Review of Global Terrorism and Security Measures

The chapter discusses the importance of security information stored in modern electronic travel documents and its impact on terrorism. It highlights the various forms of terrorism, including small-scale attacks with low possibility of occurrence but high magnitude of consequences, as well as large-scale attacks causing mass casualties. The chapter also touches upon the role of lack of security measures, old readable travel documents' limitations, electronic travel documents' security features, border security's role in preventing unauthorized infiltration, and the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) involvement in security policy.

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
The importance of security information in the electronic travel document to combat terrorism- MBA
Dissertation Report

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
Abstract:

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
Table of Contents
Abstract:...........................................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1500.....................................................................................................5
Research Background:.................................................................................................................5
Research Problem:.......................................................................................................................6
Research Significance:.................................................................................................................7
Research Aims & Objectives:......................................................................................................8
Research Questions:.....................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 2: Review of Related Literature 5000........................................................................11
Introduction 100.........................................................................................................................11
Global terrorism and its impacts 686.........................................................................................11
Terrorism in Oman and its major causes...................................................................................15
Role of lack of security measures in terrorism activities...........................................................15
Old readable travel documents and their limitations in security...............................................15
Electronic travel documents and their security features............................................................15
Role of border security in preventing unauthorized infiltration................................................15
Role of International Civil Aviation Organization in security policy.......................................15
Conclusion 100..........................................................................................................................15
References:....................................................................................................................................16

Running Head: MBA Dissertation

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1500
This is the first chapter of the dissertation that introduces the topic to the readers. It contains of
information on the subject of the study, research background, research problem, research
significance, research aims and objectives and research questions. The discussion in this section
is based on the importance of security information in the electronic travel documents and the
ways in which it helps to combat terrorism on a global scale. However, the study has focused on
the aspects in terms of the situation in Oman.
Research Background:
This research study has been executed for assessing the importance of ensuring authentic
security information stored in the electronic travel documents for the travelers and passengers
entering into Oman from other countries. This is necessary to combat terrorism and other acts of
crime and violence that have affected Oman in the past, taking place today and might happen in
future as well. The acts of terrorism are to be countered effectively in order to offer safety and
security to the people of the country (Fan, et al., 2008). Terrorism has been a global cause of
concern that needs to be tackled effectively in order to prevent or mitigate substantial damages to
life and property. The majority of the terrorist activities are carried out by people travelling
across borders with forged documents such as passports which are fake and do not reflect the
true identity of the traveler. The terrorists utilize this strategy to travel between several countries.
Previously, the movement of terrorists across borders was easier during the time of the old
readable passports and other travel documents (Gemalto NV, 2019). Nowadays, the electronic
travel documents such as the electronic passports are considered as more safe and secure
travelling documents because information content in the electronic travel documents are

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
encrypted and they are made using technologies that prevent them from being counterfeited. So,
like in several other countries, Omani government has been promoting and advocating the user
electronic travel documents by all the travelers entering into the country or leaving the country.
The modern terrorist outfits have access to funds and resources for conducting activities of
terrorism through utilization of improvised weapons such as the Weapons of mass destruction.
They can create a massive havoc within Oman if proper security measures are not implemented
by the border security forces and the airport authorities. Hence, this research study has evaluated
the significance of security information within the electronic travel documents that are currently
being used by travelers in Oman which has increased the safety and security measures
considerably by making it difficult for the terrorists and people with harmful intentions to engage
in forgery of their travel documents which are highly encrypted nowadays (Bozhkova, et al.,
2017).
Research Problem:
The research problem that has been examined in this study encompasses the increasing acts of
terrorism on a global scale and the role played by ineffective security measures that fail to
effectively check the authenticity of personal security information of the various tourists and
travelers travelling between countries. The problem is pertinent for Oman also. The incidents of
terrorism and other acts of violence have become a concerning issue for the country. There have
been previous incidents where Oman has been the victim of terrorism that has been undertaken
by terrorist outfits that have infiltrated the border due to several security lapses (BOROTA, n.d.).
Previously, the old readable passports were being used by the travelers arriving into Oman from
different parts of the world. These readable passports were easily counterfeited and forged by the
perpetrators and often due to the absence of modern high quality of security information

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
checking it was easy for the terrorists to furnish fake passports at the borders or at the security
checking of the airports in Oman. This has caused various incidents of terrorist activities in
Oman. With globalization there has been a rapid growth and development of technology across
diversified sectors including border control and airport security sector. Nowadays, the travelers
have to provide electronic travel documents while travelling from one country into another. This
is true for Oman also. The electronic travel documents highly safe and secure and they content
actual and authentic security information about a person that is digitally encrypted in such a way
that it cannot be replicated or tampered with. This technology has been instrumental in
enhancing the safety and security of the country from threats of terrorism (United Nations,
2018).
Research Significance:
The research study that has been conducted in order to determine the effectiveness of
information security in digital travel documents in preventing acts of terrorism in Oman has a
larger significance. The research has examined the utilization of modern electronic travel
documents replacing the old readable travel documents and determined the degree of safety and
security that is offered by the digital travel documents over their predecessors (US Department of
State, 2019). With the growth and development in technology around the world across several
domains, it is only obvious that technology has influenced safety and security systems around the
world. Terrorism is growing around the world as the terrorist outfits are becoming more potent in
terms of access to funding and state-of-the-art technologies that it has being deployed by them to
infiltrate into different countries by concealing their identity and use modern arms and
ammunitions such as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and weapons of mass destruction
such as biological warfare. So it has become even more important for the countries around the

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
world, including Oman to stand well-prepared in this situation to detect security information
frauds that are undertaken through providing fake travel documents such as passports by the
perpetrators. The advent of electronic travel documents such as electronic passports has
mitigated the possibilities of forging personal identity by developing fake travel documents such
as replicated or copied old readable passports. From this perspective the research study can be
considered to be of substantial significance for the readers to understand the utility of encryption
and protection of personal information within the travel documents that prevent the terrorists
from creating counterfeit travel documents and enter into Oman without the possibility of being
detected by the border security forces as well as the airport authorities (BOROTA, n.d.).
Research Aims & Objectives:
The aim of the research study has been to determine the significance of security information in
electronic travel documents for combating terrorism successfully in Oman. In other words, the
study has analyzed the various positive influences of the electronic travel documents like the
electronic passports over that of the old readable passports that are no longer being used in
Oman. The research has identified the utility of secure personal information contained in the
modern electronic travel documents that are being provided by the foreign travelers and tourists
at the time of entering into Oman that has reduced the threat of terrorism significantly over the
years.
The research had the following objectives to achieve:
 To understand the importance of security information within the electronic travel
documents for combating terrorism.
 To form a theoretical basis on the various techniques being used by the terrorists to forge
electronic documents such as electronic passports.

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
 To determine the differences between old readable passports and modern electronic
passports from the perspective of protection of security information within such
documents.
 To analyze the role played by organizations such as the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) in developing principles and protocols related to security
information within travel documents that need to be carried mandatorily by any person
willing to engage in cross border travel.
 To examine the security effectiveness of the modern electronic travel documents as
compared to the ones that were developed few years back in terms of preventing forgery
and counterfeiting of such electronic documents.
 To conduct the study with the objective of understanding the current situation of
electronic information security in respect of travelers moving from one country to another
and effectiveness of the roles played by various governments and aviation organizations
around the world to ensure the authenticity of the electronic information present in the
travel documents furnished by the tourist at the airports and other institutions.
 To recommend some of the modern electronic tools and techniques for ensuring
enhanced safety and security of the electronic traveling documents by preventing those
from being duplicated or forged by terrorists and also offer preventive suggestions to the
airport authorities to effectively detect counterfeit travel documents.
Research Questions:
The research has answered the following questions:
 What is an electronic travel document?

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
 How electronic travel documents ensure the security of the travelers moving from one
country to another?
 What are the advantages of electronic travel documents over the old readable travel
documents?
 To what extent have the electronic travel documents enhanced the security of the nations
from terrorism activities?
 What is the role played by organizations such as the International Civil Aviation
Organization in formulating security policies related to travel documents?
 What future strategies can be undertaken by the countries in order to enhance the security
of the electronic travel documents to prevent acts of terrorism?

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
CHAPTER 2: Review of Related Literature 5000
Introduction 100
This chapter elicits the findings from a comprehensive review of literature sources depicting the
importance of security information that are stored in the modern electronic travel documents and
the ways in which it impacts terrorism. The analysis has been done on several valuable sources
of information from journals, reports, website and newspaper articles containing several
information on the themes like the impacts of global terrorism, the situation of terrorism in Oman
and its impacts, the part played by unsatisfactory security measures in increasing chances of
terrorism, the old readable travel documents and their limitations in security, the modern
electronic travel documents and their benefits on security, the part played by border security in
preventing unauthorized infiltration and the significance of organizations such as the
International Civil Aviation Organization in implementing security policies.
Global terrorism and its impacts 686
According to McCarthy (2017), terrorism is a global menace that causes significant damage to
lives and property all around the world. Each year the terrorist attacks around the world have
significant impact on the world economy. As per the Global Terrorism Index 2017, there has
been a decline in the global impact of terrorism by around 7% in 2016. However, in spite of the
decline, the global cost of terrorism was still extremely high at $ 84 billion in 2016. From the
time of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 there has been significant rise in the economic losses
generated from terrorism activities around the world. The uprising of the ISIS has been
significantly related with the increase in the amount of losses sustained since the year 2012 and
peak was reached in the year 2014 when the global cost of terrorism amounted to around $104

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
billion. It can be said that the countries where conflicts and social unrest prevail suffer the
maximum economic impacts from activities of terrorism. The majority of these countries are
located in in Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. In the year 2016, Iraq
demonstrated the biggest economic impact from acts of terrorism where its share of losses
related to economic impact of terrorism was around 24% of GDP. It is evident that terrorism is
detrimental not only from the perspective of the number of lives taken through such activities but
also from the viewpoint of the gargantuan monetary and economic losses that it creates around
the world (McCarthy, 2017).
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/11/16/the-global-economic-impact-of-
terrorism-infographic/#4fc6dec31d0f

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
In the observation of Mohanti (2017), out of the several impacts of global terrorism one of the
least researched outcomes has been the health impact of terrorism. When a terrorist attack takes
place anyone in the world then and it creates damages to lives of the people and also result in
massive destruction of assets and property belonging to the nation. The outcome of a terrorist
attack can have a variety of impacts on the society and community. For instance if an act of
terrorism is conducted on a small to medium scale then it will lead to small scale destruction of
lives and property. In case of large-scale terrorist activities the outcomes can be detrimental such
as loss of lives and property on a massive scale. In every major terrorist attack around the world
there is certainly health impact of such activities. Medical requirements are necessary to combat
the health impacts of terrorism because an act of terror generally has implications on a large
scale where many people are either killed or injured, requiring immediate medical assistance. In
any form of terror attack it is the vulnerable and non-competitive people in the population that
are the worst sufferers in terms of health impacts and psychological outcomes. Thereby, the
concept of ‘terror medicine’ has emerged that is targeted towards achieving medical readiness,
management of incidents, providing care services to the injured and offering psychological
counselling to the traumatized victims of terror attacks. So, amongst the diverse effects of
terrorism, the health impact is certainly a crucial factor requiring more research (Mohanti, 2017).
In the observation of Wagner (2003), the attack on the Twin Towers in the US by the terrorist
outfit Al Qaeda, has marked the beginning of a new era of global terrorism. Today, people are
concerned about their own security in everyday life as they are apprehensive of any small or
large scale terrorist attack that might cause fatality to them or their family, friends and relatives.
In recent times people are wary about undertaking travel for business purposes or for holidaying.
Today people try to determine the safety of a particular destination that they wish to travel to and

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
they are also calculating the routes that are offering the least possible danger to them from the
acts of terrorism. Travelling between countries and also within the borders of a country has now
it is become time-consuming issue because of the increased intensity of security checks that a
person has to undergo during travel. The influence of modern technologically advanced forms of
terrorism has led to the sophistication of the security procedures and functions that are observed
today at the various international airports or train stations. The increasing effects of global
terrorism are also being reflected in the domain of information security threats where the terrorist
outfits hacking into the systems of the military and the government and stealing sensitive
information to create their master plan of violence. So, the increased measures of security during
travelling and those in the domain of cyber security are some of the outcomes of modern
globalized form of terrorism (Wagner, 2003).
According to Arce (2019), the acts of global terrorism can be considered to be those involving
substantially low possibility of occurrence but with extremely high magnitude of consequences.
An act of terrorism can lead to a variety of outcomes such as death or injury to people. The
diverse terrorist organizations are using a variety of plans to conduct terror strikes such as
several varieties of bombings, explosions combined with shootings, mass shootings, and
vehicular assaults. All these incidents can have diverse outcomes depending on the tactics
utilized by the terrorist groups and their objectives. If a small-scale damage is intended then a
terrorist group might cause a blast at some location or a shooting in a typical location killing and
injuring a small number of people. However, if they intend to cause a large-scale damage to the
mass then they might resort to large-scale bombing, explosions or mass shootings that might kill
hundreds of people and injure even more. So, these are some of the human consequences of
terror attacks based on which it is possible to develop an injury and death profile for each

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
category of terror attacks and this will facilitate in ranking them in terms of their probability of
occurrence and the magnitude of damages that might be inflicted (Arce, 2019).
Terrorism in Oman and its major causes
Role of lack of security measures in terrorism activities
Old readable travel documents and their limitations in security
Electronic travel documents and their security features
Role of border security in preventing unauthorized infiltration
Role of International Civil Aviation Organization in security policy
Conclusion 100

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
References:
Arce, D. G. (2019). On the human consequences of terrorism. Public Choice; Volume 178, Issue
3–4, 371–396.
BOROTA, C. M. (n.d.). PRINTING TECHNIQUES USED TO SECURE BORDER
CROSSING DOCUMENTS. International Journal of Criminal Investigation; Volume 2;
Issue 1, 31-40.
Bozhkova, T., Spiridonov, I., & Shterev, K. (2017). Overview of security printing types and
trends in its future development. Bulgarian Chemical Communications, Volume 49,
Special issue L, 195-201.
Fan, Z., Eschbach, R., Wang, S.-g., & Bala, R. (2008). Security Printing in Digital Age .
http://www.imaging.org/site/PDFS/Papers/2008/ICISH-0-909/42782.pdf: Xerox
Corporation; Webster.
Gemalto NV. (2019). High security printing for passport: The 2018 expert's guide. Retrieved
from https://www.gemalto.com/govt/travel/security-printing
McCarthy, N. (2017). The Global Economic Impact Of Terrorism [Infographic]. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/11/16/the-global-economic-impact-of-
terrorism-infographic/#4fc6dec31d0f
Mohanti, B. K. (2017). Health impact is the invisible side of terrorism. MEDICINE AND
SOCIETY; Volume- 30; Issue- 5, 285-286.
United Nations. (2018). Border Management and Law Enforcement relating to Counter-
Terrorism. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/ctitf/en/border-

Running Head: MBA Dissertation
management-and-law-enforcement-relating-counter-terrorism
US Department of State. (2019). Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism.
Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/j/ct/
Wagner, D. (2003). Terrorism's Impact on International Relations. Retrieved from
https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/terrorism's-impact-on-international-
relations