[FYI] How Modern Terrorism Uses the Internet
<http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr116.pdf>
Gabriel Weimann www.terror.net
How Modern Terrorism Uses the Internet
Summary
? The great virtues of the Internet ? ease of access, lack of
regulation, vast potential audiences, and fast flow of information,
among others ? have been turned to the advantage of groups committed
to terrorizing societies to achieve their goals.
? Today, all active terrorist groups have established their presence
on the Internet. Our scan of the Internet in 2003?4 revealed hundreds
of websites serving terrorists and their supporters.
? Terrorism on the Internet is a very dynamic phenomenon: websites
suddenly emerge, frequently modify their formats, and then swiftly
disappear?or, in many cases, seem to disappear by changing their
online address but retaining much the same content.
? Terrorist websites target three different audiences: current and
potential supporters; international public opinion; and enemy
publics.
? The mass media, policymakers, and even security agencies have
tended to focus on the exaggerated threat of cyberterrorism and paid
insufficient attention to the more routine uses made of the Internet.
Those uses are numerous and, from the terrorists? perspective,
invaluable.
? There are eight different ways in which contemporary terrorists use
the Internet, ranging from psychological warfare and propaganda to
highly instrumental uses such as fundraising, recruitment, data
mining, and coordination of actions.
? While we must better defend our societies against cyberterrorism
and Internet-savvy terrorists, we should also consider the costs of
applying counterterrorism measures to the Internet. Such measures can
hand authoritarian governments and agencies with little public
accountability tools with which to violate privacy, curtail the free
flow of information, and restrict freedom of expression, thus adding
a heavy price in terms of diminished civil liberties to the high toll
exacted by terrorism itself.
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