Cyber Warfare: Examining Non-State Actors' Internet Use & Responses

This report examines the utilization of the internet by non-state actors, such as separatist groups, terrorists, drug dealers, and Naxalites, for activities ranging from spreading ideologies and raising funds to communication and hacking. It highlights how these groups leverage internet mediums to achieve their objectives, often destabilizing national security. The report also discusses the countermeasures governments employ to respond to these threats, including monitoring internet communications, banning extremist websites, and tracking illegal financial transactions. Despite the challenges, governments strive to balance security with freedom of internet access. Desklib provides access to similar documents and study tools for students.

CYBER WARFARE

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Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................2
Use of internet by the non-state actors...................................................................................3
The way in which states can respond to these actors.............................................................5
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................6
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION
In the era of technology, Internet has become the most crucial medium for making the world
a better place to live. With the use of Internet, the whole world is getting connected with each

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other and hence becoming capable of sharing capable information with the people anywhere
in the world. The biggest contribution of Internet is the fact that it has enhanced the level of
communication and made it available to all at the cheapest of price. With the benefits that
internet gives to the people there are many demerits that also exist with it. Internet has not
only empowered the state actors in doing their work in favour of the nation but it has also
facilitated non-state actors to conduct their activities1. They are using internet for various
kinds of activities without the notice of government hence it is becoming difficult for the
nations to control these activities. This report discusses the ways in which the non-state actors
take the use of Internet. It also highlights the ways in which governments can respond to
these non-state actors.
Use of internet by the non-state actors
In any country, there are various non-state actors that are present at any time. They have the
role of destabilising the environment that exists within a country. It is also termed as the
organisation or individual that has a significant political impact but the only problem is that
they are generally not allied to any specific state or country2. The division of category of the
non-sate actors is based on the structure, interests and impact of non-state actors varies
widely.
In several types of non-state actors there are few which are considered to be violent. They are
very dangerous for the security and safety of the nation. This is because of the fact that their
major objective is to create tensions in the society. In the last decades or so it has been seen
that these violent non-states actors have started to take use of internet so as to conduct their
operations. Their functions differ from actor to actor. Some of the most common type of non-
state actors and the way in which they use internet is presented below:
Separatist
In many parts of the world, it has been seen that there are individuals or organisation who are
demanding for separating themselves from a country3. The separatist in the Kashmir is
demanding of another sovereign state. For this they are taking use of violence at times. The
internet has helped them in various ways. Some of them are:
 Spreading ideology: They are using internet and the modern day mediums like social
media for spreading their ideology in the minds of innocent people. They take use of
the social media post for encouraging people to support their objective.
 Raising and transferring funds: They are also using internet mediums for raising funds
from the individuals that are supporting their campaigns. Apart from this they are also
taking internet as a medium using which they can transfer money to the people for
supporting them in their violent activities.
1 "SPCTA", International Journal Of Cyber Warfare And Terrorism 6, no. 2 (2016): 41-60,
doi:10.4018/ijcwt.2016040104.
2 Natalia Tereshchenko, "US Foreign Policy Challenges Of Non-State Actors’ Cyber Terrorism Against Critical
Infrastructure", International Journal Of Cyber Warfare And Terrorism 2, no. 4 (2012): 28-48,
doi:10.4018/ijcwt.2012100103.
3 Dimitrios Delibasis, "Cyberspace Warfare Attacks And Non State Actors", SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011,
doi:10.2139/ssrn.1942283.

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 Communication: They are also taking the use of internet mediums like the social
networking sites so as to communicate between all their members4. This helps them in
conducting their activities and making plans work.
Terrorists
They are the most common violent non-state actors which may lie inside the country as well
as may exist outside the nation boundaries5. The biggest example of it was ISIS which was
present in various parts of the Middle East. They have also taken the use of internet for
various types of purposes. Some of them are:
 Spreading hatred: They are also taking the use of internet for spreading the hatred
among the people. They generally take use of internet for posting such activities that
supports extreme violence6. For example ISIS used it for spreading violence against
the country like in the video where they were beheading the journalists and citizens of
western countries. Before that Taliban was using internet for sending threats to many
country.
 Recruitments: It seems very odd that these terrorist groups recruit people but it is true
in most of the cases. This is due to the fact that recruitments are generally done with
the help of internet sites by spreading of ideology7. Recruitment does not mean that
they pay for their selected people rather they motivate people for doing something
that are called the act of tourism. The example of it can be seen in the examples of
ISIS were many people from different parts of the world who aimed to join ISIS. This
has also led to the attack like the Paris bomb blast.
 Fund rising: They also try to raise funds using the internet sources. They take
donations for their activities from the people sitting in other corners of the world.
Various reports have raised the fact that the major source of the terrorists comes from
outside the nation. Since dealing in cash is a bit difficult hence they use internet for
this.
 Communication: Researches shows that after the development of social media
industry, it has been used by the terrorists so as to communicate with each other. This
has benefitted them in making their plans successful as the execution becomes easier.
 Hacking: They are also using internet for hacking the sites related to government.
This has helped them in gathering of data regarding the activities in the state and
hence makes their plans. They also hack the sites from spreading their messages
which are basically in the form of threats. They not only use it for gathering the data
but also use it for sharing the information among their mates.
Drug dealers
4 Pritam Ghosh, "Cyber Attacks In The Post 9/11 Era: Perspectives On The Non-State Actors And Transnational
Armed Conflicts", SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013, doi:10.2139/ssrn.2266712.
5 Phillip McReynolds, "How To Think About Cyber Conflicts Involving Non-State Actors", Philosophy &
Technology 28, no. 3 (2015): 427-448, doi:10.1007/s13347-015-0187-x.
6 Nicholas Tsagourias, "Non-State Actors, Ungoverned Spaces And International Responsibility For Cyber Acts",
Journal Of Conflict And Security Law 21, no. 3 (2016): 455-474, doi:10.1093/jcsl/krw020.
7 James C Mulvenon and Gregory J Rattray, Addressing Cyber Instability (Vienna, VA: Cyber Conflict Studies
Association, 2012).

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They are also the big non state actors as their intension is also to sell their products
irrespective of the fact that it destroys the health of the people taking it. Since most of the
drug addicts are from young age group hence they are destroying the health economics of the
nation8. They are also utilising the internet sources for conducting their illegal actions. Some
of the uses of internet by them are illustrated below:
 Their business: They take use of the internet for conducting their business. This also
includes drug dealers selling their products using the internet channels9. For example
taking orders and delivering it to the clients using internet mediums. They also trap
their preys on the internet sites and hence they take use of it for expanding their
business.
 Communication: They also take use of the internet mediums for their business
purpose and generally communicate with their clients on these sites. By taking the
help of social media they create a huge network of suppliers just under the nose of the
administration. Communication helps in managing the demand and supply.
Naxalites
In recent years it was also seen that the Naxalites which were not using advanced
technologies have also started to use internet mediums for achieving their objectives10. In
various ways they have also been using it for achieving benefit. Some of their purposes for
using internet mediums are:
 Spreading ideology: They take use of the internet mediums for advertising their
ideology that suggest fighting with the governments by taking the route of violence11.
It is seen that people at very young age joins these groups and most of them are
motivated at these sites only.
 Recruiting people: Same as the case of terrorist they are also motivating the people to
join their groups through the use of social media and other sites. They generally target
people that are frustrated by the trade policies.
 Spreading hatred: Naxalites also used internet for the medium of communication
which is highly beneficial for the kind of activities they are conducting in any
country.
 Raising funds: This is the most common things that these non–state actors perform as
they raise funds with the help of spreading their ideology.
 Communication: They are also using best of internet mediums for having
communications with their partners so as to execute their operations smoothly.
Internet mediums help in strengthening their communication mechanism.
8 Matthew D. Gonzalez, "International Perspectives Of Cyber Warfare", International Journal Of Cyber Warfare
And Terrorism 5, no. 4 (2015): 59-68, doi:10.4018/ijcwt.2015100103.
9 Mulvenon, James C, and Gregory J Rattray. Addressing Cyber Instability. Vienna, VA: Cyber Conflict Studies
Association, 2012.
10 Steve Winterfeld and Jason Andress, The Basics Of Cyber Warfare ([Place of publication not identified]:
Syngress, 2012).
11 Medha Surabhi, "Cyber Warfare And Cyber Terrorism", SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012,
doi:10.2139/ssrn.2122633.

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It can be easily seen that almost all the non-state actors use internet these days and the most
crucial utilisation of it is for the communication12. Almost all the actor’s groups take use of
different functions of the internet so as to achieve their objectives.
The way in which states can respond to these actors
There are various steps taken by the government in regard to use of internet for their personal
benefit. Since it not possible for the government to pose restriction over the internet neither
have the choice that they could ban the use of internet for the particular group. As internet
these days are easily and cheaply available hence have become a very common mode of
communication for all the non-state actors13. Along with problems that governments are
facing all across the globe there are various steps that are also taken by them to respond to
this record. Some of them are:
 It is seen that at the time when the separatists are using violence governments
generally cut-off the internet lines for a day or so. This helps in stopping of the
rumours or the incidents that are happening14. Since social media is their prime way to
communicate hence a stoppage comes in their activities.
 Government also incepts the internet conversations that are going on in between the
members of non-state actors groups so as to check what sort of plans they are making.
This helps in staying ahead of their plans. This usually helps the government in the
case of terrorist groups and hence finding them becomes easier. This also helps in
spread of ideologies over the internet mediums.
 The first thing that states do is to ban the sites that are spreading hatred or are
spreading the news related to violence. It can be seen in the case when the ISIS
militants were posting anything. States use to find the source and usually close them.
This helps the state to reduce the number of people that could potentially view the
subjects on these postings and get influenced.
 With the help of the internet service providers, governments are having a close watch
on the transactions that are made with the illegal routes. This helps in controlling the
terror funding which is necessary in controlling their activities. Such collaborations is
very beneficial in the case of controlling the activities of drug mafias.
 Governments also collaborate with the social media firms for managing the terror
activities that are carried through the use of social media pages. In many cases it has
been seen that the police finds the actual person who is spreading terror with the help
of social media sites15. This is true in the case of any non-state actors. The government
censorship gets to impose when any non-state actors wants to destabilise the structure
of the socio-political environment in the nation.
 Governments have also strengthened the protection system of the governments so as
to ensure that no hackers can breach the data for the purpose of acting against the
12 Zulfiqar Ali, Cyber Warfare & National Security, 2010.
13 Reshmi Kazi, "The Correlation Between Non-State Actors And Weapons Of Mass Destruction", Connections:
The Quarterly Journal 10, no. 4 (2011): 1-10, doi:10.11610/connections.10.4.01.
14 Paul Cornish, On Cyber Warfare (London, England: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2010).
15 Nicolò Bussolati, "The Rise Of Non-State Actors In Cyberwarfare", Academia.Edu, 2018,
http://www.academia.edu/24359488/The_Rise_of_Non-State_Actors_in_Cyberwarfare.

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state. It is seen that non-state actors in other countries usually attacks on the
government sites of other nations. For reducing such types of attacks, governments
usually make collaboration with the nation’s government so as to ensure that land of
other nations must not be used for the terror activities in other nations. Cyber warfare
has been most common these days.
CONCLUSION
From the above report a conclusion can be derived that internet has not only empowered the
state actors to make their process easier rather it has also empowered the non-state actors to
conduct their operations. Since there are large numbers of non-state actors present in any
nations who are using internet for various types of purposes hence the government must have
a restriction on their use of internet. It is seen that most common use of internet is to
communicate within their group. Government all around the world is trying very hard to stop
these activities by non-state actors so as to ensure that security of the nation will be
maintained.
Bibliography
"SPCTA". International Journal Of Cyber Warfare And Terrorism 6, no. 2 (2016): 41-60.
doi:10.4018/ijcwt.2016040104.
Tereshchenko, Natalia. "US Foreign Policy Challenges Of Non-State Actors’ Cyber
Terrorism Against Critical Infrastructure". International Journal Of Cyber Warfare And
Terrorism 2, no. 4 (2012): 28-48. doi:10.4018/ijcwt.2012100103.

7
Delibasis, Dimitrios. "Cyberspace Warfare Attacks And Non State Actors". SSRN Electronic
Journal, 2011. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1942283.
Ghosh, Pritam. "Cyber Attacks In The Post 9/11 Era: Perspectives On The Non-State Actors
And Transnational Armed Conflicts". SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013.
doi:10.2139/ssrn.2266712.
McReynolds, Phillip. "How To Think About Cyber Conflicts Involving Non-State Actors".
Philosophy & Technology 28, no. 3 (2015): 427-448. doi:10.1007/s13347-015-0187-x.
Tsagourias, Nicholas. "Non-State Actors, Ungoverned Spaces And International
Responsibility For Cyber Acts". Journal Of Conflict And Security Law 21, no. 3 (2016): 455-
474. doi:10.1093/jcsl/krw020.
Gonzalez, Matthew D. "International Perspectives Of Cyber Warfare". International Journal
Of Cyber Warfare And Terrorism 5, no. 4 (2015): 59-68. doi:10.4018/ijcwt.2015100103.
Winterfeld, Steve, and Jason Andress. The Basics Of Cyber Warfare. [Place of publication
not identified]: Syngress, 2012.
Surabhi, Medha. "Cyber Warfare And Cyber Terrorism". SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012.
doi:10.2139/ssrn.2122633.
Kazi, Reshmi. "The Correlation Between Non-State Actors And Weapons Of Mass
Destruction". Connections: The Quarterly Journal 10, no. 4 (2011): 1-10.
doi:10.11610/connections.10.4.01.
Cornish, Paul. On Cyber Warfare. London, England: Royal Institute of International Affairs,
2010.
Ali, Zulfiqar. Cyber Warfare & National Security, 2010.
Mulvenon, James C, and Gregory J Rattray. Addressing Cyber Instability. Vienna, VA:
Cyber Conflict Studies Association, 2012.
Bussolati, Nicolò. "The Rise Of Non-State Actors In Cyberwarfare". Academia.Edu, 2018.
http://www.academia.edu/24359488/The_Rise_of_Non-State_Actors_in_Cyberwarfare.

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