Basic concept of Cyber Terrorism and Cyber crimes
Most people would say they know what terrorism is, but surprisingly there is no internationally agreed definition. There is literally hundreds of different definitions incurrent use with the use of violence or threat of violence being the only general common theme. The only other elements to appear in more than 50% of definitions are “Political” and “fear, terror emphasized”. This is a hamper on international cooperation as some terrorist organizations are seen as legitimate fighters by some countries. Terrorism does differ from other crimes in its mens rea; it is done with a purpose and a specific strategic outcome in mind.
If there has been
significant international and intellectual disagreement about a definition for
terrorism itself, the disagreement as to what, if anything, constitutes Cyber
Terrorism is even more diverse. This paper will consider the battle against
terrorism in Cyberspace, Cyber Terrorism as a form of attack and the terrorist
use of the Internet as a tool for physical action. It will also consider areas
of both anti and counter terrorism within a cyber-environment.
It is important that we
consider who the terrorists are. There are literally hundreds of groups of
varying size and ability, which, to some extent, warrant the label of terrorists
Terrorism has 4 classic motivations. Firstly there are single-issue terrorists,
those who believe in a particular cause and are prepared to use violence to
protest their message in the hope of ending the issue, which sparks their
grievance. Animal Rights and Anti-Choice over abortion are the two most
prevalent of such issues. Vivisection researchers or family planning workers
have been the targets of sustained campaigns and assassinations in protest over
these issues. Although generally small and with a low lethality rate, these
groups could find the cyber world particularly to their liking as in the cyber
environment they can effectively punch above their weight. Ideological
Terrorists are those who use violence to promote their political ideology, usually
from the far left or right. While these groups were most active in the Cold
War, there are still several of such groups still active and other active
groups that have evolved from their beginnings as an Ideological Terrorist
group.
Nationalist terrorists
have been the most lethal of all terrorist groups over the last 40years[1]
and are still active in several major campaigns worldwide. These are terrorist
groups who seek independence from a state or to cede from one state to another
because of ethnic or geographic grievances. Very few modern nations are made up
of just one ethnic group and in many areas of the world this has led to ethnic
tensions that have spilled over into terrorism. The LTTE in Sri Lanka and the
PKK Kongra/Gel terrorist organization in Turkey are the most active of such
groups.
Religio-Political
terrorist groups tend to be more lethal as they believe they are acting for God
or on a divine order and that those not of their belief are against God[2].
There are extremist groups spanning all major religions and some minor cults
who have resorted to terrorism.
These terrorists have
abused their religion and act outside it; they must not be confused with the
religion they misrepresent in their claims. Although many religions do accept
that there are circumstances for justifiable violence or warfare, none, with
the exception of a doomsday cult such as Aum Shinrikyo, would apply this to the
indiscriminate targeting of civilians or security forces outside the legal
conventions of legitimate warfare.
As with any definition
labeling model, there can be hybrid terrorist groups that either evolve their
motivations or have multiple aims. The Provisional IRA are an example, they
were a Nationalist group as they wanted Northern Ireland to cede from the United
Kingdom to the Irish Republic but were also an Ideological group as they wanted
Ireland to become a Socialist state.
The terrorists
themselves must be considered, understanding their psychology is important in understanding how to defeat
them. There is no clear profile of a terrorist, they come from all walks of
life and have varying levels of education, employment and wealth. One common
factor is that they are not mentally unstable, terrorist organizations want
activists with the ability to think and be reliable. The level of intelligence
may decide the role of the terrorist, as will any specialist skills such as
chemistry or IT, and the organization will require College level members as
well as those with more basic standards of education. We must accept that most
terrorist groups are made of skilled and intelligent people who are acting out
of genuine belief (self-formed or indoctrinated) and not a group of clueless
idiots. This must be considered in the cyber defense plan against terrorism;
they will study, take time, plan and employ experts of the highest caliber to
achieve their aim.
Priyadarshini Tiwari
Assistant professor
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