The Cyber Terrorism and Its Effects
The internet and advancements in computer technology have brought many changes in the world. It is through these technologies that the world gets connected. It is also through the internet that communication has been expanded and knowledge transferred into various parts of the world. However, there are also the disadvantages that are associated with internet use. For example, it is through the internet that there are rapid transfers of computer viruses and worse still the emergence of cyber terrorism.
In the world today, cyber crime is among the criminal activities that are achieving fast growth. Computers have become part of our day to day lives and this has followed the misuse of this kind of technology and its advancements in carrying out criminal activities. Cyber crime is the use of a computer network to carry out a criminal activity. One of the cyber crimes being carried out is the cyber terrorism. This is carrying out terrorists attacks that are based on the internet and they close down infrastructures that are critical to the nation for example the operations of the nation, transportation and energy. It implies that cyber terrorism intimidates or coerces persons or the government and may result in harm to either persons or property.
Cyberspace is under constant assault. According to Eid (2010) people are increasing breaking into computer systems, thieving personal data as well as secrets of trades, websites have been vandalized and services disrupted. Further data systems have been sabotaged, computer viruses launched, and transactions that are fraudulent carried out. The results of all these are harassment of individuals as well as organizations.
As the infrastructure of the nation gains more reliance on information technologies, so does it become prone to attacks which can be either domestic or foreign. These attacks are a threat to the economy of the nation, computer networks as well as the systems of communication. In 2010, the FBI director warned that cyber terrorism was expanding rapidly (Nakashima, 2010). Groups of terror make use of the internet to make terrorism incitements and also to recruit people into their groups. From the internet, people can also learn how to build bioweapons and bombs, courtesy of the groups of terror.
Cyber terrorism is carried out by use of cyber crime tools for example botnets and malicious codes. These tools can operate in a way that the group that is carrying out the terror attack does not get identified whereas they carry out cyber attacks; something that is done via the internet. There are speculations that incidents that have been observed in the past on conventional terrorism have some links with cyber crime.
Cyber terrorism can be linked with drug trafficking. The drug traffickers usually hire specialists in computer systems that help them to evade enforcements set by the law. In 2003, a report by the DEA (drug enforcement agency) revealed that fourteen out of the thirty six foreign organizations of terror listed in the United States were also in trafficking of drugs. Several cyber terrorism attacks have been reported within the United States. For instance, in 1996, there was the hacking of the ISP (Massachusetts Internet Service Provider) by a computer hacker of the movement of white supremacist. This led to the destruction of a considerable amount if the system for keeping records. This was done after the ISP did not allow the hacker to carry out dissemination of racist messages through them.
There are various activities that cyber terrorism can be used to carry out. For instance, planning of terrorist activities can be done through this way. This is because it will be a faster and at the same time an efficient means of communication. The people that carry out the acts can do it without being recognized since they will hack the systems of the target areas and use the information that they get to stage their actions. Communication among terror groups can also be done in these hacked sites. This then helps them to make soft their target preceding the physical attacks.
Cyber terrorism has adverse effects. It leads to a high degree of financial damage. This is because it brings down the sites (Singleton & Singleton, 2004). These are sites through which organizations make a lot of money. Therefore, with each second that passes without the sites being operational, a lot of revenue is being lost.
It is evident that cyber terrorism cripples the economy of the nation. By so doing, the nation may be weakened and this may further imply that it becomes vulnerable and susceptible to military attacks as well. Further, cyber terrorism causes effects that are devastating since the operations of critical infrastructures in the nation rely on computer networks. This implies that the functions are disrupted and can even result to them being shut down. At such times, the nation is loosing out on its economy. A critical example is the system of electric power. If the systems that control the electric power were disrupted or in extreme cases closed, power is knocked out for very many people. There are several critical institutions that depend on power. This then poses the potentialities of death. For example, people on life support machines in hospitals.
Water is essential to human beings. The system of water supply is also another cyber terrorism target. By hacking such systems, many people would be left without water and can also result in life losses for example where the targets are a dam’s flood gates. Most of the operations today are becoming computerized even in health care centers. Cyber terrorism then could affect the operations in these centers and the effectiveness of health care delivery. The medical as well as insurance records storage is done in computer systems. This then implies that cyber terrorism can cause alterations or even destruction of individual records.
The health care industry is faced with serious challenges when it comes to cyber terrorism. Alterations can be done on prescriptions that are computer based and the hacker may change them to doses that are life threatening. There are medical records that are kept confidentially and following the attacks, they may be made public.
Another effect that is brought about by cyber terrorism is that it may affect the safety of the public. This can be by altering the emergency alert systems thereby implying that once faced by an emergency, people will not be able to alert the emergency response units. This is as was observed in 1992 when a person who had previously worked for the network for emergency alert in the Chevron Corporation hacked the system and caused disconfigurations of the emergency alert system in the firm (Clem, Galwankar & Buck, 2003). This was a threat to the public since even after a chemical release accidentally occurred in the firm, the community around could not be alerted.
Cyber terrorism is also associated with contamination of the environment. This then has the potential of having health effects on the people in the community. What was observed in Australia in 2000 can happen in any other country. In Australia, the computer system in the council of Maroochy Shire was invaded and there was raw sewage overflow to the sunshine coast by use of radio transmissions. The result of this was extensive contamination and this is a great risk to the public health.
There have been various efforts to curb cyber terrorism both in the past and today. For instance, in the past, there was the “blue cascades” exercise. This endeavored to make the infrastructure hard against potential terrorism attacks. This would be achieved by making an examination of how vulnerable the computerized systems for example the water and electrical systems were. The vulnerability of these systems would then be used in the development of alternative security systems. There was also the formation of a council for cyber security and the aim of this was to give advice on the direction that the efforts of cyber security would take.
Effort was also made for all organizations to remain informed and at the same time vigilant. This was seen as a means of safeguarding organizations from cyber terrorism and other attacks. Message was passed that high levels of dedication was required from the public as well as private organizations. According to Embar-seddon (2002) this dedication included the achievement of consistent internet that was updated as well. Further, it involved the use of applications that offered network security.
Today, cyber terrorism is being handled in various ways. For instance, there is the free cyber terrorism training. There is the CDI (cyber terrorism defense initiative), a program of training for the monitoring and protection of the critical infrastructures of the nation. The CDI offers free classes for people who are qualified and these include the technical managers and other technical personnel. The training classes are also held in locations that are centralized so as to ensure easy access by the trainees. The trainings that are carried out are on CFR (cyber terrorism first responder) and CCD (comprehensive cyber terrorism defense).
There is also the use of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems. These systems protect the infrastructure from cyber attacks. The FBI has cited that people should not wait for the government to fight cyber terrorism on its own. It is important that organizations and even individual persons take responsibility. This can be by reporting hackings that are carried out in their computer systems.
The same knowledge on hacking of computer systems can be used to gain an understanding of the ways in which computer systems can be protected. Therefore, measures are being taken to have the security for computer systems continuously updated. This is a war that is being fought between the security and hackers. It seems that just as increased measures are taken to protect computer systems, hackers are continuously taking counter measures. Furthermore, the same people who develop the computer security programs can also develop these counter programs.
In the United States, as a way of countering cyber terrorism, the police have established several centers. The purpose of these centers is to prevent troubles from spreading, to offer cases of crack downs when something occurs. These centers include the Cyber Terrorism Countermeasure Project Team which is formed at each of the Prefectural Police Headquarters, Cyber Terrorism Countermeasure Promotion Office and also the regional police bureau.
References
Clem, A., Galwankar, S. & Buck, G. health implications in cyber terrorism. Prehospital disaster med. Volume 18 (3), p. 272-275.
Eid, M. (2010). Cyber-Terrorism and Ethical Journalism: A Need for Rationalism. International Journal of Technoethics. Volume 1 (4), p. 19.
Embar-seddon, A. (2002). Cyber terrorism: Are We Under Siege? American Behavioral Scientist. Volume 45 (6), p. 1033-1043.
Nakashima, E. (2010). FBI director warns of ‘rapidly expanding’ cyber terrorism threat. Retrieved on May 19, 2011 from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/04/AR2010030405066.html.
Singleton, T & Singleton, A. (2004). Cyber terrorism: Are you at risk? Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance. Volume 15 (5), p. 3-12.
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
