Good Research Paper About Cyberterrorism

Introduction

The advent of the internet promised rapid interconnection of the world. In essence, it made the world a global village. This resulted in easier and faster delivery of services and products when compared to the time before internet technology was adopted. The result is a massive global dependency on the internet that is still growing, as new individuals all over the world continue to gain access to the internet. However, the ongoing use of the internet has resulted in the occurrence of persons that refer to themselves as cyberterrorists. These are individuals that abuse the internet by using it to achieve their often sinister goals. The research paper presents an overview of the current state of cyberterrorism and the trend in cyberterrorism including the evolving controversies.

Cyberterrorism as a Problem in the Contemporary Society

While this term still revs up plenty of debate regarding its definition, cyberterrorism can be termed as the use of the internet in orchestrating and perpetrating terrorist acts. These acts often include the use of computer viruses and other hacking tools to effect a large-scale disruption of the internet as well as other computer networks in order to achieve advance an ideological, religious, economic or philosophical stance while instilling fear and terror (Conway, 2011). Such acts result in mass disruptions and at times destruction of infrastructure. Cyberterrorism is a real and serious problem because, in itself, it harbors the capability of hindering free speech and privacy of individuals while also inflicting economic loss on innocent unsuspecting individuals.
Through cyberterrorism, the perpetrators may gain access to vital information such as digital evidence. In such a case, the evidence may be used against the victims through blackmail. In other instances, cyberterrorism is used to gain economic advantage, and in such cases it is referred to as cybercrime. These activities have a devastating effect on the internet and use of technology as a whole. This is because the feeling of insecurity that such acts instill on clients or consumers of a particular service or product oftentimes hinders the said individuals from regaining their trust not only on the provider, but on the internet too.
The internet continues to expand with each passing day, and this translates into more online traffic. This exponential growth is primarily fuelled by the increase in the number of individuals with access to the internet globally. In addition to this, it is also significantly supported by the formulation of supportive policies that seek to advance the internet as a vital communication and business too in this century (Wiemann, 2004). Cyberterrorists have taken advantage of this opportunity to further the reaches of their tentacles. Cyberterrorism has consistently been on the rise over the years and the recent hacking of Sony only serves as a stark reminder of the hard, cold truth-cyberterrorism is not about to go anywhere soon. Cyberterrorists have increased in number so much so that today they often operate in groups. Mostly comprised of young, intelligent individuals with an in-depth knowledge in IT, these groups strike fear in individuals and organizations alike. Even Barack Obama, the President of the USA, admits that cyberterrorism is one of the real threats that the US faces today (Harress, 2014).
There are quite a number of controversial issues that stalk cyberterrorism. Many of these are grounded in ideological or ethical principles that almost always result in heated debates. First, the matter of ethics has been highly called into question. In order to defend against cyberterrorism attacks, many governments, that of the USA included, have often resulted in very stringent laws and policies that govern the use of the internet (Conway, 2011). While some of these laws are helpful to the situation, some can be considered plainly draconian. For instance, the employment of mass surveillance by governments on the pretext of preventing cyberterrorism leaves plenty to be desired insofar as the motive of the government is concerned.
Many argue that such avenues provide opportunities for those in power to not only spy on, but also infringe on the right to privacy that an individual is entitled to by the constitution (Lewis, 2002). This is, in essence, a gross violation of the constitution. The question that remains at the heart of the debate is whether an individual values his or her security from cyberterrorism more that he or she values her privacy. It has also been a matter of concern that such surveillance could easily result in the establishment of dictatorships where democracies exist. This situation would be similar to that of the Gestapo in Germany, where the government holds ultimate power over an individual based on information they gathered while spying on them (Wilson, 2003).
There are a number of approaches that have been adopted in order to deal with the issue of cyberterrorism. One of the most effective ways employed has been the gathering of ground intelligence in the operation of cyberterrorist groups and individuals. The reason that this approach has been very effective is that the anonymity provided by the internet is a safety net that all cyberterrorists depend on to survive (Lewis, 2002). Seeing that it proves extremely difficult to identify, trace and capture the perpetrators based on evidence and information obtained from the internet, avoiding the virtual space remains the best option. In this way, concrete intelligence can be gathered on the ground regarding these groups and individuals and action taken against them. Many governments have also set up internet watchdogs, that serve to ensure the internet remains a secure and crime free zone (Colarik, 2006). Many of these ‘watchdog’ organizations work to identify loopholes and potential targets on the cyberspace and to protect them as a preventive measure. The fundamental challenge to these concerted efforts remains the fact that cyberterrorism is still on the rise and cyberterrorists continue to grow in number, in spite of such oversight. If such approaches remain the way to go, then the only direction cyberterrorism seems to be going is up.
In order to combat a crime that is not considered normal, one has to employ tactics that are at best unorthodox. Because of this, I believe that the most efficient way to combat cyberterrorism would be first to understand its causes. Seeing that this form of terror is mostly associated with political, economic (business), ideological or religious views, developing avenues to nip these problems in the bud would significantly help to solve them before they get out of hand (Wilson, 2003). A good example would be the establishment of dialog forums aimed at addressing, say, tolerance of differing religious and ideological views. Provided all factions can co-exist and tolerate each other's vies, and then there would be no need for them to resort to cyberterrorism. In addition to this, setting up a global internet use framework policy would greatly help to overcome the problem of hackings and other cyber terror attacks. This is because there are some countries that have ‘weak' laws and policies on internet use that work in favor of cyberterrorists. Having a universal framework would greatly help to overcome the problem of cyberterrorism, which is, in reality, a global problem.

Proposed Action in combating Cyberterrorism

Cyberterrorism defines the application of cyber-attacks to facilitate terrorist activities, particularly those that incorporate computer networks, widespread disruption, and deliberate destruction of data in personal computers that are attached to a network. There are several cyber-attacks that have been noted in the recent years. For instance, there was a cyber-attack conducted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil, where there were bombings resulting in significant destruction. Moreover, there was a siege by hackers where there was a siege of the government financial sectors of the nation utilizing complex forms of technology. These cyberattacks have been shown to cause considerable destruction of property and disruption of service provision. Therefore, these cyberattacks have been linked with terrorist activities.
It is possible to present an argument that cyberterrorism has been exaggerated; moreover, there lacks even one incident of cyberterrorism that has been proven. However, different measures have been taken to combat cyberattacks. For example, the United States defense computer networks have been enhanced through the inclusion of an air gap that secures the systems from interference from the different vulnerabilities on the internet (Schneier, 2015). However, network systems that are operated by private organizations have an increased vulnerability. Currently, the cyber-attacks are motivated by malicious intent devoid of any political goals leading to minimal and localized harm to organizations and individuals.
Personally, I believe that he national security policies should be optimized to incorporate cyberterrorism. In addition, I believe that cyberterrorism can be applied as a tool to influence international policies. Hence, I observed that there are different technological advancements including the internet that have been proven to influence the evolution of political advocacy and discourse. Governments, mainly in countries that have been noted to have an increased vulnerability to terrorism are noted to regulate the internet usage in the nation to minimize the possibility of the occurrence of cyberterrorist activities. There should be thorough optimization of the emerging technologies to resist intrusion by hackers through the inclusion of active security systems.

Conclusion

Cyberterrorism presents a potential and dangerous weapon for terrorists in the future. Hence, terrorists may implement cyber terror as their principal weapon in the short term. Therefore, governments are presented with a challenge of identifying and controlling cyberterrorist threats. There are emerging concerns over the application of the internet in daily human lives. In addition, there is a progressive expansion of the internet leading to the implementation of web applications and internet applications in the contemporary world. An increase in the complexity of computer networks and systems leads to an increase in the vulnerability of the cyberspace to cyber-terror. Thus, cyberterrorism presents a threat to both the economy and individuals both nationally and internationally.

References

Colarik, A. M. (2006). Cyber Terrorism: Political and economic implications. Igi Global.
Conway, M. (2011). Against cyberterrorism. Communications of the ACM, 54(2), 26-28.
Harress, C. (2014). Obama Says Cyberterrorism Is Country's Biggest Threat, U.S. Government Assembles "Cyber Warriors". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 March 2015, from http://www.ibtimes.com/obama-says-cyberterrorism-countrys-biggest-threat-us-government-assembles-cyber-warriors-1556337
Lewis, J. A. (2002). Assessing the risks of cyber terrorism, cyber war, and other cyber threats. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic & International Studies.
Schneier, B. (2015). Want to Evade NSA Spying? Don't Connect to the Internet | WIRED. WIRED. Retrieved 25 March 2015, from http://www.wired.com/2013/10/149481/
Wilson, C. (2003). Computer attack and cyber terrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy issues for Congress. Cyberterrorism and Computer Attacks, edited by Lawrence V. Brown, 1-58.