Cyber Terrorism and other types of terrorism in Australia - Research Paper Example

Cyber terrorism and other forms of terrorism in Australia No country seems to be free from the threats of terrorism and Australia isalso not an exception. Even though, different kinds of terrorist activities are going on in Australia, cyber terrorism seems to be the most important one.”As physical security is locked down, terrorists are likely to look at ways to strike from a distance, with low chance of capture, yet creating panic and fear within the target community” (Ellsmore, p.3). The practical difficulty in controlling cyber crimes made it one of the most dangerous terrorist activities of modern era. Since most of the critical areas of human life are making use of computers and internet at present, cyber attack can affect the social life drastically within a second. For example, transporting systems, power supply, military operation and telecommunication systems etc are relying heavily on computers and internet for its routine jobs and functions at present. Any problems occurred in the functionality of computers and internet can affect these areas negatively and cause immense damages to public life. This paper analyses the terrorism threats faced by Australia in general and cyber threats in particular. It is not necessary that cyber attacks may create physical ham alone to Australia. In fact cyber attacks can be used to defame a country like Australia in front of others. The most common form of hacktivism is the defacing of web pages to carry a message to the audience of that web site. The site shown in Figure below – an Australian business defaced to accuse Australia of being a terrorist country, is a recent example of hacktivism – as well as illustrating the tensions of the war on terror being transferred to the electronic realm (Ellsmore, p.5) The above webpage is a clear example of how the cyber attacks happening against Australia. Australia is a strong supporter of war on terror which is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Terrorists target all the countries which support war on terror in some way. Since most of the countries like Australia have strengthened the security measures against a physical or direct terrorist attack terrorists now adopting channels of indirect attack. Cyber attacks give them the luxury of attacking their targets from a distance and the chances of arrest or punishment are extremely rare. “Evidence exists to suggest that al-Qaeda have also been using the Internet to collect & collate information about potential critical infrastructure targets” (Ellsmore, p.6). Internet is an ocean of information. It is not necessary to visit a place to collect information about it. All the details about all the places in the world are available on internet at present. It is easy for terrorist groups to collect and analyze this information before planning an attack on a particular target. The electronic information can be used for cyber attacks or even for physical attacks. According to the CERT Co-ordination Centre, the number of reported computer security incidents increased from 9,859 in 1999 to 52,658 in 2001, and we are on track for almost 100,000 in 2023. Similarly, the 2002 Australian Computer Crime and Security Survey found that 67% of respondents suffered a security incident, twice the level of 1994 (Ellsmore, p.8). The above statistics are clear indications of growing threats faced by Australia from cyber terrorism. Cyber attacks can affect the productivity of organizations and employment losses to the employees. In other words, cyber attacks can destroy affect the financial systems more than the lives of the people. The expenses needed to conduct a cyber attack are extremely cheaper compared to the expenses needed for a physical attack. At the same time cyber attacks can cause more damages to the target than a physical attack. Moreover, the publicity generated by cyber attacks may create panic and disgust among the people. The above facts motivate terrorist in selecting cyber medium for their future channel of attack. “A cyber attack that alone might pass unnoticed in the normal clutter of daily life could have useful multiplier effects if undertaken simultaneously with a physical attack” (Stephenson). Apart from cyber attacks, Australia is facing other forms of terrorism also at present. The 1978 Sydney Hilton bombing is one best example to realize the threats of terrorism faced by Australia. In 2008, a group of Muslim terrorists arrested in Melbourne for planning terrorist attack on the 2005 AFL Grand Final, 2006 Australian Grand Prix and the Crown Casino. These terrorists confessed that they had plans to assassinate even the Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Peter Gregory and Thomas Hunter (2009) has mentioned about the arrests of some terrorists including some Australian citizens in connection with planning terrorist attack in Australian soil. On August 4, 2009, Four Australian citizens were arrested in the pre-dawn raids by 400 police targeting an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to engage in suicidal gun battles at military bases. Police charged one of the suspects, a 25-year-old Glenroy man, with conspiring to preparing a terrorist act (Gregory & Hunter). The above incident clearly indicates that Australia is currently facing terrorist challenges not only from external sources, but also internal sources as well. Terrorists succeeded in establishing nexus with the Australian citizens in order to execute their missions in Australian soil. It is somewhat easy for Australia to trace the threats from external sources; however, it is difficult to identify the threats from internal sources. On 15 July, 2004, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer published a white paper to “present to the Australian public an authoritative view of the international dimensions of the contemporary terrorist threat to Australia and Australian interests” (Transnational Terrorism: The Threat to Australia). This white paper warns the public against the increasing threats from the terrorists faced by Australia and the necessities of taking precautionary measures. To conclude, Australia is facing terrorist threats from all the corners at present. Not only external sources, but also the internal sources are raising challenges to the security of the people. Apart from physical attacks, cyber attacks also creating problems in Australia. Works Cited 1. Ellsmore, Nick. “Cyber Terrorism in Australia”. 2002. SIFT special report. Web. 25 April 2011. 2. Gregory Peter and Hunter Thomas. “Counter-Terrorism Raids Across Melbourne”. 2009. Web. 25 April 2011. 3. Stephenson, Kylie. “Australia Joins the Unlikely Cyber Terrorism War”. 2008. Web. 25 April 2011. 4. “Transnational Terrorism: The Threat to Australia”. 2004. Web. 25 April 2011. Read More