Cyberterrorism Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

This example Cyberterrorism Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.

Cyberterrorism is the use of modern communication technology in the commission of terrorist activities. Although not strictly limited to the Internet, there is a strong bias toward using the Inter net to exemplify the concept of cyberterror ism. Cyberterrorism does not have a single definition: In some instances, it refers to use of the Internet to disrupt information systems by formal, recognized terrorist organizations. In other instances, cyberterrorism refers to Internet use by recognized governments that may be seen as supporting or encouraging terrorist activities. When states launch attacks using the Inter net, it is usually refer red to as cyberwarfare. Sometimes cyberterrorism refers strictly to activities carried out by organizations, other times to activities carried out by individuals pursuing a common goal but without a formal organization. Cyberterrorism may refer to activities executed across international borders or within a single country.

Cyberterrorists go beyond the law and the general norms of the countries they attack to accomplish a political agenda agreed on by only a small minority within the country, and with which the majority of the country usually disagrees. Cyberterrorism is undertaken through such avenues as worms, viruses, and backdoors and has several important purposes for which it is undertaken, including extortion, the creation of economic disruption, and identity theft. The actual use of the Internet in cyberterrorism ranges from preparative acts to propaganda to carrying out an act of terrorism. Preparative acts of cyberterrorism include buying airline tickets, researching building plans, and acquiring weapons. Propaganda acts of cyberterrorism are generally limited to exhorting potential recruits into joining terrorist organizations and exhorting sympathizers to contribute money and resources. Carrying out acts of cyberterrorism on the Internet is generally limited to deluging opponents with threats or attacking computers and networks.

Much cyberterrorism is international in nature. Many groups recruit from and are active in a number of countries, and try to change the international activities of a specific country. Individuals within one country, or a small number of countries, use cyberterrorism to try to exact vengeance against another country for a perceived affront against either their homeland or their social group. Rebels fighting within one country who live and work outside of the country use the Internet to continue fighting against the government of the country through correspondence and recruitment and propaganda activities. This last situation usually occurs when a demographically identifiable group within a country fights for independence from that country or for equal or special rights. This does not negate the existence of cyberterrorist activities by groups within a single country. As a result of the frequently international nature of cyberterrorism, many countries have started working together to combat it.

Governments trying to stop cyberterrorism have used a combination of tools. Whenever possible, existing laws have been applied to stopping cyberterrorism. For example, purchasing illegal weapons on the Internet equates to purchasing illegal weapons in person or through other means. There are also specific treaties aimed at halting cyberterrorism internationally. The creator of malware (malignant software) is no longer punished solely according to the laws of the country of residence. Now, when malware goes international, the country that either suffered the most damage or has the harshest punishment, depending on the specifics of the treaty being applied, issues the punishment. Law enforcement agencies and sometimes militaries are now working much more closely when pursuing cyberterrorists.

Examples of cyberterrorism come from around the world. In the United States, abortion opponents use e-mail to harass doctors providing abortions. Al-Qaida operatives in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States have used the Internet to research bombing targets, purchase supplies, and recruit members. A female al-Qaida operative in Belgium used the Internet to exhort people to join and participate in bombings. Palestinians, Israelis, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Americans are known to have used the Internet to hack into and attack business and government Internet sites. Although the respective governments are sometimes blamed when this happens, complete evidence of this sort of cyberterrorism, often referred to as hactivism, or computer hacking as activism, is not available.

Bibliography:

Andrejevic, Mark. iSpy: Surveillance and Power in the Interactive Era. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2007.
Brown, Lawrence V. Cyberterrorism and Computer Attacks. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Novinka Books, 2006.
Council of Europe. Cyberterrorism: The Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes. Brussels: Council of Europe, 2007.
Jordan,Tim, and Paul A.Taylor. Hacktivism and Cyberwars: Rebels with a Cause. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Verton, Dan. Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyberterrorism. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
Weimann, Gabriel. Terror on the Internet. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2006.