There have been several stumbling blocks to creating a clear and consistent definition of the term cyberterrorism. The fbi is the lead federal agency for investigating cyber attacks by criminals, overseas adversaries, and terrorists. Most cyber terrorism cases share several common traits. Cyberterrorism definition of cyberterrorism by merriamwebster. Index terms cyber, terrorism, interpretation, international effort. After about 20 years of researching, the internet was open to private and public users alike during the late 1980s. Cyber extortion threat reimbursement for extortion expenses resulting directly from a credible threat to the insureds computer system.
Klein, deterring and dissuading cyberterrorism, journal of strategic security 8. Cyber security countermeasures to combat cyber terrorism. Circumstances such as these could provide another layer of insulation from attribution for risktolerant leaders. As a matter of fact, scholars who are expert in this field define cyber terrorism with different focus. Definition of cyber terrorism before we can discuss the possibilities of cyber terrorism, we must have some working definitions. The chapter thus examines whether terrorism, whose impact is generally tactical, could make or perhaps has already made the transition to a cyber weapon capability with strategic impact, that is, a weapon that could inflict widespread damage or damage over time, of the sort that brings states to their knees and causes critical systems to crash. Raise awareness of the impact of terrorism and counterterrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights. It was later decentralized because of the fear of the soviet union during the cold war. Many authors on this topic have pointed out the difficulties in forming a legal definition of terrorism, differentiating it from other types of crimes. Sep 10, 2014 cyber security, terrorism, and beyond. Labeling a computer attack as cyberterrorism is problematic because of5. Terrorism is the use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of the criminal laws of the united states for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom. Nov 01, 2011 federal agencies responsible for investigating terrorism, including cyber terror, must remain vigilant. This paper discusses the definition of cyberterrorism, its potential, and suggests an approach to.
Cyberterrorism is the convergence of terrorism and cyberspace. Federal bureau of investigation as a premeditated attack against a computer system, computer data, programs and other information with the sole aim of violence against clandestine agents and subnational groups. Paper masters custom writes all projects on any form of terrorism on the local, personal or international scale. Embassies and the september 11th, 2001 attacks on the world trade center, pentagon in washington d. Therefore, parallel to the process of establishing a narrower consensual definition of cyberterrorism, the framing of cyberterrorist actors follows a seemingly different logic, ignoring the fact that terrorism, in general, refers to actions, not actors. Usually, the victims of cyber terrorism attacks are specifically targeted by the attackers for predetermined reasons 8. Cyberterrorism dictionary definition cyberterrorism defined. Most contemporary definitions of cyber terrorism focus on the following three aspects. This book is devoted primarily to papers prepared by american and russian specialists on cyber terrorism and u. In this research the definition of cyber terrorism is divided into intent based and effect based. Cyber terrorism is a form of crime which occurs using electronic media, usually over the internet. In an effort to assist teachers in helping their students identify and understand terrorism, the united states institute of. Quantitatively understanding and forecasting the balance extended project report from the frederick s.
Bosworth began his lecture by explaining that, in the words of director james comey, cyber crime is not a thing, it is a vectora means through which others can harm our businesses, our governments and our personal lives. Another word for cyberspace is the virtual world i,e a place in which computer programs function and data moves. Cyber terrorism is a component of information warfare, but information warfare is not. No single definition of the term terrorism has yet gained universal acceptance. The only other elements to appear in more than 50% of definitions are. Cyber terrorism reimbursement for income loss, interruption, and special expenses directly as a result of an interruption or failure of the insureds computer system caused by an act of terrorism. Cyber terrorism, also known as electronic terrorism or information wars, can be defined as any act of internet terrorism which includes deliberate and largescale attacks and disruptions of computer. Try to convince citizens that their government is powerless to prevent terrorism.
Fbi cyber terrorism and critical infrastructure protection. Cyber terrorism is not a novelty for law enforcement worldwide, searching on the internet it is possible to find several cases. Any piece of work that seeks to discuss cyber terrorism must necessarily start with some definitions and descriptions to aid the reader to both differentiate and contextualize cyber terrorism from other areas of cyber security, such as cybercrime, malicious hacking, cyber fraud, and the numerous different types of system breaches, failures, and. In brief congressional research service 1 introduction cyberattack is a relatively recent term that can refer to a range of activities conducted through the use of information and communications technology ict. Exploiting the advantages that this new field of expression, operations and confrontation has to offer like relative anonymity and abundance of easy targets, cyber. As outlined in this report, i chose a specific terrorist organization, al qaeda, and analyzed the role that they played in cyberterrorism. For this reason, it is necessary to define these topics as separate entities. The working group on countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes of the counter terrorism implementation task force is aimed at coordinating the activities of the united nations system in support of the united nations global counter terrorism strategy, adopted by the general assembly in its resolution 60288, in which. This fact illustrated the latest trend in todays world terrorism, which is the heavy use of social media and cyber capabilities to assert their domination. The islamic state of iraq and syria isis is by far one of the most advanced terrorist organizations in terms of their social media capabilities. Cyberterrorism is the use of the internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, loss of. Likewise, no single definition for the term cyberterrorism has been universally accepted.
Jun 15, 2016 a 20yearold kosovar hacker pleaded guilty in u. Marco gercke and is a new edition of a report previously entitled understanding cybercrime. From the days of robespierre to the post 911 era, terrorism has been constantly transmuting in context, means and objectives and recently is making its first steps in cyberspace. The warning came from interpol and an international conference in london. So far, the international community has not decided on an exact definition of terrorism that can be applied universally. Holding this hearing demonstrates your individual commitment to improving the security of our nations critical infrastructures and this committees leadership on this issue in.
Federal bureau of investigation, cyberterrorism is any premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs. Cyberterrorist definition of cyberterrorist by the free. I had given my prior agreement to the home secretary. The terrorist attack on world trade center and pentagon has given a new dimension to terrorism. The above definition is similar to the conceptualisation of cyberterrorism put forward. Cyberterrorism is the use of the internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation.
Distribute to students the definitions of terrorism handout 2. The united states is open to attacks by cyber terrorists who could create more chaos than the worst y2k scenarios imagined. A second difficulty is that most banks would rather pay the money than have the public know how vulnerable they are. There is debate over the basic definition of the scope of cyberterrorism. Cyber benefits and risks pardee center for international. By wrapping conventional notions of cybersecurity into an idea of information security that is broader and more. Federal agencies responsible for investigating terrorism, including cyber terror, must remain vigilant. The cyberterrorism definition proposed here is broad enough to give researchers a wider lens to study the cyber capabilities of terrorists across the full spectrum of cyberspace. Countering the new terrorism is a compilation of articles from some of the best and brightest analysts at rand. Definitions of terrorism the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate fear. Likewise, no single definition of the term cyber terrorism has been universally accepted. Pdf this article looks at the definition of cyber terrorism and terrorist use of the internet. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me here today to testify on the topic, cyber terrorism and critical infrastructure protection.
Cyber terrorism law and legal definition uslegal, inc. Jul 01, 2014 what is cyber terrorism cyber terrorism is a phrase used to describe the use of internet based attacks in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, largescale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the internet, by the means of tools such as computer viruses. May 04, 2016 the potential threats posed by cyber terrorism are daunting, but are they really within the reach of cyber terrorists. Provide a practical tool for practitioners dealing with terrorism. At best, we have a most universally accepted definition of terrorism, which is the following. Lieutenant colonel jonalan brickey is an information systems officer and the army cyber command fellow at the combating terrorism center, west point. Pardee center for international futures josef korbel school of international studies university of denver.
Raise awareness of the impact of terrorism and counter terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights. The manner, in which the terrorist attack was launched, had shaken the entire world in general and united states of america in particular. Conventional kinetic terrorism had the greatest effect upon all measures of negative affect and anxiety followed by lethal and nonlethal cyberterrorism. Most universally accepted definition there is no universally agreedon definition of terrorism. But, beyond that, local law enforcement officers must encourage citizens to. But, beyond that, local law enforcement officers must encourage citizens to be alert and to report suspicious behavior. Many pentagon officials reportedly believe that future adversaries may resort to strategies intended to offset u. In categorizing the attacks on sony as an act of cyber vandalism, which typically includes defacing websites and is usually the realm of politically motivated actors known as hacktivists, president obama raised questions of what type of response could be considered proportional, and against whom. Yet terrorism, its definition, causes, and methods of dealing with it, has rarely been dealt with in high school courses. Such a group, known as the chaos computer club, was discovered in 1997. Cyber terrorism research papers discuss the various techniques of cyber terrorism including the use of computer viruses, disruption of networks and hacking attempts.
An international study on the risk of cyber terrorism. Cyber terrorism cyber terrorism background the early 1970s was when the first modern day internet was created and was centralized. Cyberterrorism, terrorism, internet, information, definition. It is also sometimes considered an act of internet terrorism where terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, largescale disruption of computer networks, especially of.
Cyber terrorists often commit acts of terrorism simply for personal gain. Unfortunately there is no generally agreed international definition of terrorism, see for instance saul 2005. In order to provide a more precise definition of cyber terrorism based on all elements identified before, we first need to look at the definition of terrorism which shall encompass the cyber terrorism definition. The definition of cyberterrorism used in this paper is combines the united states department of states definition of terrorism as politically motivated acts of violence against noncombatants with a definition of cyberspace as the computers, networks. The author wishes to thank the infrastructure enabling. You may ask them, for homework, to discuss their group definition and those found on the terrorism definition handout. Cyber crime is an umbrella term used to describe two distinct, but closely related criminal activities. The impact of the dark web on internet governance and cyber security michael chertoff and tobby simon 1 executive summary with the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers contract with the united states department of commerce due to expire in 2015, the international debate on internet governance has been reignited. This report marks the extension of pool res coverage to include cyber terrorism. It is generally understood to mean unlawful attacks and threats of attack against computers, networks, and the information stored therein when done to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives. Cyber terrorism means premediated, politically motivated attacks by sub national groups or clandestine agents or individuals against information and computer systems, computer programs, and data that results in violence against noncombatant targets.
Compared to the control group, every form of terrorism, whether cyber or kinetic, lethal or nonlethal, increased anxiety and other negative emotions. It can involve spying, theft, or creating a public nuisance. The proliferation of the internet of things, big data and quantum computing has created new and diverse security challenges. To understand cyber terrorism it is important to look at its background, to see how the terrorist. Notwithstanding the absence of a globally agreed, legal definition of terrorism, an effective and preventionfocused international response to terrorism is highly desirable, particularly one guided by a normative legal framework and embedded in the core principles of the rule of law, due process and respect for human rights. Cyberterrorism definition is terrorist activities intended to damage or disrupt vital computer systems.
What is cyber terrorism cyber terrorism is a phrase used to describe the use of internet based attacks in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, largescale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the internet, by the means of tools such as computer viruses. Hughes, david bohl, mohammod irfan, eli margolesemalin, and. Dec 23, 2019 within the implicit definition of cyber terrorism, there exist a wide range of differences that separate the methodology latent within terrorism existing on a virtual level from various means of criminal activity enacted on a private or smaller level. The main beneficiaries of such research works, are not only the law enforcement units, as in the era of internetconnectivity, many business would also benefit from cyber attacks and crimes being. The article evaluates cyber terrorist threats facing. For example, the federal bureau of investigation fbi definition pollitt, 2003 describes cyber terrorism as. Bruce hoffman, one of the foremost authorities on terrorism, describes his views on terrorism trends and prospects, while the authors of netwar, arquilla, ronfeldt, and zanini discuss networks, netwar, and informationage terrorism. Cted counter terrorism committee executive directorate. It is important to have a clear definition of what a cyber terrorism attack looks like in order to avoid misunderstandings which could lead to confusions later on. While some definitions are precise, others lack important aspects of terrorism e. Addressing evolving threats to the homeland statement for the record good morning, chairman carper and ranking member coburn. Mar 09, 2016 cyber terrorism is not a novelty for law enforcement worldwide, searching on the internet it is possible to find several cases.
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