgia..did no damage other than defacing government websites” (Lewis 2) meaning that terrorism can't be determined without any physical damage

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks many have sought to argue that a ‘New’ paradigm of terrorism exists and therefore that the nature of modern terrorist threats has changed. However, terrorism itself has never been clearly outlined, and as such both Copeland and Duyvesteyn argue current threats to be a continuation of older trends of traditional terrorism. More so terrorism is subjective and therefore current threats depends upon who the target is and who is reporting the attack. On the other hand, Hoffman focuses on deconstructing specifically the 9/11 attacks and in assessing potential future threats and as such is of greater use to governments seeking to deploy stringent countermeasures. The evolution of terrorist groups motivations and

Many people are familiar with the act of terrorism since of one famous terrorist incident, 9/11, happened. Yet not familiar with the definition of terrorism. Terrorism is an effort to cause terror and damage by constraining a government. The other root, cyber, is relating to computers and information technology. In consideration, the United States’ definition of cyberterrorism is "a criminal act conducted with computers and resulting in violence, destruction, or death of its targets in an effort to produce terror with the purpose of coercing a government to alter its policies," This definition can be justified as a terrorist can be tormenting as small as hacking to cause denial of service to as big as hacking to launch dangerous weapons. However, what cyber threats are or are not identified as cyberterrorism. A non-political motive spam, doing pranks online, and impolite e-mails are not identified as cyberterrorism. These acts are identified as cybercrimes. Ransoms to gain access to your online bank account, shutting down major power grids to harm the U.S. economy, and causing generators to self-destruct in innovating laboratories are identified as

When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred the United States responded in a manner which was seen as a traditional reaction to such an attack; it used its overwhelming superior military to invade the nation of Afghanistan. As Afghanistan was the operating base of the terrorist group responsible for the attacks, Al Qaeda, the invasion all but destroyed the group's operating capacity. But in response to the United States' apparent victory the terrorists have re-organized themselves into a looser confederation and turned to alternative methods of finance and operation. One could say that the success of the American military's answer to the September 11th attacks have created a new environment in which terrorists currently operate. This includes the use of the internet, unconventional alliances with international criminal organizations, as well the inception of the "lone wolf" terrorist. Faced with these new type of threats, the United States and its allies must find a way to identify and deal with them.

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.

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:

Have you ever had a fear for your family, your town, your country, or your world. How about the fear to have everything taken from you, destroyed, and not caring if it has hurt you or not? What about your fear and pain is, and can be someone else’s happiness? The fear of you being terrorized? That is terrorism. Someone else bringing fear and terrorizing you. That is a terrorist’s goal. Terrorism is common and is very difficult to stop. The government promises protection for the people, and their home, but they can not give that protection if they can not stop terrorism. Terrorism needs to stop to protect the live of the people, and their country.