Is Cyberterrorism A Real Threat To America?
Article summary
The article talks about cyberterrorism which a new mode of terrorist attacks attributable to technology growth; the author writes to create public awareness on the truths about cyberterrorism and seeks to remove falsehoods that many American Citizens have about this terrorism. He states in the article that cyberterrorism is real, but, contrary to what the media has exaggerated it to be, cyberterrorism like any other form terrorism activity is effectively preventable and, therefore, the terror and havoc that the public may have against it is unwarranted, Gabriel (2004). The writer sends the message to the public that contrary to what the media purports, cyberterrorism may not cause havoc or alarm to the life of every citizen, and cyber terrorists have targets which are commonly government private agencies. This paper is a critique of Weimann’s article on cyberterrorism.
Critique
In my opinion, the writer utterly underscores the impact that cyberterrorism may have on its incidence. If terrorists combine cyber technology with their terrorist activities, I think the impacts of such attacks could be more detrimental than what the writer puts across in the article. Cyber terrorists have extremely high chances of executing their terrorism plans on every one, in public and the public the public in general. Take, for example, when the cyber terrorists pose as customers of an organization in e-commerce, they can easily obtain information about the organization which they can then use for planning attacks, the organization will freely grant the terrorists entry into their facilities because they are deceived to believe that the terrorists are customers from the online trade.
Access to the physical infrastructures of the organization gives the terrorist the opportunity to execute their terrorists’ activities; they may use such an opportunity to launch a bomb, for example. Contrary to what the writer says. Such an attack will be so devastating both to the public and the agencies that provide the door way for the terrorists to launch their attacks, therefore, the danger of cyberterrorism is more than what the writer postulates.
The Unite States government actions to counter cyberterrorism are, therefore, warranted, and I propose than more security measures need to be enforced to properly address the threat of cyberterrorism. The wary of the public that the writer rules out is not something that should be downplayed, also the media’s efforts to educate the public on what cyberterrorism is and what its dangers are is not something that the writer should take lightly. The public should be vigilant on these types of terrorist’s attacks. For example, the public should be vigilant on what friends they have in the social networks such as face book; this is one crucial avenue that cyber terrorists may use. The attackers may pose as friends to the social networks.
If the public are not vigilant they may give in to the claims of the terrorists to be only friends, they may then be deceived by the terrorists to plan meetings with them where they may kidnap and even kill them. The public, therefore, needs to be wary of cyberterrorism; because, contrary to what the writer says, they are also targets of cyber terrorists, I complete the support the efforts of the media in addressing cyberterrorism, the writer says that the media has overly exaggerated cyberterrorism but, I believe that the steps that the media has taken are worth taking because cyberterrorism is a real significant threat to the public, in addition to other agencies.
The writer of the article writes about whether or not it is essential for the public to be alarmed of the havoc that it that cyberterrorism may pose, this is something an average person should be critical about. The message that the writer passes is that there is possibility of such attacks happening but, this is no reason for wary. Is this what the case should be after Americans have the experiences from September eleven? I think this should not be the case; the citizens should always be vigilant on the dangers posed by cyber terrorists.
Wits attained through use of the cyber space makes the attacks that they may plan even more detrimental, the citizens should be fully aware of the danger and be vigilant. Public awareness will assist the government’s efforts to counter cyber terrorism. If the public is aware of the detriments and threats posed by the attacks, then the impacts of the attacks will not be much felt considering the implications which would be there if the citizens never remained vigilant about the attacks.
The writer goes a substantial distance in explaining what cyberterrorism is, any reader who goes through the article comes up with a better understanding of cyberterrorism, but, when the writer says that the media has exaggerated the whole issue of cyberterrorism, he goes wrong. It is giving a false hope to the citizens by telling them the media has been too pessimistic about the issue. And that the public should drop some of the fears that the media has instigated by magnifying cyberterrorism. The media has not actually magnified anything, in fact; it has effectively played its role in creating awareness of cyberterrorism to the public. The public needs to know the truth so as to be well prepared for cyber terrorists events.
The effort of the writer to address the issue of cyber terrorism is worth applauding because the article provides a lot of clarifications about cyberterrorism. But, he diverts from the real things when he turns to the media. He blames them of fears they have instigated to the public. He should not have gone ahead to blame the effort of the media, but, should instead relied on his valid evidence to support his argument but not by turning blame to the media in a quest to support his writing.
The writer provides substantial detail on cyberterrorism in the article; it addresses this new aspect in terrorism extensively. Readers can get a lot of insight after reading the article. The writer, however, goes wrong when he comes to addressing its dangers and what the public needs to do to counter its effects. I do not fully disagree with the writer’s attempts to write about cyberterrorism, however, I think he can make the article better by revisiting and revising some of the parts. Especially the parts he is talking about what impacts of cyberterrorism have on the public. What the public should know and how they can protect themselves from the dangers posed to them by cyberterrorism.
Reference
Gabriel, W. (2004). “Cyberterrorism: How real is the threat?” Special Report, United states institute of peace
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