Terrorists Take Advantage of Technology

Many view terrorists as being low-tech. Suicide bombers with simple explosives, whose most lethal weapon is their fearlessness.

In truth—unfortunately for the United States and Western allies—Islamic terrorists are proving themselves to be fiendishly computer-savvy.

Increasing evidence shows that al Qaeda and other such groups have studied computer hacking (cyberterrorism). These groups are recruiting young, well-educated and computer savvy foot soldiers. Mohammed Momin Khawaja, a 24-year-old computer programmer arrested in his Ottawa home in March 2004 for planning to bomb targets in Canada and London, represented a shift in radical teachings, which now implore young prospective fighters to study computers along with the Koran (Washington Post, August 7).

There are four ways that terrorists like Khawaja are using the Internet.

First, it is a medium for spreading propaganda. Anonymous and pervasive, the Internet allows terrorists to preach to followers and would-be followers, and to send anti-American messages worldwide, capturing maximum media attention. According to the University of Haifa in Israel, eight years ago there were 12 terrorism-related websites on the Internet; today, more than 4,500 exist. These websites are a means of recruitment, community building and fund raising among those with radical ideologies.

Second, terrorists depend on the Internet for training and tactical support. Relying on anonymity and flexibility to operate with near impunity in cyberspace, terrorists have built a massive and dynamic online library of training materials. Instructions for just about any terrorist technique—including, for example, directions detailing how to make a biological weapon from the pneumonic plague—can be found on al Qaeda websites. Terrorist training has become, in effect, distance learning.

Third, the Internet acts as a central nervous system for terrorist operations and communications. The Internet is used to research targets, set up safehouses and transfer money, making it so that in many cases terrorists no longer have to travel across borders to a target country. And even when travel is required, there is no need to carry anything incriminating; instead, everything can be recorded and transmitted in advance via the Internet. Terrorists can operate a virtual cell without compromising anyone’s identity, where cell leaders remotely give instructions on when, how and where to attack. Suspicious congregation at a facility or mosque is no longer required to plan a bombing, hostage abduction or assassination—all this can be carried out online.

Fourth, and perhaps the greatest cause for concern, is the use of the Internet to attack critical cyber-dependent civilian and military resources and systems. Many different methods can be used in these types of attacks. Business and military computer networks can be routinely bombarded with requests for information from the Internet until they are effectively shut down, or be hacked and disabled by malicious programming. Hackers can also log keystrokes and steal passwords, gaining access to sensitive information about Western communication and economic institutions.

Just how susceptible is the United States to cyberterrorism?

The United States military is the most technologically advanced in the world, but that may also be its weakness.

The Pentagon uses over 5 million computers on 100,000 networks at 1,500 sites in 65 countries worldwide. Last year alone, the Department of Defense suffered a record 79,000 computer network attacks—an average of 216 per day. Some of these attacks actually reduced the military’s operational capabilities (New York Post, August 29). In the past, even top-flight military units have been hacked.

America’s domestic facilities are also at great risk. According to the Washington Post, cyberattacks are a threat to many industries, especially the national power grid. Electric companies, especially companies using older systems, have failed to fortify against hackers. According to O. Sami Saydjari of Cyber Defense Agency, a Wisconsin-based consulting firm, hackers could easily cause the type of blackout that caused power outages affecting 50 million people in the Northeast, Midwest and Canada in 2003 (Washington Post, March 11).

U.S. officials are also highly concerned about the energy sector. Many economic analysts feel there is a terror premium built into the price of oil. How much more of a premium would be built into the price of oil if cyberattacks started shutting down oil refiners or producers?

Regrettably, cyberterrorism techniques are difficult to thwart. The qualities of the Internet yield most of the advantage to the terrorist.

Sites offering free e-mail and upload services or file-storage services can be used rather than fixed, traceable Internet sites. Terrorism-related websites that are actually closed pop up quickly elsewhere in the world (Federal News Service, August 3). Even if terrorist websites and Internet activities can be pinpointed and shut down, intervention is difficult, according to Michael Vatis, an Internet security expert formerly with the Justice Department Internet Security and the National Infrastructure Protection Center. The advocacy of violence and electronic jihad is protected by the First Amendment, unless there is incitement of imminent violence.

Cyberspace vulnerabilities are a major concern for America and the West. “With attacks on Pentagon computers up nearly 50 percent in 2004 over 2003, it’s likely that cyber warfare will be as important as today’s warfare conducted at sea, on land and in the air/space,” says Peter Brookes (New York Post, op. cit.). Saydjari, one of 54 scientists who warned the Bush administration of the risk of computer attacks following Sept. 11, 2001, claims “it is just a matter of time before we have a serious event” (Washington Post, op. cit.).

What makes these realities so compelling is the fact that America—despite the overwhelming dominance of its military—is prophesied in the Bible to be toppled, and soon. TheTrumpet.com continues to watch for ways this startling scenario will come to fruition. The use of technology against us seems almost certain to factor in.