Terrorism and cyber terrorism become one of the main global threats to the humanity of XXI century. Nowadays cyber terrorism is the inherent part of the modern terrorism. So we can not discuss the question of terrorism without taking into account the cyber terrorism. Both terrorism and cyber terrorism carry a threat to various states, organizations, groups of people and etc., but when the terrorism uses as a battle-field all accessible variants, cyber terrorism is only in the network.
There is no doubt that cyber terrorism and terrorism have similarities but it also has a lot of differences. The term “cyber terrorism” was coined in the 1980-s by Barry Collin, whether “terrorism” has much longer history. First of all, we should analyze the definitions of these two terms. Terrorism is the intentional use of, or threat to use violence against civilian targets, in order to attain political aims (Janczewski & Colarik, 2008).
When the main target of terrorism is the audience and its reaction to terrorist actions, cyber terrorism has another target. It always hits the aims that have high publicity value, such as municipal administrations, power plants, hydroelectric power stations, hospitals and etc.
“Cyberterrorism refers to premeditated, politically motivated attacks by sub–national groups or clandestine agents against information, computer systems, programs, and data that result in violence against not–combatant targets” (Conway, 2002).
There is a discussion among scholars considering the uses of internet and cyber-attacks by different terrorist organizations. While one group of scholars states that cyber-attacks usually take place before the physical attack, as it was for example during India-Pakistan conflict. The others state that terrorist organizations use the Internet in most cases only for spreading the information, creating websites, for recruitment, collecting funds, spreading propaganda, formulate plans and communicate securely, but not for making cyber-attacks. As they state, there is a little evidence that shows us move of terrorist in the direction of cyber-attacks.
But there is no doubt that this trend will change with the flow of time. As contrasted with the traditional terrorism, cyber terrorism has a perfect arena for its activity. The Internet, by all means, offers a huge amount of possibilities and various scenarios for doing cyber-attacks. For example, it provides easy access, little or no regulation, huge audiences, anonymity, multimedia environment, fast flow of information and row of other benefits (Weimann, 2004).
In testimony of such tendency, one can state that almost all terrorist organizations have its own web-site or even few of such sites. The content of these sites is various. It includes the history of the organization, biographies of its leaders, aim of activity. It is interesting that terrorist organizations, in exception of Hezbollah and Hamas, do not publish the information about killings or do not publish video reports with such information. Since recently only one terrorist organization permanently upload in the network video full of violence and murders. It is the Islamic State. But there is no need to talk about this terrorist organization because it is the exception rather than a rule.
The other thing is the amount of people who take part in attacks. In the case of traditional terrorist attacks, it takes a lot of participants. The only one man does not manage to turn into reality a plan that includes, for example, detonation in different places simultaneously. Of course, technologies of XXI century give an opportunity to do it, but terrorist seek not destruction, but an effect on people. As an example, we can take 9/11. It is clear that attack of such measure could not make a one person. Cyberterrorism does not need numbers of people. It can be even one man. While sitting in front of the computer he could cause much more damage than hundred terrorists taken together. It is worth mentioning that in the case of state terrorism, cyber terrorism is more applicable because it takes fewer resources than traditional forms of terrorist activities.
The damage that causes terrorist attacks and cyber terrorist attacks can be equal. Here we can find a similarity between these two kinds of terrorist activities. Despite the fact that cyber terrorism needs fewer resources, it can cause damage equal to traditional terrorist attack. Also, both kinds of terrorism are motivated by political or social change and targets for these kinds of terrorist activities, directly or indirectly, are the innocent victims.
Despite the many positives that Internet brings to terrorist, it also has its negatives. For example, terrorist reliance on Web sites and discussion forums allows outsiders to monitor their methods and track trends. It creates the opportunity for outsiders to pose as insiders in order to provide misinformation or simply to create doubt among the terrorists about whom to trust (Lachow, 2016).
It is common for terrorist organizations to take part in organized crime with aim of financing itself. For example, in Peru the famous organization Cendero luminoso protected plantations of coca, illegal laboratories that engaged in drug processing, airdromes, and others objects of drug mafia has got a 10% tax from cartels revenues. Such activity gave the opportunity to Cendero luminoso financed campaign to overthrow the governance. It is worth mentioning that cyber-terrorists were not engaged in such activities.
So we can state that cyber-terrorism will gradually replace the traditional terrorist activities and traditional terrorism. But in the near future the terrorism as we know it will exist. There are series of causes. The first one is the availability of the weapons. More than 100 years a number of states create nuclear and bacterial weapons, which widespread by degrees. It is no secret that terrorist organizations in the near future could get it. The bright example of this is the using the poison gas by a terrorist in the Tokyo tube.
At the beginning of the XX century, terrorism was an affair of the group. There will be no numerous terrorist organizations in the future. There will be only individuals or small groups of like-minded people. It will be too difficult to find them. Police forces will be waiting for the moment when these individual make a mistake or just will be disclosed accidentally. It is worth mentioning that these particular individuals will use the way of cyber terrorism.
Trends of modern international terrorism are attempts of criminals to get access to the electronic warfare (EW), nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Different military facilities of EW are in service of every country that produces its own weapons. The main principle of such installations is a high radiation pulse that neutralizes military surveillance, communication management and more. However, these products are suitable for the destruction of civilian objects, direct broadcast satellite, radar devices for remote sensing, publishing complexes, banks, stock exchanges and other management systems. While getting an access to such weapons through Internet cyber-terrorists will get unlimited influence on the state.
CIA analysts believe that the priority target of terrorism of a new generation is business information centers, especially computerized banking institutions. The development of the market of plastic credit cards has narrowed the scope of traditional notes. Terrorist attacks by means of electronic warfare to a large bank can cause a systemic crisis of the entire financial system of the developed countries because it destroys public confidence in the money market advanced technologies.
The immediate consequence of this attack will be the bankruptcy of small and medium-sized companies that depend on the speed of rotation of funds, and the next stage - the bankruptcy of insurance companies. The main result of such action will be avoiding the use of credit cards, high demand for cash, and a sharp change in world prices for precious metals.
Sophisticated campaign of disinformation that accompanied such attacks is capable of producing systemic crisis of the entire civilized world, undermining the basic ideological values, tenets that define the direction of the person and of society in the West and in the pro-Western oriented social strata in the countries of the "third world", and the former socialist states.
According to experts of the Antiterrorist Center of the FSB of the Russian Federation, the worst thing is that terrorists of a new generation can become any existing ethnic, religious or socio-political terrorist group. The even more threatening phenomenon is nuclear terrorism, based on a system of illegal export of radioactive materials. The obvious fact is that the customers of the nuclear materials are terrorist organizations that consider access to radioactive materials as a method of blackmail of governments.
In conclusion, we should say that the character of terrorism in future will change. The cyber terrorism, that spreading now, will become more and more popular among the terrorist organizations. With the development of the internet technologies and development of a secure system of countries, there will appear new approaches to terrorist activities. But there is no doubt, terrorism, as we can see it today, will also develop and change.
It is interesting that developed countries that seem to be very well protected, will be the most assailable. In the same time, the countries of the “third world” or the countries that developing will be protected much better. It is the most exciting paradox. And it should be noted that the future terrorism will be based on the modern technologies.
The world society and international organization should pay more attention to this damage because only with forces of all states the terrorism can be defeated. There should be different rules and regulations considering the cyberspace. It is the problem of the whole world, so all countries should pay attention to that.
References
Conway, M. (2002). Reality bytes: Cyberterrorism and terrorist “Use” of the Internet. First Monday, 7(11). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/article/view/1001/922
Janczewski, L. & Colarik, A. (2008). Cyber warfare and cyber terrorism (p. 16). Hershey: Information Science Reference.
Lachow, I. (2016). Cyber Terrorism: Menace or Myth? (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://ctnsp.dodlive.mil/files/2014/03/Cyberpower-I-Chap-19.pdf
Weimann, G. (2004). Modern Terrorism and the Internet - United States Institute of Peace (1st ed., p. 3). Washington. Retrieved from https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/sr116.pdf
