What Are The Similitudes In The Use Of The Internet Among Terrorist Organizations

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

Other studies suggest that lone-wolf terrorism is a reactive approach to external pressure from counter-terrorism endeavors. Over the past 20 years, law enforcement and intelligence agencies have developed intricate methods of infiltrating terrorist organizations resulting in groups to aggressively evolve, pleading those who share a similar ideology to act on their behalf without direct support or guidance. The Federal Burau of Investigation (FBI) conclude that lone-wolf terrorists are utilized by larger terrorist organizations to overwhelm and confuse intelligence agencies and law enforcement. This perspective, however, is contingent upon communications technology being an enabling factor. While the internet has made it easier to access

After the infamous 9/11 attacks against the U.S., the country has put in place various measures aimed at securing its borders against foreign threats. However, despite the increased security measures, terrorist groups still find ways through which they can perpetrate their heinous attacks. In particular, these groups have taken advantage of the Internet as a means to circumvent the security apparatus put in place by the U.S. One may, therefore, raise a question as to whether social media platforms have made it possible for foreign groups to undermine the U.S. intelligence system. This paper will explicate how terrorist organizations and other similar groups have used the Internet, and in particular, social media platforms to attain their agendas by recruiting U.S. nationals, enabling terrorist groups to overcome intelligence measures utilized by the U.S. by focusing on the following questions:

Do you remember where you were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001? Well if you do, then this should be a memory refresher, but if you don’t, heres something for you to learn. There were four airlines that were hijacked by the Islamic Extremist Group, Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda had planned to use a suicide attack against the United States. At 8:45 am, two of the four hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, the third plane hit the Pentagon in Washington DC and the fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. This day, was going to change America forever. Since the terrorist attacks, there has been many conspiracy theories that put fourth to what “actually happened”. As these conspiracies come, they range from planes not even hitting the Twin Towers but bombs that destroyed those buildings to the government knowing and going along with the plan of attack. Even though that the government says they made up the attack now, the 9/11 attack did happen how we thought it happened because of Islamic Extremist group thinking that America is weak, thousands of people died and we ended up going to war to find Osama Bin Laden. One might say that the government did not plan the 9/11 attack. Heres what the Islamic Extremest group is and what their purpose for their attack was.

Terrorism and the use of social media to further its objective is a major concern affecting the world today. With the growing threat of terrorism, studying its operational techniques help to determine how and why terror groups are succeeding. Understanding the impact that terror groups have on marginalized populations through propaganda and a manipulation of facts will help in developing a greater understanding of terror group’s ability to mount successful campaigns globally. Given the threat that social media poses to the exposure and growth of terror organizations worldwide, much research and analysis is currently underway to examine the role that social media has played in the radicalization of countless individuals from various backgrounds and localities throughout the world. The link between social media and terrorist networks and their recruiting campaigns are very much an issue affecting peace and stability today. As such, nations and law enforcement agencies globally have taken steps with the communication industry to address this issue. Unfortunately however free and open access and anonymity offered by the internet creates a scenario in which law enforcement can identify terrorist material and remove it but terror groups can replace it with new content faster than it can be removed.

Recent trends in terrorism include evidence of links between organized crime and terrorist groups. Terrorists not only engage in criminal activities to fund their operations, but use organized crime to buy and sell goods and services, such as weapons and forged documents. (Knoke, 2015)

During the age of globalization modern technology has made terrorism global by putting communication in the hands of even the poor and disenfranchised. Among them are terrorists who convert and circulate information via the internet. Technology also allow terror cells to map and monitor potential targets.

This is mainly due to the numerous advancements in technology that led to the expansion of the internet and social media, reaching all members and classes of society. In fact, as of 2016, nearly 78% of all Americans were social media users, representing a 5% growth from 2015’s 73%. This accentuates the extensive impact social media has on the American society though unfortunately, as the influence of social media increases, so does the proliferation of terrorism. The Internet, and all its cyber platforms, has prominently served as a recruitment tool used by most extremists and terrorist groups along with a means of exchange of radical ideals and

rise of Al Qaeda and the resilience of its group, it is important understand that the internet is a significant factor in their campaign against the West.

The perceived image of modern terrorism is different than the face of terror in the past, due to the increasing use of technology as a means for aiding extremists and terrorist activities. This paper will argue that modern tactics require different approaches from what has been done in the past to fight terrorism, and explore this difference between this past and present technological recruitment phenomenon. I will examine this issue using ISIS and Al Qaeda as a case study, by finding how it effectively utilizes and issues propaganda, therefore influencing citizens to join their fight. What is different

Terrorism in the twenty-first century has some similarities and differences from terrorism in the twentieth century. Terrorism is, in its broadest sense, the use or threatened use of violence in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim. Also useful to remember that because the two entities involved, the terrorists and the terrorized, are on the opposite end of the political, religious or ideological continuum, the same act is viewed by them differently. There is much sense in the phrase one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

In addressing the behavioral and psychological factors, I will identify what vulnerable people are and how they are influenced into recruitment of terrorist organizations. The comparisons provided will be associated to radical Islam and referenced with Mubin Shaikh own experience, as he was radicalized, then recruited for, and then de-radicalized from Radical Islam throughout. On completion of the reasons of how and why individuals join terrorist organizations, I will provide examples of programs of disengagement that are used for de-radicalizing imprisoned or individuals wanting to leave terrorist organizations. Nevertheless, the discussion will then turn to possible deterrents or methods to counter terrorist recruitment efforts.

Heightened attention is paid to terrorism since September 11, 2001 terror attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon by Al Qaeda terror network. The act of terror and terrorist groups however have existed for centuries. Terrorism as Ted Gur would explain is a tactic used by the weak to intimate the strong and by the strong to intimidate the weak (Gur in White, 2002, p.205). It is believed that when a group resorts to terror against its own citizens or another state, it is admittance that they do not have the power or strength to deal with the issue therefore results to use of violence, such as guerilla or unconventional warfare, to challenge the legitimacy or in Weber’s term legitimate, violence” (Couto 2010, P. 68). Irish Republican Army in the 1960s and 70s carried out various terrorist act in their demand for British withdrawal and unification of Ireland. They strategically attacked pubs, town centers and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. They also was involved in international terrorism because they strategically carried out attacks in England. Likewise, Palestinian Liberation Organization whose aim was to liberate Palestinians through arm struggle carried out terrorist activities in Israel, and against Israelis in Munich Olympics (Cristie, 2011).

The topic that our group decided to choose was terrorism because of the huge impact it has on the society we live in today. With the recent attacks in Paris, terrorism as a whole needs to be discussed. The specific section on terrorism that was given to me included different terrorist groups abroad. There are endless terrorist organization in numerous countries that would take hours to discuss all, but this will discuss the top four most known and deadliest terrorist organizations across different continents. What will be discussed is how the organization operates, the leadership, religious beliefs, and the goal of the organization.

Twitter in 2006, communication across the globe has become simpler as users can utilize messaging functions and video chat options to talk with anyone around the world, provided there is an internet connection. Although these social media and Internet technology outlets are great for communication and trade on a global scale, they also open up new ways for terrorists to recruit and private information to be released to anyone. Websites such as Amazon allow for the worldwide trade of goods, allowing individuals from across the globe to purchase products and send gifts to friends and family. Internet technology has also allowed for telecommuting where in virtual teams and cloud-based work systems can communicate and complete tasks (Li, 189). The popular video chatting application known as Skype has created opportunities for many to work from home or even interview others for jobs across the nation. The world is virtually shrunk with Internet technologies showing signs of replacing human travel as the need begins to disappear. Days where business owners cross the seas to meet for new opportunities have been reduced. The well-known terrorist group called ISIS uses social media and new Internet technologies to the group’s advantage to recruit followers from around the globe. National Security Council staffer Hillary Leverett reports that more than 90,000 pro-ISIS messages are posted on social media each day, creating an image of how valuable social media can be. An estimated