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Marjie T. Britz: "Similar to their counterparts involved in organized criminal activity, international terrorist groups are increasingly using advances in technology to increase their effectiveness and efficiency. They are using the Internet, for example, to formulate plans, spread propaganda, elicit funding, communicate, and terrorize their intended target. The Internet, in particular, is a wonderful tool for creating fear, because the potential for victimization increases. In addition, the threat feels more real to individuals who were not directly involved. The wide-scale, sustained panic that has resulted from a variety of recent computer viruses, for example, may have had far more impact on daily behavior and individual awareness than the events of September 11. Thus, a new day of terrorism, which involves the theft or manipulation of data, has dawned. Cyberterrorism may be defined as a deliberate, politically or religiously motivated attack against data compilations, computer programs, information systems, or both; which is intended to disrupt or deny service or acquire information which disrupts the social, physical, or political infrastructure of a target. This general definition encompasses the complex myriad of possibilities involving the implementation of computer technology in terrorist activities. Such implementation may take various forms, including, but not limited to, hacking, Denial of Service attacks, and viruses or worms. Any of these forms could be successfully directed at critical national or international infrastructures causing electric blackouts, disrupted communications, and the like. While not nearly as sensational as traditional weapons of mass destruction, these targeted strikes could actually pose a greater danger to the American public due to the interconnectivity and ultimate reliance on public switch telecommunications. Think of the devastation that could result from a simple (but sustained) electric blackout in Los Angeles. Water purification systems, telecommunications, 911 emergency and central dispatch systems, fuel outlets, financial institutions, and public GPS systems could all become useless, creating an untenable situation for public safety officials and health providers, and destroying public trust and social integrity. Imagine the loss of life that could result if hackers successfully penetrated and manipulated data sets located at major research centers or the Center for Disease Control. Surreptitiously altering a small portion of a formula for a vaccination, changing the labeling instructions for biological contaminants, or systematically removing years of priceless research or patient records could result in tens of thousands of deaths. The introduction of a computer virus or worm could also wreak unforeseen havoc on public health, as officials across the globe have recently discovered. In Britain and Italy, for example, computer viruses wiped out vital information from lengthy hematology studies and one year's worth of AIDS research. While in the United States, one large hospital in the Northeast lost over 40 percent of its patient records due to a particularly destructive virus. In addition to these highly focused attacks, terrorist organizations across the world are increasing in strength by propagandizing their radical rhetoric to a global audience. Many domestic groups, such as the Aryan Nations, White Aryan Resistance (WAR), and the Nation of Islam, international organizations have found a safe, virtual platform where they can spread their beliefs without fear of physical discovery or attack. These groups have also effectively used the Internet to solicit funds and recruit new members - streamlining the hate industry and reducing propaganda expenditures. In addition, groups such as Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, Hizballah, and Hamas are actively exchanging e-mail and utilizing strong encryption algorithms to support their organizations (In fact, Ramzi Yousef, one of the designers of the first World Trade Center bombing, stored detailed plans to destroy American airliners in encrypted files on his laptop computer.). Other approaches include the launching of massive Denial of Service (DOS) attacks and defacement of websites against foreign governments. These attacks are perpetrated by amateurs and professionals alike. The "Internet Black Tigers", a group allegedly affiliated with the Tamil Tigers, have repeatedly attacked official sites of numerous governments, while a variety of Chinese "hacktivists" announced their intention to launch massive DOS attacks against American financial and government sites in the wake of a crash involving an American surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter. While American hackers vowed to fight back, the long-term effects of such activity are often trivialized by officials who claim that tightened site security will eliminate the successes of such actions. They fail to recognize the international conflicts or nuclear implications that may arise from the actions of cyberpunks. Unfortunately, hacking activities appear to be gaining in popularity as how-to information is freely distributed via the Internet. Americans must recognize an additional threat¾a threat as insidious as it is unrecognized¾the threat to critical infrastructures and to our national security via computer manipulation." Marjie T. Britz, The Citadel
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