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DARK WEB, CYBER TERRORISM AND CYBER WARFARE: DARK
SIDE OF THE CYBERSPACE
Vida M. VILIĆ
PhD, Clinic of Dentistry Niš, Assistant Director for Legal Matters,
e-mail: vila979@gmail.com
Abstract
Cyberspace allows much easier access for a greater number of
people, especially young people, to the propaganda of terrorist
organizations and illegal activities. This kind of communication
and dissemination of terrorist and criminal ideas is not only much
cheaper, because it requires only an investment in a computer and
access to the network, but it is anonymous, it is not spatially
limited, terroristic idea and terroristic actions are performed at the
same time, while the consequences can affect even more people
and targets than is the case of "offline" criminality and terrorism.
In recent years, the increasing problem that experts talk of in
public is the "dark side of surfing the internet", the "Dark net" or
the “Deep Web".
Cyber terrorism is a modern form of terrorism, which connects
the virtual space and terrorist activity, by manipulating even more
efficient methods of psychological warfare. In the cyberspace you
never know who could be the next victim. Based on the
characteristics of cyber terrorism and cyber warfare, it is possible
to reconstruct the criminological dimensions of the terrorist
attacks in cyberspace. Social networks can be used by terrorists
for the purpose of psychological warfare in order to spread
disinformation, fear, panic, intimidating messages and threats to
the public.
Since there is not a unique definition of cyber terrorism, this
paper presents various definitions, implying numerous
characteristics of this kind of criminal activity. The paper also
pointed out to some of the international legislation that made
great efforts in order to effectively counter fight cyber terrorism,
both on international as well as at member state level, and
emphasized the need for interstate and intergovernmental
cooperation on three parallel levels: through international
organizations, through multilateral and multinational platforms
and through regional action.
Vida M. VILIĆ
8 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7-25
Keywords: cyberspace, cyber terrorism, cyber warfare,
steganography, encryption, social networks, international
legislation
Introduction
Even though the benefits of the Internet in modern society are
numerous, the same technology which facilitates modern life can also be
exploited by terrorists and terrorist organizations. Cyberspace can also be the
perfect place for the glorification of terrorist acts, motivation for committing
the acts of terrorism, recruitment of terrorists, broadcasting the illegal and
violent content, facilitating communication between terrorists and terrorist
groups and the training of potential recruits, just like in real life only easier,
with anonymity and much cheaper.
In recent years, an increasing problem that experts talk in public is the
dark side of surfing the internet, Dark Net, Dark Web or Deep Web, where
data and information are password locked, trapped behind pay walls, or where
the user is required to use special software to access this data. It is estimated
that this "digital underground" is much bigger than the regular internet and
that hackers, criminals, terrorists or pedophiles can carry out their illegal
activities with complete freedom. Deep web is part of the internet that is not
accessible to regular browsing tools or to everyday browsing methods. It is a
part of the cyberspace based on standard services and protocols, but requiring
specific identification for use: they are completely legal but not public
services. Dark Web, or Dark Net, is a part of the Internet which is also not
accessible to regular browsing tools or to everyday browsing methods, but it
requires special skills or data in order to connect the various illegal activities
in cyberspace. Dark Web is the “promised land” for users who want to buy
and sell drugs, counterfeit money or forged documents, weapons, ammunition
or explosives, to order and pay for someone’s murder, or to obtain human
organs (Anonimus, 2015). Dark Web has a special system of online payments
concealing identity. Considering that illegal activities on the Dark Web and
cyber terrorism are new areas of possible computer and network misuse and
criminality, comprehensive theoretical and empirical research on this
phenomenon is still in development.
What is cyber terrorism?
Cyber terrorism is a modern form of terrorism, which connects two
greatest fears of modern times: the virtual cyberspace and terrorist activity,
which refers to “unlawful attacks and threats of attack against computers,
networks, and the information stored therein” in order to “intimidate or coerce
a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives”
(Manap., N.A., & Tehrani, P.M., 2012: 409). Internet space is very suitable
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Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7- 25 9
for various terrorist activities and operations, as it provides a facility for
secure communications with a very low cost (Ranđelović, D., Bajagić, M., &
Carević, B., 2012: 318). Cyberterrorism, as a part of the cyberwarfare,
1
refers
to deliberate, politically motivated attacks on computer systems and
programs, as well as spreading the data which could provoke violence and
fear with the civilian targets, in order to persuade the government to change
its policy (Gaćinović, R., 2012:15). Both cyber terrorism and cyber warfare
have the same characteristics: the similarity of their goals, almost the same
manner of execution (modus operandi), but they differ a bit in the strategy of
planning, perpetrators, and potential targets. Cyber warfare has largely been
the province of nation states, and it is generally believed by cyber security
experts that wide-scale cyber warfare can be conducted only by national
actors, mostly by state sponsorship. The real question, according to Stewart
(2015) is "Can an enemy employs asymmetrical warfare in the cyber realm"?
The new weapon in virtual wars that are used are Logic Bombs, Troyan
horses, Worms and Viruses.
2
Its main objectives are: to disable the system
from functioning properly with the loss of information, to use different
software to overload telephone and internet networks, air force control and to
control computers responsible for supervision of other forms of transport, to
scramble or misuse programs that large institutions from state significance
and emergency services use.
There is no unique and universally accepted definition of cyber
terrorism, but all given definitions point out that some of the elements of this
criminal activity include: data theft or hacking, planning terrorist attacks,
causing violence, attacks on information systems and computer networks.
However, internet terrorism must be considered separately from computer
crime in general, because every attack on a computer or network system does
1
Cyberwarfare can be defined as “any virtual conflict initiated as a politically
motivated attack on an enemy's computer and information systems” which
“disable financial and organizational systems by stealing or altering classified
data to undermine networks, websites and services”, and it is also known as
cyber warfare or cyber war. See: Techopedia,
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13600/cyberwarfare.
2
Viruses are malicious software that attach themselves to legitimate looking program
or file in order to cause damage. A worm is a malicious program that can
replicate itself onto other computers on a network. A trojan horse is a
malicious program that can be used to for
accessing data, erasing files, stealing passwords. Logic bombs are usually
pieces of code that are programmed into a program that lie dormant until a
certain
time or until a user does a certain action which causes it to be executed. See:
Hack Defence, http://hackdefencesecurity.blogspot.rs/2012/02/1.html
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10 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7-25
not necessarily represent the act of cyber terrorism. If the cyber terrorism is
equated with daily attacks on computer and network systems, it would be an
even bigger problem to determine with certainty the identity, intention or
political underpinning of the perpetrator, because most of the cyber
perpetrators are hiding behind their anonymity in cyberspace and false IP
addresses. For this reason, cyber terrorism is properly defined as “politically
motivated use of computers as weapons or as targets, by sub-national groups
or clandestine agents intent on violence, to influence an audience or cause a
government to change its policies” (Wilson, C., 2005: 5-7).
The term "cyber terrorism" was used for the first time in the 1980s by
Barry C. Collin of the Institute for Security and Intelligence, who discussed
this dynamic of terrorism as transcendence from the physical to the virtual
realm and “the convergence of these two worlds", which “move ahead with
blinding speed into the computerization of every task and process that we
face“ (Collin, C. B., n.d.).
Some authors, such as James A. Lewis (2002:1), define cyber terrorism
as “the use of cyber computer networks and internet tools for breaking critical
national infrastructures (such as energy, public transport, government
activities) or to intimidate or compel a government of one country or its
citizens”. The aim of conducting such activities is to incapacitate critical
national infrastructure and in order to become more dependent on computer
networks and therefore more vulnerable, creating a "massive electronic
Achilles' heel" of each system that could be violated and misused by
organized groups (Lewis, A. J., 2002). Cyber terrorism is actually using
modern technology to exploit strategic weaknesses of a system and use those
weaknesses for achieving its' goals.
Debra Littlejohn Shinder (2002:19) believes that attacks on computers
and computer networks can be defined as cyber terrorism if the effects are
destructive enough to produce fear comparable to the physical act of
terrorism. This is a violent form of computer criminality committed, planned
or coordinated in a virtual space and using computer networks. Some of the
most common acts that lead to computer terrorism are: a) communication with
electronic messages in order to carry out specific terrorist activities or to
recruit new members for terrorist organizations; b) air traffic sabotage, in
order to provoke crashing the aircrafts or water pollution by sabotaging
electronic purifiers; c) incursions into hospital and healthcare systems, in
order to delete or change patients' database and prescribed methods of
treatment, or to attacks the power supply infrastructure, that can provoke the
death of a large number of people who are on respirators etc.
Abraham R. Wagner (2005: 7) believes that the Internet and social
networks are an ideal place to carry out terrorist activities and operations,
because they allow geographically unlimited actions as well as high-speed
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Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7- 25 11
communications that do not cost much. The terrorists' use and misuse of
computers and computer networks can be conducted in four main directions:
(1) using Internet for terrorists communicating between each other; (2)
creating access to a variety of information stored on the Internet and implying
possible targets as well as providing technical details for such, (3) the use of
the Internet to spread terrorist ideas and the ideology of a terrorist
organization and (4) the conducting of terrorist attacks over the Internet.
An old Chinese dictum says that it is enough to kill one to scare
thousands. Considering this, cyber terrorism is defined also as a criminal act
in virtual space aim to intimidate the government of one country or its citizens
for achieving some political objectives (Petrović, S., 2001:115). Technical
characteristics of conducting such terrorist acts are unlimited opportunities for
direct monitoring, control and disclosure of these activities; unlimited
possibilities in time and space in virtual space, the possibility of operating at a
large distance, numerous choices of targets, the lack of geographical
constraints, precise timing, possibility for previous testing of planned actions
which reduce the risk of eventual failure to a minimum; anonymity of the
perpetrators. Internet terrorism is a deliberate misuse of digital information
systems, networks or its' components in purpose of conducting terrorist
activity and achieving its goal. The results of these activities are direct
violence, spreading fear among civilians, causing instability of strategic and
vital functions of the state institutions and great suffering of the civilians, as
well as different mass accidents described as "collateral damage" (Dimovski,
Z., Ilijevski, I., & Bebanoski, K., 2012:68).
Criminological dimensions of cyber terrorism
Terrorism, as a criminological phenomenon, is a necessary opponent to
almost all modern societies, regardless of their level of socioeconomic
development. Cyberterrorism can be considered as an "attractive option for
modern terrorists, who value its anonymity, its potential to inflict massive
damage, its psychological impact, and its media appeal" (Weinmann, G.,
2005:130).
One of the international organizations that has devoted its work to
combat cyber crime by setting up the National Infrastructure Protection Plan
in 2013 is the American National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC).
According to The Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (DCSINT) Handbook
No. 1.02 - Cyber Operations and Cyber Terrorism (2005: I-1) which is used
for training US soldiers, internet terrorist operations consist of internet
terrorism and internet support, expressed through planning, recruitment and
propaganda. With this kind of activities, the computer network can be used as
a weapon, as an intermediary target or as an activity that precedes or follows
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12 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7-25
physical assault. The Manual states that the most important goals of cyber
terrorism is the loss of integrity of the target itself, reducing its possibilities of
action, lack of trust, security and safety, and then finaly the physical
destruction (DCSINT Handbook No. 1.02 - Cyber Operations and Cyber
Terrorism, 2005: II-3). The most common motivation identified within cyber
terrorism is blackmail, desire for destruction, different kinds of exploitation
and revenge, and most common actions undertaken or threatened by terrorists
are “physical destruction, destruction of important data and information,
attack on computer systems of great importance, illegal incursions into
computer systems from public importance and the access denial to essential
systems, services and data” (DCSINT Handbook No. 1.02 - Cyber Operations
and Cyber Terrorism, 2005: II-8). The FBI described cyber terrorism as a
“development of terrorist capabilities provided by new technologies and
networked organizations, which allows terrorists to conduct their operations
with little or no physical risk to themselves” which is focused on “physical
destruction of information hardware and software, or physical damage to
personnel or equipment using information technology as the medium”
(DCSINT Handbook No. 1.02 - Cyber Operations and Cyber Terrorism, 2005:
II-2). Based on the characteristics of cyber terrorism, according to Ashley, K.
B. (2003), it is possible to reconstruct the criminological dimensions of the
terrorist attacks in cyberspace. In order to understand better the cyber
terrorism, it is necessary to first understand the virtual space itself with all its
possibilities, and then to analyze the following questions:
(1) Who are the perpetrators of cyber terrorism (whether they are
supported by a state, whether the state discards them, whether they are quasi-
public formations, hacker groups or people in power who are engaged in
espionage);
(2) What tools and techniques will be used in the process of planning
and execution of the attack itself;
(3) How to apply the techniques, tactics and procedures for performing
cyber attacks (a method of social engineering, creation and releasing of
viruses and malware into the computer system);
(4) Where the attack is carried out or which categories of potential
targets of terrorist cyber attacks (information and communication networks,
data, objects in „real“ world, energy, banking and finance, vital services of a
country);
(5) Why the attack is carried out or the motivation for carrying out
cyber terrorist attacks, which results they want to achieve, what are the
advantages and disadvantages of such actions;
(6) When the attack is carried out.
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Who are cyberterrorists and supporters of cyberterrorism and how
do they communicate?
Cyber attackers have repeatedly demonstrated that they can jeopardize
the functioning of an entire system of the state. The terrorists want to convey
their message to a larger group of people; they need a global audience to
spread their propaganda, to communicate and to recruit new members, and the
Internet as a global communication medium allows them to do that. Threats
and terrorist activity may vary according to the motivation of the holder of
threat.
The former head of the FBI’s cyber terrorism unit, Michael A. Vatis
(2001) classified potential cyber attackers in four different categories:
- Terrorists, who use cyber attacks as a weapon;
- Terrorist sympathizers, who'll engage in terroristic activity
because they share the same idea and belief as a certain terroristic
group;
- Nations or states, who'll bet involved because they support
certain terroristic goals or want to develop cyber warfare capabilities,
and - "Thrill seekers or cyber joyriders”, who simply want to gain
notoriety through high profile cyber attacks.
Some other authors, like Zoran Stojanovski et al. (Stojanovski, Z.,
Dojčinovski, M., & Ačkoski, J., 2012) state that as the perpetrators or
contractors of acts of cyber terrorism may appear “different individuals,
groups, organizations, national cells and even countries”, which can be
classified as: - “Perpetrators beginners, whose skills and knowledge are not
yet sufficiently developed and they most often use only hacker tools
from the Internet;
- Perpetrators for fun, who possess greater knowledge and a
wide range of hacking skills, they are motivated by curiosity and a
desire for fun;
- Cyber activists, who know exactly which web sites they
want to change and attack;
- Members of organized crime groups, who are highly
motivated by profit, usually consist of well trained and skilled
hackers who are working hard to develop this type of organized
crime and making money, but usually have help and support from
certain interest groups in society;
- Terrorist organizations or individuals who are sympathizers
of terrorist organizations;
- State authorities that support certain professional hacker
groups which execute precisely defined objectives and tasks;
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14 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7-25
- “Insiders”, who are probably the most dangerous, because they have a
lot of knowledge and skills, but they also have unlimited access to the
network and the resources that are potential targets”.
Terrorists in cyberspace can often use different steganographic tools
and encryption methods. Steganography represents the scientific discipline
that studies the methods of hiding secret messages within the media of
harmless character and the covert exchange of information (Spasić, V., &
Vasić, A., 2012). It represents the "hidden writing" ie. the process of hiding
secret messages inside some multimedia files (like photo, audio or video file),
which usually contain unused or irrelevant data spaces filled by terrorists’
secret information, using different steganographic techniques. The perpetrator
can input hidden message in a digitized visual and audio data, which not
bother the original multimedia message, but can only be discovered if
searched for in a specific way. The steganography process generally involves
inserting secret messages inside a transmission medium, which is called a
"carrier", and which has the role of concealing secret messages. The unity
consists of the secret message and the "carrier" in which the message was
incorporated, which is called steganography media or stego.
Encryption is a way to protect certain content against unwanted and
unauthorized reading or change of data. The protection level is determined by
an algorithm or key (“encryption algorithm”). There are two types of
encryption systems (“cryptosystems”): symmetric and asymmetric. A
symmetric system of encryption uses the same “secret key” which is used
both for encryption and decryption, and the asymmetric system of encryption
uses one public key to encrypt messages, and other, secret one, for decryption.
There is a perception that members of Al Qaeda communicate by sending
encrypted messages like this. Today, the encryption is not so widespread as
before, because intelligence services have developed strong systems for
decoding the encryption. Encryption and encrypted messages are still present
on various internet forums, where terrorist organizations often leave their
messages in the form of encrypted text messages to terrorist cells, which they
can then publicly read. Identification of users that use this kind of encrypted
communication for terrorist purposes on some internet forums is almost
impossible.
Nowadays, members of terrorist organizations and task forces mostly
conduct their operations in the cyberspace via e-mail, which is checked
through a free and anonymous webmail account (like Yahoo, Gmail, etc.).
Intelligence services have the technology only to monitor the correspondence
between the particular electronic addresses and e-mails sent from these
accounts. However, if the message has not been sent from specified e-mail
addresses to some different user account or to some other network, the
intelligence agencies now have no way to monitor what happens to those open
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Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7- 25 15
virtual mailboxes. User name and password of the certain webmail account is
given to members of certain operative terroristic groups in order not to
communicate by sending e-messages to other addresses, but to exchange
messages with each other by leaving the messages in a folder labeled "drafts".
This way, all the members who have a username and password of the same e-
mail, checked over the network using that address and the "draft" folder
cannot read the message that they left behind, which is most likely to
represent a set of operational instructions or actions of the terrorist group. The
probability that someone other than members of the terrorist organization will
read these messages are very small, because the message is not sent but
remains stored in the virtual space in a particular user account through which
the communication takes place.
Why do the terrorists rely on cyberspace and social networks?
The most common and obvious reasons why the terrorists rely on
cyberspace are because it is significantly cheaper, completely anonymous, the
variety and number of targets and potential victims are enormous and just "a
click away" – there is no need to cross any distance or to be seen as a
perpetrator. By using the Internet, because of its availability and distribution,
it is easier to recruit and mobilize new supporters of terrorist ideas, to find
information and facilities regardless of the part of the globe where they are
physically located, it is easier to find sources of financing, to build
connections for the implementation of joint actions, to exchange information
and to educate new members for illegal activities. It is important to be aware
of the effects of psychological warfare, because this way fear and panic can
spread faster by the methods of disinformation, threats and setting the
terrifying images of torture and executions.
Various sensitive state and social structures can be attacked and
affected with different methods of attack, in addition different weapons can be
used. Most of the terrorist groups use three basic methods: physical attack
carried out with conventional weapons and directed to computer systems or
data information transmission lines; electronic attack that involves the use of
electromagnetical force or electromagnetic pulse to block computer systems,
the insertion of malicious software into the computer systems and channels of
information transfer, as well as the attack on the computer networks that
usually involves the use of malware as a function of weapons in computer and
network systems and exploitation of the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in
computer programs, used by the enemy in system configuration or security
settings of your computer in order to steal some data or destroy them
(Rodriguez, C. A., 2006). Terrorist organizations largely take advantage of the
Internet in order to carry out their activities: in 1998 more than half of the
organizations that had been identified in the United States as terrorist had a
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16 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7-25
website, in 1999 all had at least one internet presentation, and by 2007 it is
recorded that there were over 5,000 terrorist websites on the internet.
Basically all terrorist web sites contain information such as basic goals and
mission, the history of the organization, the arguments which appeals to
potential new members to accept the mission and goals of the organization,
audio and video attachments, recognizable logos of organizations and even
video games for children ideologically promoting the goals of terrorist
organizations (Kešetović, Ž., & Blagojević, M., 2012).
According to Weimann (2004), there are many reasons why terrorists
use the internet for propaganda, planning and implementation of its activities,
as well as the recruitment of new members: (1) the internet is cheap because
all you need is “a personal computer and an online connection”, it is not
necessary to purchase arms because only one malicious program is enough to
realize certain activity; (2) the manner of conducting the attack “protects the
anonymity of the attackers who use different nicknames so it is difficult to
trace them, there are no geographical borders between different countries nor
police checkouts to deal with”; (3) the number of potential targets is
impossible to determine; (4) for the implementation of planned terroristic
actions it takes less physical training and readiness, the risk of death is
insignifficant and it is not necessary to travel to different places and (5) cyber
terrorism can affect many more people than traditional terrorist attacks
(Weimann, G., 2004: 6).
In addition to conventional weapons, terrorists can now also use
modern, strong and massive weapons such as the mass media and new
technologies. For instance, the internet network can be used in one of the
triple ways: “as a weapon, as a medium and as a goal for itself” (Gaćinović,
R., 2012:16). It is important as a communication tool between activists and
for addressing the public in order to spread terroristic ideology. The fastest
way to spread fear and panic is “through mass media and technology in
general” (Babić, V., 2015:12). Using encrypted communications through the
public Internet service provides “an opportunity for members of the various
terroristic cells to be in constant contact, making their detection and the
interpretation of sent messages very difficult” (Ranđelović, D., Bajagić, M., &
Carević, B., 2012: 318). In addition to communication via e-mail, there are
other techniques for communication and data exchange via Internet, such as
embedding data into digital images and "dead drop" technique (Ranđelović,
D., Bajagić, M., & Carević, B., 2012: 322). The sender can incorporate certain
information into digital images available on the Internet or can replace an
existing image with one that already contains data, so the recipient can
download images from the Internet and to extract the data, with no apparent
link to the sender (embedding data into digital images) or use certain place on
the server as a file sender while the recipient of the files can be removed or
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Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7- 25 17
hidden; any available server can be used, the name of the file remains on the
server, but not its’ content (so called "dead drop"). There are numerous public
and private services on the Internet that could be potential targets of terrorist
attacks, such as information and communication systems, banking and
finance, energy (oil, gas, electricity), delivery of commercial products and
services considered vital for human beings (Ranđelović, D., Bajagić, M., &
Carević, B., 2012: 324).
Social networks can be used by terrorists for the purpose of
psychological weapons in order to spread disinformation spreading fear,
panic, intimidating messages and threats to the public (Babić, V., 2015:13).
Terrorists have a complete control over the contents of messages that are
placed in the electronic media and on social networks, and that is just one
more way of trying to collect funds to finance its activities, for the recruitment
and mobilization of new members
3
for the purpose of building connections
and exchange of information, planning and coordination of terrorist activities.
4
Funding a terrorist organization can also be done over the Internet and
through social networks. Numerous terrorist groups seek direct financial
contributions from its site visitors and from its members and supporters: the
money can be paid directly to specific bank accounts, and some organizations
are receiving donations and using PayPal service or sales in online stores
which are located within their web presentations (Kešetović, Ž., & Blagojević,
M., 2012:48). Donations are not necessarily in cash, but may also be in the
actions and objects that terrorist activitists may find to be of help for the main
activity (weapons, maps for buildings and objects of interest, bulletproof
vests, etc.). In order to gain funds for financing terrorist activities, members of
terrorist groups are also very often keen to commit other criminal acts, such as
the abuse or misuse of different tools for e-commerce, debit or credit cards,
theft of someone else's identity, internet scams etc.
3
Internet could be the initial contact point for individuals who voluntarily want to join
terrorist movements, because they used the Internet to spread their propaganda
and ideology by uploading different literature for the purpose of recruiting
potential members, identification of possible interests and for presentation of
different ideas based the distorted interpretation of religious beliefs etc. See:
Babić, Vladica, 2015:18
4
Terrorists use the Internet in order to plan and to coordinate specific attacks, in which
they use encrypted messages via chat rooms, maps, photographs, signs,
technical features hidden in graphics files and digital images, as well as
different steganographic tools. See: Babić, Vladica, 2015: 22
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How to fight cyber terrorism at the international level?
The Annual Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) stated that the lack of an international agreement on cybercrime
and terrorism is thwarting efforts to bring terrorists to justice, and concluded
that nations should consider a universal agreement that require the countries
to cooperate with each other during cybercrime and cyber terrorism
investigations (Gross, G., 2012). The Report (UNODC Annual Report, 2015)
appealed to the national legislations that they need to established practices for
fighting cyber terrorists and for the successful prosecution of such cases, by
implementing several recommendations:
(1) Law enforcement agencies should work together with
Internet service providers to collect "key evidence" in cyber terrorism
cases;
(2) Operators of Wi-Fi networks and cybercafés should
consider requiring from their users to register and to identify
themselves;
(3) National governments should outlaw terrorist activity
online and by regulating ISP addresses, because the terrorists have
access to the public Internet, including airport and library Wi-Fi
hotspots; as well as to maintain human rights protections.
UNODC, in collaboration with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism
Implementation Task Force (CTITF), developed and published in October
2012, a new technical assistance tool named The Use of the Internet for
Terrorist Purposes (2012), This technical assistance tool aims to provide
practical guidance for policy makers, investigators and prosecutors on
effective criminal justice responses to cases involving the use of the Internet
for terrorist purposes (Countering the Use of the Internet for Terrorist
Purposes, 2012). The publication explained number of cases where the
cyberspace is used "as a tool for the glorification of terrorist acts, incitement,
recruitment and radicalization, financing, training, planning and the
commission of terrorist attacks, and provides an overview of the applicable
legal good practices identified in the conduct of investigations, evidence
gathering and prosecution of such cases, while exploring potential
opportunities to strengthen inter-State and private sector cooperation in this
regard" (Ibid.). However, the publication does not cover all uses of the
Internet for terrorist purposes and the issues of cyber-crime, like cyber attacks
and the preservation of cyber security.
International legislation made great efforts to effectively counter fight
cyber terrorism, both on international as well as at member states level,
emphasizing the interstate and intergovernmental cooperation on three parallel
levels:
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(1) Through international organizations: the United Nations requires of
its Member States to put special measures to prevent all potential hazards in
the field of information security, while in September 2002 Interpol established
a special department against terrorism (Interpol – Counter-Terrorism Fusion
Centre);
(2) Through multilateral and multinational platforms: the interest of the
G8 dealing with the prevention of terrorism and protection of information
technology from terrorism, and through the work of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which in 2002 adopted
Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks by
suggesting the governments of member states to promote information security
and the security of computer networks in order to prevent cyber terrorism,
computer viruses and hacking into systems, so that the privacy of individuals
and their personal freedom would be safe;
(3) Through regional action: mostly through the activities of the
European Union against terrorism in general and the Council of Europe, by
establishing The Committee of Experts on Cyber Terrorism (CODEXTER)
5
and the adoption of the Convention on Cybercrime CETS No. 185 (2001) and
the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism CETS No. 196 (2005).
In past few years, the scientists have been trying to find the way how to
fight against terroristic activities on "Dark Web" and in cyberspace. Using
advanced techniques, such as Web networking, link analysis, content analysis,
authorship analysis, sentiment analysis and multimedia analysis, experts can
find, catalogue and analyze extremist activities online, using the power of
advanced computers and applications to find patterns and connections where
5
CODEXTER at its meetings concluded that the Internet can be used for terrorist
purposes in several different ways and can its use can produce different
effects: 1) terrorist attacks over the Internet can cause harm not only to the
electronic communication systems but also to "ordinary" infrastructure
systems and to produce a large number of human casualties; 2) dissemination
and distribution of illegal content, threats, advertisements that glorify
terrorism, financing of terrorist acts, organizing training for terrorist and
potential member recruitment for terrorist organizations, and 3) the use of
logistics and information technology in order to research for potential targets
of terrorist attacks. See: Council of Europe – Action against Terrorism,
RetrievedDecember 07, 2016 from
http://www.coe.int/t/dlapil/codexter/default_EN.asp, retrieved 07. 12. 2016.
and Council Of Europe - Opinion Of The Committee Of Experts On
Terrorism (Codexter) For The Attention Of The Committee Of Ministers On
Cyber terrorism And Use Of Internet For Terrorist Purposes,
http://www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/legal_cooperation/fight_against_terrorism/
4_theme_files/Cyberterrorism.asp#TopOfPage, retrieved 07. 12. 2016.
Vida M. VILIĆ
20 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7-25
humans can not. "Writeprint" technique is one of the tools developed by Dark
Web, which automatically extracts thousands of multilingual, structural, and
semantic features to determine who is creating 'anonymous' content online,
and the experts also use complex tracking software called "Web spiders" to
search discussion threads and other content to find Internet discussions where
terrorist activities are taking place (Scientists Use the 'Dark Web' to Snag
Extremists and Terrorists Online, n.d.).
Conclusion
In the era of information technology, terrorism can be seen as
conventional terrorism, in which classical weapons (explosives, guns, etc.) are
used for the destruction of resources and personnel in a physical sense; techno
terrorism, in which the classic ordnance are used for destroying infrastructure
and causing damage in cyberspace; and as cyber terrorism, where new
weapons (malicious software, electromagnetic and microwave weapons) are
used for the destruction and modification of data in cyberspace.
Because of the cyber terrorism phenomenon and its frequency, security
agencies responsible for investigating terrorism, including cyber terrorism,
must remain vigilant, which includes ensuring adequate funding for staffing,
equipment, and training, encouraging citizens to be alert and to report any
suspicious behavior (Tafoya, W. L., 2011). The possibility that the next
generation of terrorists, who are now growing up in a digital world, where
hacking tools are sure to become more powerful, more simple to use and
much easier to access (Weinmann, G., 2005), would be able to see predict
much more danger in future cyber terrorist acts is terrifying.
Precautions are necessary in order to protect people from the physical
threats, and that is the reason why security agencies should be prepared to
deal with cyber attacks on the nation’s critical infrastructure which are hard-
to-forecast and very often reoccurring.
Constant efforts to educate professionals and Internet users, raising the
culture of safety in the cyberspace, cleverly designed and continuously
adaptive technological, organizational and regulatory measures may have an
impact on the prevention of cyber terrorism, to reduce risks to an acceptable
level, and ultimately, to keep the scale of civilization progress in the
cyberspace, not its destruction. Potential future conflicts will involve new
participants in the global geopolitical level, but also an independent hackers,
hackers sponsored by the state itself, cyber criminals and cyber terrorists.
Battlefields are not anymore physically located in certain country and
geographically specific, but warfare and conflict has reversed in the virtual
environment and in global networks, where the concept of time was changed
because the attack is immediate and unpredictable. In cyber attack the element
of surprise is vital, and its dynamics is variable from day to day. For this
Dark web, cyber terrorisam and cyber warfare: dark side…
Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 10, December 2017, 7- 25 21
reason, the key question is whether and how the cyberspace can be fully
controlled, how to adopt appropriate legal framework due to the dynamic of
cyber development and the treatment procedures which are rather slow, and
how to find out who are the perpetrators, were they come from and how to
prosecute and sanction them.
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