Tuesday, April 11, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version
Terrorists running wild on Internet
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: There has been a dramatic explosion in the number of Web sites operated by terrorist organisations, jumping from just 12 in 1998 to more than 4,800 today, according to a new book.
Gabriel Weimann, author of ‘Terror on the Internet: the new arena, the new challenges,’ published by the United States Institute of Peace, has based his study on eight years of work, which recounts how terrorists use the Internet to carry out their plans on a daily basis. He also addresses the threats posed to civil liberties by government efforts to constrain cyber-terror.
“Post-modern terrorism is less centralised, less structured, less organised, and far more dangerous than the terrorism of the late twentieth century,” according to Weimann. The modern, technology-savvy terrorist has emerged, he adds. The Internet has expanded the terrorists’ theatre of operation, allowing them full control over their communications through the use of the developed world’s cyberspace infrastructure.
Weimann asserts that while much attention has paid to the threat of cyber-terrorism, far too little attention has been paid to the dangers posed by the terrorists’ daily use of the Internet to organise and coordinate their dispersed activities. The terrorist presence on the web is dynamic, he maintains. Sites appear one day, quickly change formats, and then disappear or re-emerge with altered online addresses. Efforts to prevent al Qaeda from using the Internet have proved useless. If one Web site is hacked or removed from the Net, many others surface with new service providers and new URLs.
Among the organisations he lists is the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Their Web sites target not only current and potential supporters but also the media and public in the societies they terrorise, he writes. The terrorists typically make no mention of their own violent activities and instead highlight what they claim is the righteousness of their cause and the ill treatment of their supporters. He states that terrorism functions by delivering threats intended to create fear and helplessness among its target audiences. “Whether it is the public arenas of France’s Reign of Terror or the global coverage of the 9/11 attacks, terrorists have been dependent on whatever means were available to let their actions and threats be known. With the advent of the Internet, means of communication become internalised and are controlled by the terrorists themselves,” says Weimann.
The author reveals how terrorists use the Internet on a daily basis for data mining, networking, recruitment and mobilisation, instructions and online manuals, planning and coordination, fund-raising, and attacking rival terrorist groups. Weimann suggests that the US must be careful not to sacrifice its own civil liberties in the name of preventing terrorism at all costs. Instead, it must find a “golden path,” or middle ground. With future terrorists bound to be even more computer-savvy, terrorism on the Internet is sure to become more sophisticated and dangerous, he predicts. He is of the view that this challenge must be met without overstating the present level of threat. Furthermore, in this new arena, it’s not just the terrorists who can make use of the Internet – so, too, can peacemakers. Weimann concludes with a call for increasing use of the web for activities such as virtual diplomacy and the non-violent management of political conflict.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-4-2006_pg7_13
Terrorists running wild on Internet
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: There has been a dramatic explosion in the number of Web sites operated by terrorist organisations, jumping from just 12 in 1998 to more than 4,800 today, according to a new book.
Gabriel Weimann, author of ‘Terror on the Internet: the new arena, the new challenges,’ published by the United States Institute of Peace, has based his study on eight years of work, which recounts how terrorists use the Internet to carry out their plans on a daily basis. He also addresses the threats posed to civil liberties by government efforts to constrain cyber-terror.
“Post-modern terrorism is less centralised, less structured, less organised, and far more dangerous than the terrorism of the late twentieth century,” according to Weimann. The modern, technology-savvy terrorist has emerged, he adds. The Internet has expanded the terrorists’ theatre of operation, allowing them full control over their communications through the use of the developed world’s cyberspace infrastructure.
Weimann asserts that while much attention has paid to the threat of cyber-terrorism, far too little attention has been paid to the dangers posed by the terrorists’ daily use of the Internet to organise and coordinate their dispersed activities. The terrorist presence on the web is dynamic, he maintains. Sites appear one day, quickly change formats, and then disappear or re-emerge with altered online addresses. Efforts to prevent al Qaeda from using the Internet have proved useless. If one Web site is hacked or removed from the Net, many others surface with new service providers and new URLs.
Among the organisations he lists is the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Their Web sites target not only current and potential supporters but also the media and public in the societies they terrorise, he writes. The terrorists typically make no mention of their own violent activities and instead highlight what they claim is the righteousness of their cause and the ill treatment of their supporters. He states that terrorism functions by delivering threats intended to create fear and helplessness among its target audiences. “Whether it is the public arenas of France’s Reign of Terror or the global coverage of the 9/11 attacks, terrorists have been dependent on whatever means were available to let their actions and threats be known. With the advent of the Internet, means of communication become internalised and are controlled by the terrorists themselves,” says Weimann.
The author reveals how terrorists use the Internet on a daily basis for data mining, networking, recruitment and mobilisation, instructions and online manuals, planning and coordination, fund-raising, and attacking rival terrorist groups. Weimann suggests that the US must be careful not to sacrifice its own civil liberties in the name of preventing terrorism at all costs. Instead, it must find a “golden path,” or middle ground. With future terrorists bound to be even more computer-savvy, terrorism on the Internet is sure to become more sophisticated and dangerous, he predicts. He is of the view that this challenge must be met without overstating the present level of threat. Furthermore, in this new arena, it’s not just the terrorists who can make use of the Internet – so, too, can peacemakers. Weimann concludes with a call for increasing use of the web for activities such as virtual diplomacy and the non-violent management of political conflict.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-4-2006_pg7_13
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