Cyberterrorism: Vulnerable Targets, Mechanisms, Groups, and Protection

Cyberterrorism
Table of Contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................2
Vulnerable Targets for Cyber Terrorists..................................................................2
Mechanisms to Target............................................................................................... 2
Cyberterrorist Groups........................................................................................4
Protection.......................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................6
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Cyberterrorism
Introduction
Cyberterrorism is the utilization of the Internet by the malicious activities to carry out violent
attacks and threats which may result in the threatening of the user or damage/loss of life as
the extreme consequences. The cyberterrorist attacks are carried out in order to achieve
political or ideological gains. The occurrence of cyberterrorist attacks has increased in the
past few years. The essay covers the vulnerable targets for cyber terrorists and lists out the
terrorist groups that are likely to exploit the vulnerabilities (Kapucu, 2012). The measures to
harden these targets against the cyber terrorists are also covered.
Vulnerable Targets for Cyber Terrorists
There are numerous targets that are exposed to the cyber terrorism and the determination of
these vulnerable targets is done on the basis of the impact that may be caused. The real estate
and property sector is the primary target due to the excessive monetary gains that result from
the successful occurrence. The transport sector is the next in the list followed by the retail
industry. The aerospace and the aviation industry come next with the power & energy,
healthcare, and construction next in the line.
Mechanisms to Target
There are different mechanisms that are adopted to carry out the cyberterrorist attacks. One
such way is web defacement in which the target is repeatedly annoyed. The terrorist groups
modify the information present on the official site. The web domain used will appear as a
legitimate domain. There are small gains that are achieved with the simple alteration of the
website domain (Tzezana, 2016). There are scenarios wherein the website of the national
political party of the country is hacked and the attackers ask the people to leave a particular
city due to a natural disaster or chemical leak. If the adequate media coverage is provided to
the issue, then there may be certain causalities that may emerge. Also, there is significant
damage done to the national security and financial losses are also experienced. The chances
of success of such an attack are however low as the TV network may not report such an issue
without cross verifying the same. However, in the present times, the media houses are
carrying out the rat race to succeed over the others. The leakage of such a report in the public
can surely create certain level of unrest. With the emergence of the social media channels, the
new can spread in seconds and the cyber terrorists may be successful in achieving their aims.
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Cyberterrorism
The defacements of the websites are popular in the present times; however, if the attackers
succeed in capturing the web server, they will have access to the data available on the same.
It will include the confidential information on the site along with the access details. The
usernames and the passwords may also be exploited. The disclosure of information can have
significant negative impacts for the users as well as all the parties involved.
Malware is another common mechanism that is used by the cyber terrorists to carry out the
cyberterrorist attacks. The use of viruses, ransomware, and other forms of malware is done to
target the probable victims. The malfunctioning in a specific system or unavailability of the
services may be achieved. These usually result in significant loss of data and information
sets.
Data Mining is another appealing mechanism that is utilized by the cyberterrorists to
compromise the security and privacy of the information. In the present times, the use of
digital forms of information has become mandatory for every sector (Yao & Liu, 2011). The
personal details of the users along with the financial information or health information are
present in the form of electronic files. In order to promote the accessibility to the information,
the information is stored on the networked platforms. The cyberterrorists access these data
sets and obtain the significant information which can be used for some of the severe crimes,
such as assassination or kidnapping. There are certain details that may be obtained and these
may be used to blackmail a particular person. The cyberterrorists can also target the banking
institutions and financial organizations to acquire huge amounts of money utilizing the cyber
information. The organization assets can also be damaged on the basis of the information sets
that are acquired. One such case was reported in the United Kingdom wherein the
membership list for the British Nationalist Party was published and made accessible on the
web and the privacy of the members was put at stake. The schedule of the politicians or
primary targets can also be assessed on the basis of the information. The terrorist groups can
plan their activities as per the schedule obtained.
Internet has become a basic requirement for the people in the present times. If the Internet is
brought down, then it will cause significant damage to the people along with the
infrastructure and population. The functioning of the internet depends upon the bandwidth. In
the case of targeting the bandwidth, there are denial of service and distributed denial of
service attacks that can be given shape (Vlavo, 2015). These are easier to carry out. For
example, if there are numerous emails sent at the same time, then the bandwidth allotted to
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