Cyber Terrorism: Threats and Challenges

This assignment delves into the complex world of cyber terrorism. Students are tasked with examining the various threats posed by this evolving form of crime, exploring the vulnerabilities that make systems susceptible to attacks, and critically analyzing potential solutions for mitigating these risks. The focus is on understanding the multifaceted nature of cyber terrorism and developing informed strategies for combating it.

Running head: CYBER TERRORISM
Cyber Terrorism
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Discussion............................................................................................................................2
Cyber Terrorism...............................................................................................................2
Characteristics of Cyber Terrorism.................................................................................4
Challenges and Problems.................................................................................................4
Relevant Technologies and its Applications in Cyber Terrorism....................................5
Issues Discussed..............................................................................................................7
Important Issues that are not addressed and its Impact...................................................7
Important Lessons............................................................................................................8
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................9
References..........................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
In this era of technology, cyber crimes are increasing at a high rate. Information and
communication technology has been profitable for the society but at the same time it imposes
high threat to the society (Alsaadi & Tubaishat, 2015). Cyber crimes have different forms and
types. The general meaning of terrorism is a threat that aims to create a sense of fear in the
society. There is no clear understanding of this issue. Cyber terrorism tends to create severe
threat for the security of information system (Ahmad & Yunos, 2012). Cyber terrorism
comprises of the concept of terrorism as well as cyberspace. This is an unlawful act that attacks
computer systems as well as networks.
This research report gives a brief overview of what cyber terrorism is. It discusses about
the challenges and problems that are encountered by the society due to this cyber attack. It also
talks about the technologies that are relevant in this context as well as the application of these
technologies. This report also points out the issues that are not given much importance. It also
gives a brief explanation about the importance of these issues. . At the end this report gave a
proper explanation about the lessons learnt.
Discussion
Cyber Terrorism
This type of terrorist act is done over the Internet. Terrorist activities take place because
of some kind of political or national influence (Ahmad, Yunos & Sahib, 2012). There is no clear
understanding behind the motive of terrorism. The cyber terrorists use the cyber space to get
access to information and misuse the information for their own benefits. The result of the cyber

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terrorism can create the fear of traditional terrorist attacks. Some computer attacks can even lead
to the death of people and infrastructural damage. The cyber terrorists tend to destroy the system
and attack the interest of the civilians as well as the public sector people. The target of this
terrorist attack is to have an impact on the political structure. These types of attacks are planned
from before. There is convergence in the logic of terrorism as well as the cyberspace.
Technology is responsible for making a connection between the physical and virtual world.
Technology has weaknesses and these weaknesses can be exploited by the attackers to take
advantage of the system and harm the nation. Jihadists, insurgents and terrorist organizations
have made use of the Internet in order to plan attacks and spread wrong messages among the
society. They had disruptive purpose. There are vulnerabilities that exist in the system that can
be exploited by the cyber terrorists.
The act of computer fraud also falls under the category of cyber terrorism. They create
access the information system in an unauthorized manner to gain access to sensitive data so that
they can utilize the data for harming the social, religious, ideological, political as well as similar
objectives. Denial of service attack cannot generate much fear in the nation but it has high
potential for generating second and high order effects. Consider a situation where emergency and
telecommunication services are stopped during a period of crisis, the impact of this can be
catastrophic in nature. Cyberspace can be defined as the global domain that exists within the
environment of information technology. Important information can be shared over the internet.
This is a dangerous space and has vulnerabilities. Cyber terrorists focus on giving up the old
techniques of attacking by weapons and make the use of the technology. The cyber terrorism can
attack several targets like computer system, government information system, data banks and oil
refineries.

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Characteristics of Cyber Terrorism
The cyber in the cyber terrorism is the virtual space or the internet (Torres Soriano,
2012). There are certain characteristics of cyber terrorisms like:
It is executed over the cyberspace.
The aim of the terrorist attack is ideological or political.
Cyber terrorism is either violent in nature or it threatens violence.
The psychological repercussions are beyond immediate targets or victims.
This type of act is conducted by organization or a conspiracy cell or individuals who are
influenced by any religious or ideological move.
A non state entity plays a major role.
Challenges and Problems
The effects of any cyber terrorist attacks are extremely devastating in nature. It affects the
entire nation as the infrastructures are totally dependent on the computer networks (Awan, 2014).
The major problem that occurs due to cyber terrorism is the threat of national security. It also
affects the public policy in a negative manner. This act is effective for terrorist groups.
Technical Impediments: The authorities are unable to detect any type of terrorist activity
over the internet (PakObserver, 2017). Internet features does not disclose the identity of the
people and therefore this causes issues in tracing any type of criminal activity.

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Legislative Aspect: There are several laws for controlling the crime levels in the country.
But these laws are not able to address properly any type of cyber terrorism act. Most of the laws
do not include the use of internet technology.
Partnership: Cooperation becomes a main issue because of cyber terrorism. This takes
place because the fear of cyber terrorism creates a sense of unwillingness to share sensitive
information among the organizations (Bogdanoski & Petreski, 2013). This will create a sense of
negativity and there will be issues in creating partnership between the public and private sectors.
The System of Electric Power: One of the main targets of cyber terrorists is the power
system. There are computer systems that control these systems (Tehrani, Manap & Taji, 2013). If
these controlling systems are attacked then it can disrupt and shut down the power supply. This
could affect a society or nation.
Money Transactions: Most of the people prefer perform online transaction of money.
The terrorists can easily get access to the bank details and transfer money to their own country
by affecting the economy of the victim country (Hua & Bapna, 2013).
Military Operations: Cyber terrorists can hack the system operated by the military and
steal sensitive information later on to make a physical attack.
Government Security: The government of the state can be in problem if the government
information is stolen by the cyber terrorists.
Relevant Technologies and its Applications in Cyber Terrorism
Cyber terrorists make the most use of advanced technology in order to create terror. If a
country is extremely advanced in technology then it is more prone to the attacks of the cyber

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terrorists. Terrorist organizations make the use of information and communication technology in
order to gain power over the nation or state. ICT can be used for faster communication among
the terrorist groups.
Internet plays a major role in cyber terrorism. The terrorists use the internet to harm the
nation and state (Abomhara, 2015). Internet has several advantages that help the community to
survive and develop with time. But at the same time the vulnerabilities can be exploited by the
terrorists to spread fear in the country. Malware tools are designed by the terrorist groups to get
access to sensitive information (Luiijf, 2012). The information of the people is stored in several
cloud servers that can be attacked in order to affect the entire nation. Mobile technology can be
used by the Jihadists to spread some kind of propaganda regarding any political or ideological
issue. This can influence the minds of the people.
The computer systems can get attacked. The cyber terrorists can hack the computer and
information system of a government site so that it can be used to get sensitive information for
harming the state. There can be virus attacks and also denial of service attacks. The information
technology plays a vital role in assisting the cyber terrorists to plan and execute cyber attacks and
spreading fear over the internet (Jarvis, Macdonald & Nouri, 2014). The internet can be used by
terrorist groups to publish any type of wrong ideas for creating fear among the public. The
terrorist groups can even find each other over the internet to plan a harmful act. Operational
information can be hacked. Logistics operations are also possible by using internet. Bluetooth
technology is also harmful because it helps to connect wireless devices and helps the terrorists to
transmit information and creates propaganda. Use of social media platforms also assist in the act
of cyber terrorism. The advancement of technology is increasing the chance of cyber terrorism.

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Cryptography is a technique of converting plain texts into cipher or encrypted text. It has
several advantages. But it can be used in order to harm the nation as well. It can be a threat to the
government. This technology can prevent the government from getting details about the attackers
and will not be able to prevent the attack.
Steganography is an act of hiding information and data inside objects. Organizations can
use these tools to prevent any unauthorized access. Some images can contain secret data in them.
This technology can be used by the cyber terrorists to exchange messages.
Issues Discussed
The cyber terrorists use the ICT to disrupt the systems and services in order to create fear
in the nation. It uses the advanced technologies to spread threatening messages among the people
of the nation (Manap & Tehrani, 2012). There are several other issues like it can affect online
transactions also. It uses disruptive activities to attack a computer system or network. Another
major issue related to cyber terrorism is the attack of government system to harm the society
(Chuipka, 2016). The terrorists can take the help of ICT to hack the system. Cyber terrorism is
violent in nature and is designed for creating a psychological repercussion. It has political and
ideological aim. Malware tools are designed by the terrorist groups to get access to sensitive
information. The information of the people is stored in several cloud servers that can be attacked
in order to affect the entire nation
Important Issues that are not addressed and its Impact
The main focus was given on financial transaction and monetary issues. But there can be
issues beyond that. Some of them are as follows:

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The System of Water Supply: The cyber terrorists can attack the flood gates of the dams.
It is based on functional system and if they are attacked then it can result in the loss of lives of
several people. There can be shut down in the supply of water.
The System of Air Traffic Control: The emergency call system can be disrupted plus
there can be delays in the flights due to the attack (Ackoski & Dojcinovski, 2012).
Healthcare Infrastructure: Most of the healthcare systems are dependent on the use of
Internet. The cyber terrorists can attack such systems and harm the healthcare facilities of the
entire society and nation (Harries & Yellowlees, 2013). The health records and records regarding
any insurance or medicines can be modified or removed.
Important Lessons
It can be seen that in this era of technology, people need the internet for the purpose of
communication and other development purposes. ICT has several advantages. We have been
familiar with the benefits of the use of ICT. But this research report has pointed out the harmful
side of the advanced technologies also. Cyberspace is a huge space in the internet. There are
several vulnerabilities in the internet. These vulnerabilities can be exploited by the attackers in
order to harm the society. There are several types of attacks that can take place over the internet.
There is a difference between cyber attack and cyber terrorism. Cyber terrorism aims to spread
fear among the people in the nation or state. Cyber attacks are meant for stealing the data from
an information system. The cyber terrorists use the ICT to disrupt the systems and services in
order to create fear in the nation. It uses the advanced technologies to spread threatening
messages among the people of the nation.

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Conclusion
This research report concludes that the information and technological advances are
responsible for the cause of cyber terrorism. This research report gave a brief overview of what
cyber terrorism is. It discussed about the challenges and problems that are encountered by the
society due to this cyber attack. It also gave a brief explanation about the importance of these
issues. At the end this report gave a proper explanation about the lessons learnt.

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References
Abomhara, M. (2015). Cyber security and the internet of things: vulnerabilities, threats,
intruders and attacks. Journal of Cyber Security and Mobility, 4(1), 65-88.
Ackoski, J., & Dojcinovski, M. (2012, June). Cyber terrorism and cyber-crime–threats for
cyber security. In Proceedings of First Annual International Scientific Conference,
Makedonski Brod, Macedonia, 09 June 2012. MIT University–Skopje.
Ahmad, R., & Yunos, Z. (2012). A dynamic cyber terrorism framework. International Journal
of Computer Science and Information Security, 10(2), 149.
Ahmad, R., Yunos, Z., & Sahib, S. (2012, June). Understanding cyber terrorism: The grounded
theory method applied. In Cyber Security, Cyber Warfare and Digital Forensic
(CyberSec), 2012 International Conference on(pp. 323-328). IEEE.
Alsaadi, E., & Tubaishat, A. (2015). Internet of things: Features, challenges, and
vulnerabilities. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Information
Technology, 4(1), 1-13.
Awan, I. (2014). Debating the Term Cyber-terrorism: issues and problems. Internet Journal of
Criminology. ISSN, 2045(6743), 1-14.
Bogdanoski, M., & Petreski, D. (2013). Cyber terrorism–global security threat. Contemporary
Macedonian Defense-International Scientific Defense, Security and Peace
Journal, 13(24), 59-73.

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Chuipka, A. (2016). The Strategies of Cyberterrorism. Graduate School of Public and
International Affairs. 1(2).
Harries, D., & Yellowlees, P. M. (2013). Cyberterrorism: Is the US healthcare system
safe?. Telemedicine and e-Health, 19(1), 61-66.
Hua, J., & Bapna, S. (2013). The economic impact of cyber terrorism. The Journal of Strategic
Information Systems, 22(2), 175-186.
Jarvis, L., Macdonald, S., & Nouri, L. (2014). The cyberterrorism threat: Findings from a
survey of researchers. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 37(1), 68-90.
Luiijf, E. (2012). Understanding cyber threats and vulnerabilities. In Critical Infrastructure
Protection (pp. 52-67). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Manap, N. A., & Tehrani, P. M. (2012). Cyber Terrorism: Issues in Its Interpretation
andEnforcement. International Journal of Information and Electronics
Engineering, 2(3), 409.
PakObserver. (2017). Challenges of cyber terrorism. Retrieved 13 September 2017, from
http://pakobserver.net/challenges-of-cyber-terrorism/
Tehrani, P. M., Manap, N. A., & Taji, H. (2013). Cyber terrorism challenges: The need for a
global response to a multi-jurisdictional crime. Computer Law & Security
Review, 29(3), 207-215.
Torres Soriano, M. R. (2012). The vulnerabilities of online terrorism. Studies in Conflict &
Terrorism, 35(4), 263-277.

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