Cyber Terrorism: Threats and Challenges

The assignment delves into the multifaceted subject of cyber terrorism. It begins by analyzing various definitions and perspectives on the term, highlighting the challenges in establishing a clear consensus. Subsequently, it examines the diverse threats posed by cyber terrorists, ranging from attacks on critical infrastructure to the spread of disinformation. The document also discusses the vulnerabilities that make societies susceptible to these attacks, emphasizing the need for robust cybersecurity measures. Finally, it explores the global implications of cyber terrorism, underscoring the importance of international cooperation in addressing this evolving threat.

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

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Executive Summary
The objective of this report is to give an overview about Cyber Terrorism. This report clearly
points out the challenges that are faced by the nation due to the cyber terrorist attacks. Cyber
terrorism can hack the military as well as government system in order to harm the entire nation.
This report also points out certain unaddressed issues like the capability of the cyber terrorists to
hack water supply system, air traffic and healthcare control systems. This report discusses the
role played by ICT and other relevant technologies in assisting cyber terrorism. At the end this
report discusses the lessons learnt from the entire discussion regarding cyber terrorism.

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Discussion............................................................................................................................3
Cyber Terrorism...............................................................................................................3
Challenges and Problems.................................................................................................4
Relevant Technologies and its Applications in Cyber Terrorism....................................5
Issues Discussed..............................................................................................................6
Important Issues that are not addressed and its Impact...................................................7
Important Lessons............................................................................................................7
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................8
References............................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Cyber crime is becoming a major security concern in this generation of ICT. ICT gives
several advantages to the society but it also has certain disadvantages (Alsaadi & Tubaishat,
2015). Cyber terrorism is an act of spreading fear in the society by using the cyberspace.
Information system can be affected by these types of threats (Ahmad & Yunos, 2012). Cyber
terrorism merges terrorism with cyberspace. This kind of act is against the law and it affects the
information systems and networks as well.
This report discusses about the concept of cyber terrorism. It gives a clear overview of
the problems and challenges that are faced by the community because of cyber terrorism. This
report discusses regarding the relevant technologies that play a major role in cyber terrorism.
This report figures out certain issues that are certain issues and their impact on the society. This
report also explains regarding the lessons learnt from the entire discussion.
Discussion
Cyber Terrorism
Cyber terrorism is an illegal act that takes place over internet. There is a political or
national influence behind terrorist activities (Ahmad, Yunos & Sahib, 2012). Cyberspace is
utilized by the cyber terrorists in order to gain unauthorized access to valuable data. Cyber
terrorism can cause fear in the society just like any traditional terrorist activity or attack. It can
even cause death. Cyber terrorism is generally planned beforehand. Cyber terrorism merges
terrorism with cyberspace. The connection and interaction between virtual and real world has
been made possible by the use of ICT. The weaknesses present in the technology can be

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exploited by attackers in order to harm the society and nation. Insurgents, terrorist organizations
as well as Jihadists make the use of internet for planning the attacks and spreading wrong
messages in the nation and society.
Cyber terrorism can also be related to any type of computer fraud. These attackers access
information in an illegal manner and misuse these data to harm the social, ideological, religious,
and political objectives. Denial of service attack generates second order effects in the nation but
does not create much fear among the people. If telecommunication systems are stopped in a
crisis period then its impact is considered to be catastrophic. The global domain present in the IT
environment is known as cyberspace. Sharing valuable data over the internet can be dangerous as
the cyber terrorists aim to exploit the vulnerabilities of technology rather than attacking with
weapons. Different targets of cyber terrorists are information system of the government,
computer system, oil refineries as well as data banks.
Terrorism is an act of spreading fear in the nation. The global domain present in the IT
environment is known as cyberspace (Torres Soriano, 2012). Cyber means the entire virtual
space in internet. Cyber terrorism has certain features like the execution of this act is completely
done over internet. The terrorist group aims to affect the political infrastructure of the nation.
This act either threatens violence or has a violent nature. Significant role is played by a non state
entity. Conspiracy cells, individuals or organizations can conduct this act of terrorism. These
types of acts have psychological repercussions.
Challenges and Problems
Cyber terrorism can cause devastating effect on the nation. It has the capability to harm
the whole nation because its infrastructures depend on the computer networks and systems

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(Awan, 2014). It creates threat to the security of the nation. The public policies also get harmed
due to cyber terrorism.
Technical Impediments: Identity of the people cannot be disclosed over the internet and
this imposes difficulty on the authorities when they try to track a criminal activity (PakObserver,
2017). The authorities face problem in detecting terrorist activity by using internet.
Legislative Aspect: There is absence of a particular law that can address an act of cyber
terrorism. Most laws fail to incorporate the technological feature and use.
Partnership: The organizations do not want to share information with other organizations
because of the fear of cyber terrorism (Bogdanoski & Petreski, 2013). This will act as a barrier in
creating partnership between public as well as private sectors.
Electric Power System: If the computer systems that are responsible for controlling the
power system are attacked then it can shut the power supply of the society as well as the nation
(Tehrani, Manap & Taji, 2013).
Military Operations: The information system of the military can be hacked for stealing
valuable information that can assist in the planning of physical attack.
Government Security: The cyber terrorists can hack the information system of the
government in order to harm the nation.
Relevant Technologies and its Applications in Cyber Terrorism
Cyber terrorists use advanced technology for the purpose of creating fear. ICT plays a
major role in assisting faster communication between different terrorist groups.

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Internet plays a significant role in cyber terrorist attacks. The terrorist groups make the
maximum use of internet technology to spread fear in the nation (Abomhara, 2015). The
terrorists develop malicious software for getting unauthorized access to valuable data (Luiijf,
2012). The Jihadists can use mobile technology in order to spread propaganda regarding
political as well as ideological issues.
Computer systems are known for storing valuable data and if the terrorist groups are able
to hack into the system then they can misuse the data for their own purpose (Jarvis, Macdonald
& Nouri, 2014). Bluetooth technology and use of social media platforms also play a significant
role in cyber terrorism. Technological advancements assist in the act of cyber terrorism.
Cryptography can be used by the terrorists for encrypting valuable data and cause harm
to the government. They can hide their identity by the process of encryption.
Steganography technique can be used by the terrorist to exchange information by hiding
it inside objects.
Issues Discussed
The vulnerabilities in the technology are exploited by the cyber terrorists in order to harm
the nation and state. They make use of advanced technologies for the purpose of spreading fear
in the nation (Manap & Tehrani, 2012). The government as well as the military systems can also
get hacked and misused by the attackers (Chuipka, 2016). Cyber terrorism aims to create
psychological repercussions in the society. The cyber terrorists have a political or ideological
motive. Cloud servers as well as computer systems can get attacked by malicious codes that are
developed by the cyber terrorists.

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Important Issues that are not addressed and its Impact
Financial issues were given main importance but there are many more issues related to
cyber terrorism like:
Air Traffic Control: The system that controls the air traffic can get attacked and cause
disruption to the entire operations causing flight delays (Ackoski & Dojcinovski, 2012).
Water Supply System: The flood gates of the dams can be attacked by the cyber terrorist
causing death of several people. The supply of water can also be stopped due to cyber terrorism.
Healthcare System: Cyber terrorists have the capability to attack the healthcare systems
and disrupt the healthcare facilities in the nation and society (Harries & Yellowlees, 2013). They
are also able to modify and remove the health records of the patients.
Important Lessons
ICT is gaining importance with time. There are several advantages of ICT. The above
discussion pointed out the negative side of ICT. Cyberspace has several vulnerabilities that can
be exploited by the cyber terrorists to harm the nation. Various types of attacks are possible by
using the internet technology. Cyber attack is different from cyber terrorism. The aim of cyber
terrorism is to spread fear in the nation but the aim of cyber attack is to steal valuable data from
information systems. Cyber terrorism makes use of sensitive data to spread fear in the nation as
well as the society. Threatening messages can be spread by the cyber terrorists by using
advanced technologies. Incorporation of strong security infrastructure will be able to prevent
such illegal activities.

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Conclusion
This report concludes that advanced technologies play significant role in cyber terrorism.
This report said that cyber terrorism is an act of spreading fear in the society by using the
cyberspace. Information system can be affected by these types of threats. Cyber terrorism merges
terrorism with cyberspace. This kind of act is against the law and it affects the information
systems and networks as well. The global domain present in the IT environment is known as
cyberspace. This report pointed out that the terrorist group aims to affect the political
infrastructure of the nation. Cyber terrorism can cause devastating effect on the nation. It has the
capability to harm the whole nation because its infrastructures depend on the computer networks
and systems. The major challenges lie in overcoming the technical vulnerabilities to stop cyber
terrorism. Bluetooth technology and use of social media platforms also play a significant role in
cyber terrorism. Cyber terrorists can use the technique of cryptography as well as Steganography
to harm the nation. The government as well as the military systems can also get hacked and
misused by the attackers. This report also pointed out few major issues like hacking the
healthcare systems, water supply systems as well as air traffic control system that can harm the
nation. This report concluded that incorporation of strong security infrastructure will be able to
prevent such illegal activities.

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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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