Terrorism in transition : the implications of cyber terrorism

Abstract

Terrorism is one of the fears that influenced the economic, political and security transformations of contemporary societies. The effects of terrorism can be traced back to ancient Greece and evolved en par with societies through the centuries. The anarchist ‘propaganda by deed’ methodology was followed by other terrorist movements later on in history, as well as in the modus operandi of the terrorist organization in the last decade. So the question remains, so now what’s next? The Internet and its ‘natural habitat’ gave the possibility to develop what has been recognized as cyber-terrorism. The services provided by the Internet allow terrorists to adopt an entrepreneur approach to their business. New products are quickly sought and customised to achieve defined goals like any other enterprise. The Internet allows terrorists to spread their message to a far wider audience than that permitted by other non-Internet environments. Cyber-terrorism evolved from being the support infrastructure necessary to commit an attack to the attack itself. This lethal cocktail kindles the need to rethink the economic, political and security strategies in order to mitigate the effects of cyber-terrorism.