How the Internet Is Utilized by Terrorist and Counterterrorist Agencies

How the Internet is Utilized by Terrorist

The early concept of the internet was created in the 1950's to ensure a communication network exists in case of a nuclear war occurred. In the early 1990's this communication network idea bloomed into something that changed the way each individual communication and know about the world. The World Wide Web gave accesses to the world anyone who processed a computer. Communication engine like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites linked people together with a tap of their fingertip. Now today, the Internet is vital communication engine for the daily function of governments, business, and average individuals. The Internet is also a medium for extremist and terrorist organizations to communicate and spread their ideology. For most individuals, the Internet is a free medium for anyone to express their thoughts and ideas regardless of the message. However, there are groups in the world using the Internet medium to conduct strategic operation to cause fear and harm to their enemies. Many extremist and terrorist groups are increasing using the Internet as their medium of getting information out to and communicating to those who believe in their cause. In 1998, there were roughly 12 terrorist websites by 2009 terrorist website had increased to 6,940 and increase ever more (Hoskinson, 2011). Terrorist are not just creating websites to advertise their organizations but utilizing social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media to allow members or potential members engage in terrorist activities. After September 9, 2001 attack, executive orders gave the Intelligence Community the authority to utilize the same social media engine to monitor terrorist organizations and individuals who engage in terrorist activities. The Internet has become the cyber battleground for both terrorist organization and counterterrorist agencies; both side utilizing social media as a mean to achieve their goals.

Everyone in today's society knows that the Internet provides unlimited information at the tips of one's fingers and knowledge is just a few key strokes away. There are two types of users on the Internet; those who give or upload information and those get or download information. One group of society is utilizing these two aspects of given and getting information are terrorist groups. Terrorist organizations utilize the Internet as a medium to exploit their causes on a global level and reaching out to millions of current and potential recruits. The Internet provides a medium that is easily assessable to any user, provide a medium that is fast in getting information out in real time, provide a medium where information can be given on a mass audience level, and provide a medium that is barely regulated with the ability to be anonymous (Weimann, 2004) . They target three different audiences: current and potential supporters, international public opinion, and enemy public (Weimann, 2004). Terrorist groups utilize the Internet for many reasons; they include propaganda, recruitment, training, fund raising, data mining, networking, and coordination of activities.

Prior to the age of the Internet, most terrorist organization was out of the public eye and when they became public, it was not until they committed a violent act and professing their involvement threw news media. Now in the age of the World Wide Web, terrorist groups utilize the Internet to display their cause. One website, Inspire magazine, does not make any effort to hide their desire to cause violence to their enemies. Anwar al-Awlaki, an American born Yemeni, new the power of the Internet and knew how to use the Internet as a modem of information and communication. On the website, one can find the article "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom" and many other instructions to help Muslims in the West to carry out acts of violence (Corera, 2001). Anwar al-Awlaki used the Inspire website for his lectures and sermons to encourage would be terrorists to act against the West. For instance, al-Awlaki communicated with the Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan. Advising and encouraging him to shoot U.S. soldiers from his home base. Faisal Shahzad, the Time Square car bomber was in touch with al-Awlaki and cited al-Awlaki as a mentor (Corera, 2001). Terrorist group's uses social media forums like chatrooms to find new recruits. According to Gabriel Weimann ( 2007) in her article: Using the Internet for Terrorist Recruitment and Mobilization, some terrorist group utilize chatrooms to recruit Latino Muslims with US passports in hoping that these recruits would be less suspicious compare to Arab-Americans.

No longer a secret organization to the world, terrorist group like al-Qaeda are very public in their views, beliefs, and activities. Many of the al-Qaeda cells are visible to the public, using the Internet as their forum. Many have Twitter or Facebook accounts, creating a medium for open discussion using chatrooms and message boards. Using social media like YouTube and Facebook as a forum to upload videos for propaganda and training. Free chatroom service like PalTalk, is a popular medium to share information between different terrorist cells with little risk of identification by authorities (Weimann, 2010). The privacy of chatrooms gives the terrrorist group the ability to corrdinate attacks, provide new recruites with one-on-one communication from experts terrorists, and upload of training information through videos without the users being idenfitied. Younes Tsouli demonstrated the resourcefullness use of the internet. Known as "Irhadi 077", in 2003 he used the Internet to upload instructions on how to hack into computers systems of governments. This caught the eyes of al-Qaeda leaders and by 2005 Younes Tsouli became the administrator of extrimist internet group al-Anar (Weimann, 2010). Tsouli was known to hack into state government computers and uploading propganda videos. He was instrumental in maintaining communiation links between the different al-Qaeda cells after the fall of the Taliban (Weimann, 2010).

Money and funding operations is an issue for any organization and the Internet is a great forum of the solicitation for money from the public and private sector. Like any organization, al-Qaeda depends heavily on donations. Some form charity groups, asking donors for money. The Sunni extremist group Hizb al-Tahrir uses the Internet crossing from Europe to Africa, asking supporters to donate money for their jihad (Weimann, 2004). Some terrorist organizations go as far as given account numbers for supporters to deposit their donation for the organization. Chechnya fighters have publicly given out bank account numbers to donors, in the case of one Chechnya group, the account number came from a bank in Sacramento, California (Weimann, 2004). The United State government