Answer & Explanation:Explain each question and use a in-text citation and reference all work1.A rarely discussed yet timely and relevant topic is that of terrorism and counterterrorism facilitated by use of the Internet. Explain some of the ways in which today’s terrorists (domestic and international) are using the Internet to communicate with and recruit others.2.Explain how hacking, Trojans, and computer viruses are used as tools in the cyber terrorist’s arsenal of weaponry. Which do you feel is the most destructive and why?3.In light of the tragic events of 9/11, air travel will likely never be the same. Physical security measures have improved and increased considerably to protect air travelers and to prevent a terrorist from boarding an airliner. As a supervisor with the TSA, how could you prevent a hacker from hacking into an air traffic control tower’s computer system and adding false information about the plane’s location, which could cause the plane to collide with another plane, a building, or the ground?
https___vcampbethel.blob.core.windows.net_public_courses_crj_400_unit_5_read.pdf
Unformatted Attachment Preview
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
2/2/08
12:58 AM
Page 571
PA RT V
G
Cyber Terrorism:
The “New”
O
R
Face of Terrorism
D
O
N
,
J
E
S
S
I
C
A
L
E
I
G
H
1
8
7
1
B
U
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
2/2/08
12:58 AM
Page 572
G
O
R
D
O
N
,
J
E
S
S
I
C
A
L
E
I
G
H
1
8
7
1
B
U
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
2/2/08
12:58 AM
Page 573
Chapter 29
The Dark Side of the Web: Terrorists’
Use of the Internet
G
O
R
D
Kelly Damphousse
O
University of Oklahoma
N
Kelly Damphousse, Ph.D., is Associate Dean
, in the College of Arts and Sciences and Presidential
Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas
A&M University in 1994. His research career has included studies of terrorism, homicide, drugs/crime
nexus, Satanism, and several justice-related evaluation projects. He served as the Site Director of
J
the Oklahoma City and Tulsa ADAM sites from 1998 to 2004 and has been Associate Director of
“The American Terrorism Study” since 1994.E
S
S
Abstract
I
This chapter examines how terrorists have used the Internet to communicate with a “world
C
wide” audience. We begin by defining terrorism
and placing the need for communication to a
wide audience in context. Terrorists have
traditionally
communicated with people outside
A
their organization to express their views, seek support, and raise money. Just as the Internet
has become an increasingly important tool to society, terrorists have begun to use the Internet
to achieve their goals. Indeed, terroristsLwere early adopters of the Internet, using bulletin
boards and newsgroups before the advent of the browser-based Internet. The Internet is an
E of terrorist ideology because it is relatively inexextraordinary medium for the advancement
pensive and attracts a large audience. TheI Internet also provides an outstanding tool for communicating with current and potential group members. Finally, the Internet provides access to
G terrorist targets (like governments) or to collect
vital information that can be used to injure
reconnaissance information to plan attacks.
H The chapter describes the proliferation of
terrorists on the Internet and the ways that terrorists may use the Internet to perform acts of
terrorism. Finally, we show how the Internet is being used to “counter” terrorism.
1
8
INTRODUCTION
7
This chapter addresses the use of the Internet by terrorists and those who mean to counter their
1
activities. Before we go too far, though, we need to understand what is meant when we use the
Bexamine in this chapter, the term is meaningless. On
word “terrorist.” For many of the people we
one extreme, these people see themselves as “freedom fighters” that are organized against an
U
oppressive and more powerful regime (Ross 2006). It might surprise you, for example, to think
573
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
574
2/2/08
12:58 AM
Chapter 29
Page 574
The Dark Side of the Web: Terrorists’ Use of the Internet
that George Washington and his fellow “patriots” were considered to be rebels (or “terrorists”) by the English government. On another extreme, terrorists might think that they are only
exercising their right to express themselves about a controversial issue (Hoffman 1998). Thus,
someone who is opposed to abortion and publishes a list of abortion clinic addresses may
only feel like they are “pointing toward evil,” and not creating “hit lists” for which they might
be criminally liable (Macavinta 1999).
G
Terrorism scholars have spent years trying to define terrorism and there about as many
O
definitions of terrorism as there are scholars (Hoffman 1998). One simple definition provided
by the United States government—the definition
R used by the FBI—states that terrorism is
“the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a
D
government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or
O Section 0.85). The two key issues in most
social objectives” (28 Code of Federal Regulations
such definitions are (1) the use of force and N
(2) a political motivation.
As we will see, however, this definition is problematic regarding terrorists’ use of the
Internet. While creating a Web page may be, politically motivated, it is certainly not a use of
force. Indeed, it is often not even a threatened use of force. So, by definition, most uses of the
Internet by terrorists are not terrorist acts, per se, but may be best described as acts that are
J activities (Smith, Damphousse, and Roberts
ancillary to terrorism—acts that support terrorist
2006). Many times, for example, terrorists only
E use the Internet to air their grievances, something that such groups have done throughout the history of terrorism. Indeed, one might say
S attention to a problem. Terrorists “want to
that is the whole point of terrorism: to draw
impress. They play to and for an audience, and
Ssolicit audience participation” (Hacker 1976, xi).
Thus, the Internet can be seen as just one more way of communicating with an audience, joinI and the soapbox. The impact of the Internet on
ing the communiqué, the poster, the placard,
the ability of terrorists to communicate is enormous,
of course, given its ability to reach such
C
a wide audience so quickly. Interestingly, the Internet has given potential terrorists a tool that
A
may preclude terrorism acts. In the pre-Internet era, a violent act was probably the only way
to “get the word out.” The Internet now gives politically frustrated groups a voice that does
not require violence.
L
But if we stop there, we fail to recognize that the Internet also gives terrorists another
E
weapon in its arsenal. Herein we observe a tremendous
irony: as society becomes increasingly
dependent on the Internet, it also becomes increasingly
vulnerable to attack via the Internet.
I
Thus, terrorists not only use the Internet to communicate with society, they may also use the
G
Internet to attack society.
Terrorists also face a paradox when they
H decide to use the Internet because their new
tool, like bomb parts and fingerprints, can be used by investigators to identify the attackers. In
addition, the Internet can be used by counter-terrorism actors to warn citizens about potential terrorism threats and to seek information
1that can aid in the capture of the terrorists. This
is the same problem that terrorists face when they use the media. “Just as the media is a tool
8groups too. It helps an outraged public to mobiof the terrorist, it is pernicious to the terrorist
lize its vast resources and produces information
7 that the public needs to pierce the veil of
secrecy all terrorist groups require” (Rapoport 1996, viii). Making their cause public brings
1
greater attention to the terrorist, which may result in eventual capture and arrest. Thus, the
way that terrorists use the Internet can makeBthem more vulnerable to capture.
Terrorist groups described in this chapter are composed of three types: (1) groups that
U
hate certain types of people (e.g., blacks, Jews, and women) (2) groups that oppose certain
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
2/2/08
12:58 AM
Page 575
575
Terror and Communication
types of aspects of social life (e.g., affirmative action, abortion, technology, and immigration),
and (3) groups that oppose governments (e.g., Irish Republican Army and the Republic of
Texas). While the ultimate focus of each of these protest groups may differ, there is certainly
some overlap between the two types of groups in terms of behavior, strategy, membership,
and etiology (Lofland 1996). A cautionary note is in order. We use the term “terrorist group”
guardedly because we recognize that some
G groups that are described in this chapter might
only be potential terrorist groups—that is, they have not committed any criminal act. At the
O
same time, these groups are still interesting because of their marked potential for (1) engaging
in terrorist acts or (2) providing for others
R the incentive to engage in violence (Damphousse
and Smith 1997). Thus, this paper assesses the different ways that terrorist groups use the
D
Internet (both as a manner of communicating with a wider audience and as a form of attack)
O terrorists vulnerable to capture. We start by disand how the use of the Internet makes the
cussing the need for communication by terrorist
groups and then describe how terrorists and
N
counter-terrorists use the Internet.
,
TERROR AND COMMUNICATION J
If you consider the life course of terroristE
groups, you realize that most groups started because
their founding members were frustrated by some “problem” (Ross 2006). In some cases, they
may have tried to “fix” the problem via S
legitimate means (e.g., through the political or legal
system) while in other cases, they may not
S have felt empowered to make a change at all. At
some point, the members decided that the only way that they can change the current situation
I
is to react violently. As von Clausewitz wrote nearly 200 years ago, “War is the continuation
of politics by other means” (von Clausewitz
C 1832/1976). By extension, terrorism is also a
continuation of politics. The difference is that wars are fought between “states” while terrorA
ism is conducted (mostly) by nonstate actors.
Terrorist groups in particular, engage in behaviors designed to send messages to outsiders. Violence, therefore, can be seen as
L an attempt by terrorist groups to call attention to
some “problem” that needs to be “fixed” (Herman 1982; Rubenstein 1987). Indeed, some
have suggested that terrorism could not E
even exist without the ability to communicate with
people outside of the skirmish, calling to Imind the proverbial “tree falling in the forest with no
one to hear it” (Schmid and Graaf 1982). Acts of violence by terrorists can be considered indiGterrorists use the news media to inform the public
rect efforts at communication whereby the
about the motives of the group, in an effort
H to give “violent voice to the voiceless, and to
awaken their sleeping brethren to the necessity of mass action” (Rubenstein 1989, 323).
Hoffman (1998) details, for example, the impact of the media coverage of hijacking of an
Israeli El Al airliner in 1968 and the killing
1 of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic games
in 1972 as watershed events that resulted in increased international attention to the
8
“Palestinian question” (Said 1979).
Less extreme, though more direct,7
measures have also been taken by protest groups to
get their message out. In general, this tactic is referred to as propaganda (Wright 1990).
1
Propaganda is used by protest groups to inform the general public (or other more specific
Bto make them “feel the urgency, the necessity of
groups) about some problem in an effort
some action, its unique characteristics, . . . [and] what to do” (Ellul 1969, 208). Traditionally,
U
protest groups have used the printed word (via leaflets, fliers, posters, and newsletters) to
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
576
2/2/08
12:58 AM
Chapter 29
Page 576
The Dark Side of the Web: Terrorists’ Use of the Internet
inform others about their cause (Wright 1990). More recently, terrorist groups used faxes to
communicate with each other and with selected outsiders (e.g., media and academics). The
problem with the use of these media is the relatively high cost and limited scope of coverage.
There is little “bang for the buck” when much of the material is discarded by uninterested
members of the public.
Protest groups experimented with theG
use of short wave radio for a time (and still continue to do so, to a lesser extent), but access to a larger audience was still restricted. The next
O
advance that allowed greater access to the general public was made possible by the increased
popularity of nationally syndicated talk radio
R programs. It was talk radio that first allowed
members of protest groups to be able to discuss their concerns with a host and (presumably) a
D
national audience. Conservative talk radio shows that allowed/fostered the discussion of topO in the late 1980s. Still, access to a wide audiics that angered groups of individuals blossomed
ence by the protest groups was somewhat limited
N as was the information that could be provided. Even worse, the information was also limited in that it was in verbal format; easily
, of protest groups were able to communicate
discarded and easily forgotten. While members
easily with each other and with a limited sympathetic audience, they were still unable to get
their message to the “uncommitted audience” (Wright 1990).
J
E
S
THE EVOLUTION OF REVOLUTION
S
The advent of the World Wide Web (as we know it) in the mid-1990s provided protest groups
I was relatively inexpensive, patently “permawith access to a mode of communication that
nent,” was in text and image format, and wasCaccessible to almost anyone in the world. To the
extent that antigovernment groups were among the first to make use of the Internet for propaA
ganda use, the information revolution coincided with the conservative revolution in an ironic
twist. The Internet had been developed in the late 1960s by the federal government (United
States Department of Defense) to allow for the sharing of computer files between research
L
scientists located around the country. The irony is that the project initially developed by the
federal government was now being used by E
protest groups to encourage its downfall.
Terrorists were not latecomers to the Icomputer age. In fact, discussion lists (listservs),
bulletin board systems, and newsgroups had been actively used by such groups in the decade
before the browser-based Internet came intoGexistence. The least private of these early technologies was the newsgroups and bulletin boards,
where messages (“articles”) are posted to
H
servers that are available to most anyone who has access to the site. These were the precursors
to the currently in vogue Web log (blog) and networking sites. Electronic bulletin boards
began in the late 1970s but they are essentially
1 extinct now. A bulletin board normally was
composed of a local group of computer users who were interested in a certain topic. Since
8
people were accessing the bulletin board through
the phone line, the expense of a long distance phone call resulted in most bulletin boards
7 being used locally. Indeed, it was common
back then for members of a bulletin board group to meet in person. Throughout the 1980s,
1
right wing terrorist groups and activists were heavy users of such bulletin boards. Registered
users could post comments, files, and software
B to the bulletin board system (BBS) so that
others could access them. The advent of Internet browser software led to the ultimate
U
near-demise of the BBS.
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
2/2/08
The Evolution of Revolution
12:58 AM
Page 577
577
Newsgroups were similar to bulletin boards but they provided greater access to a wide
range of people beyond the local area. Newsgroups were eventually divided into different topical hierarchies in 1986 to provide order to the rapidly expanding system (“comp.*” for computers discussions, “sci.*” for discussions about sciences, etc.). The “alt.*” hierarchy was created as a catchall category for topics that did not fit the other seven hierarchies. Over time, the
“alt.*” designation became synonymousG
with “alternative” groups including Satanists, wiccans, and illicit drug enthusiasts. Included in this category were several politically defiant
O
groups such as alt.activism.militia, alt.society.anarchy. Eventually, many antigovernment
groups were using the newsgroup technology
R to communicate with each other. In time, a
myth suggested that alt.* stood for “Anarchists, Lunatics and Terrorists” (Salus 1995). These
D
public forums consist of individuals posting comments or questions and allowing others to
O
post responses in a series of “threads.” Newsgroups
are monitored by an administrator who
can drop “inappropriate” posts to the group
or
delete
posts when interest in the topic as
N
waned. The problem with using newsgroups, however, was that they were relatively easy for
the government and others to monitor. ,
Listservs, first developed in 1984, are relatively more private than bulletin boards and
newsgroups, but controlling who is part of the list can be difficult. Listservs use the e-mail
J people with a shared interest. In most cases, a
system as a means of communication among
moderator operates the listserv by creating
Ea list of e-mail addresses of people who wish to be
part of the “list.” Interested members subscribe to the list and receive e-mail messages from
every subscriber who submit an e-mail toS
the listserv. Upon receipt of the e-mail, the recipient
can either reply to the rest of the listserv S
or to the individual.
These “asynchronous” communication processes are now being replaced by real-time
I Internet Relay Chat and MUDs—Multi-User
applications called “chat rooms” (e.g.,
Dungeons). These programs allow groups
Cof individuals to instantly communicate with each
other via their computers. In recent years, simple text-based messages have been suppleA
mented with video and voice protocols that allow users to see and hear each other, eliminating
the need to type messages.
These early computer links were important for planning and the transmission informaL
tion between terrorist group members who were physically separated. But this medium was
E people who were active computer users and
accessible to only a limited audience (mostly
interested in the topic). The advent of theI browser and “worldwide” access to these new Web
pages changed the importance of the Internet for terrorist groups. For the first time, activists
Gwho were potential members, supporters, and conhad access to people from all walks of life
tributors to their cause. Unfortunately H
for the protest groups, potential enemies also had
access to the information that they made public. How protest groups and their opponents use
the Internet is discussed in the following sections. But before detailing the activities of protesters on the Internet, it is necessary to provide
some background regarding how the Internet
1
works to make communication via the computer more accessible to a larger group of people.
8 like Netscape and Internet Explorer, access to the
Before the advent of Web browsers
Internet was available only to people who7were technologically advanced. Knowledge of several programs was required to perform simple tasks like sharing files and sending an e-mail
1
message. The creation of Web browsers solved most of these problems because of introduction of hypertext markup language (html).
BEven so, Web developers were required to learn a
relatively complex software program and language to be able to create a Web page. Advances
U
in technology over time eliminated that hurdle and now, anyone with access to the Internet
M29_SCHM8860_01_SE_C29.QXD
578
2/2/08
12:58 AM
Chapter 29
Page 578
The Dark Side of the Web: Terrorists’ Use of the Internet
can create a Web page or site. Indeed, the availability of networking sites like Facebook,
Xanga, and MySpace has made even the requirement for a Web page almost obsolete. If you
want to let people know about your cause, you simply register at one of these networking sites
and create a “group.” Like-minded people from around the world can join your “group” and
everyone can post information that is accessible to the world (or just to your “friends”). A
recent search from my Facebook page, for example,
revealed seven “groups” that express supG
port for the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). These networking programs are incredibly easy
O
to learn such that 12-year-old children are more than proficient in their use (www.comScore.
com, retrieved June 12, 2007).
R
This system was mad …
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
Order a plagiarism free paper now. We do not use AI. Use the code SAVE15 to get a 15% Discount
Looking for help with your ASSIGNMENT? Our paper writing service can help you achieve higher grades and meet your deadlines.
Why order from us
We offer plagiarism-free content
We don’t use AI
Confidentiality is guaranteed
We guarantee A+ quality
We offer unlimited revisions