Cyber Terrorism - Research Paper Example

Cyber Terrorism Introduction The aspect of cyber terrorism, considered to be quite significant in this era of globalization, is observed to be increasing rapidly in the world. It can be described as an unlawful attack that is made especially against the computers along with their supported networks and the different information that are stored in the computers. The attacks through cyber terrorism ultimately results in violent occurrences against any people or property along with causing damage by creating fear (Gordon & Ford, 2003). The major threat that is resulted from the conception of cyber terrorism along with the mistreatment of internet that is made to serve various violence related operational purposes is quite alarming. This is due to the fact of maximum interdependence upon the computer systems as well as the internet which has been broadly executed by the society in this modern world. Principally, the idea of cyber terrorism engages the utilization of different infrastructures in relation to computer systems with the intention of terrorizing the entire community. The terrorism through the execution of cyber attack i.e. the internet generally does not possess any sort of physical harm towards any individual, society or business organization. It can spread massive fear by terrorizing the community with the application of cyber terrorism by maltreatment of the computer systems along with the execution of internet (Cohen, 2010). The different kinds of cyber terrorism or crime have been identified to be robbery of money, stealing valuable company secrets, information as well as records and attacking the overall infrastructure of a particular organization or people that would lay the foundation of real damage. The significant fact of the increased rate of cyber terrorism or crime is that different forms of innovative technologies are introduced and are becoming quite advanced at a tremendous rate which ultimately contributes towards raising the threat of cyber terrorism or crime by a noteworthy level (Claire, 2011). In this paper, a comprehensive report about cyber terrorism or crime has been portrayed. Various aspects that include the benefits through the execution of the procedure of cyber attacks on behalf of the cyber terrorists and significant effects of cyber terrorism will be presented. Moreover, the different probable tools of cyber attacks and the necessary remedial measures or procedural strategies in order to defend and to control cyber terrorism will also be depicted in the discussion. Advantages for Using the Method of Cyber Attacks It has been viewed that the cyber terrorists normally prefer the execution of the procedure of cyber attacks while performing cyber terrorism or crime. There lie certain crucial advantages of using cyber attacks through which the cyber terrorists usually desire to perform such procedures for conducting cyber crimes or terror. The important benefits of using the system of cyber attack for making cyber terrorism or crime are that it is quite reasonable than the utilization of other traditional procedures and the activity is also quite difficult to be traced. Moreover, by implementing the technique of cyber attacks, the terrorists can hide their physical appearance and the location from where the crime is being performed. In addition, the cyber terrorists can perform their unlawful attacks through the application of remotes being situated in any part of the world and through the execution of this particular method of cyber attacks, the cyber terrorists can perform their unlawful activity in order to attack wide number of targets. In this context, it can be stated that the cyber terrorists can have an effect on a broader amount of individuals and ultimately become successful to initiate cyber terrorism by executing the process of cyber attack through the utilization of internet by a significant extent (Acharya, 2008). Along with the above discussed advantages, there also lies certain other noteworthy benefits through which the execution of internet-based attacks proves to be highly beneficial as well as attractive especially for the cyber terrorists in order to perform cyber related terrorism or crimes. In this similar context, the cyber terrorists have realized the significant fact that they can perform cyber-based attacks from any part of the world. This is due to the reason of the wide availability of the connection of internet in most of the regions or locations along with the facility of employing the internet in the latest mobile phones. Moreover, the cyber terrorists also believe that the attacks which are performed through internet as a form of cyber attack can be made quickly and the destructive materials such as viruses as well as worms can be dispersed at a faster rate without any further engagement of the attacker (Council of Europe, 2007). The other advantage of using the cyber attack method is that it possesses the capability to perform cyber related crimes rather than any other sort of physical attacks. The idea of cyber attack may not be viewed to perform any sort of attack or crime instantly and might engage lengthy efforts towards prohibiting the attack or crime. The procedure of cyber attack generally causes major difficulty by creating significant error in the application software related programs that take too much time to resolve the problem or might not solve the problem at all (Ramshaw & Smith, 2010). Despite the various crucial benefits of using the system of cyber attacks on behalf of the terrorists in order to perform their different cyber related crimes, certain other noteworthy benefits can also be observed in relation to the procedure of cyber attack that attracted the terrorists by a certain level. In this regard, the terrorists deeply realized the fact that they require only few materials or resources in order to perform their destructive operations by conducting crimes through the execution of cyber attacks. In other words, it can be stated that there rests quite limited quantity of financial as well as material resources in order to perform their assigned tasks (Chamley, 2003). The cyber terrorists also implement the system of cyber attacks because different powerful attacking tools as well as equipments required are readily accessible which can be easily gathered by downloading them with the aid of the internet. Moreover, in order to gather the required attacking tools or equipments, minimum skills as well as aptitude are required. In addition, the application of various resources that includes development of the harmful attacking tools which are quite reasonably priced in contrast to certain other costs that are associated with the security of the systems and the networks (Amoroso, 2012). Effects of Cyber Terrorism The modern day world is increasingly becoming more dependent upon the application of the internet that generates both benefits as well as disadvantages especially towards the human communities. It has been observed that the idea of cyber terrorism possesses a destructive factor in order to affect the healthcare related infrastructure of a modern society. This is due to the fact that the healthcare procedural functions of many countries are increasingly depending upon the execution of internet in order to perform various operational functions. In this regard, a broad collection of cyber crimes that have affected the healthcare systems have been observed. The aspect of cyber terrorism is performed by the cyber terrorists in order to attain significant social and political objectives through targeting various institutions that are indirectly or may be directly linked with the healthcare segment. The different institutions as well as the public service related agencies that might experience the risk of cyber terrorism generally include water supply, emergency services, electrical power supply, telecommunication procedures, transportation methods, governmental related operational procedures and banking or financial systems. From the perspective of healthcare system, the conception of cyber terrorism entails crucial implications against the telecommunication system that largely affects public health related communities. The notion of cyber terrorism not only possesses the probable chance to disturb the energetic flow of health related information by affecting the enhanced telecommunication system but can also upset the multiple logistical methods upon which the healthcare operations depend at large. In terms of public safety, the cyber attacks that are performed by the cyber terrorists against the telecommunication system might also disturb the major information-sharing networks (Clem, Galwankar, & Buck, 2003). For instance, in the year 1997, a young hacker disabled the computer systems belonging to a telecommunication business organization that provided magnificent service to the Worcester Airport in the region of Massachusetts. The hacker disrupted certain vital operational functions that included fire department, security, airport tower control and weather service approximately for six hours by performing cyber attack. The issue regarding the aspect of public safety might also get affected by the concept of cyber terrorism in several other ways. It has been observed that the terrorists have executed numerous attacks against the infrastructures which are associated with public health as well as their safety related aspects. The hackers usually perform the attacks by disrupting the public phone related networks, damaging the switching as well as the effective operational functions and hampering the administration along with the maintenance of the system. The other attacks that are performed by the cyber terrorists against the infrastructures in relation to public health along with safety also embrace disrupting signal transfer associated points, traffic switching components and certain other networking related components. Furthermore, along with performing the above discussed attacks, the terrorists have also implemented “time bomb” disruptive programs with the intention of shutting down the crucial switching hubs, various emergency services, giving rise to major alterations in the phone calls along with voice mail systems (Clem, Galwankar, & Buck, 2003). The other major fields of concern in relation to cyber attacks that are performed by the cyber terrorists also fundamentally comprise water and electrical supply systems. In this regard, especially the hospitals and the similar communities highly rely upon both the factors i.e. the water as well as the electricity supply procedural functions in order to avoid any sort of medical damage. The occurrence of the medical damage might get triggered due to the failure of several medical equipments owing to cyber attacks on the water and electrical supply processes in any healthcare related organizations. Additionally, the aspect of cyber terrorism can also cause environmental contamination that imposes adverse health effects on the community. For instance, in Australia, a perpetrator allegedly destroyed the computer system of Maroochy Shire Council in the year 2000 by implementing radio transmissions for the reason of generating excess pouring out of unrefined sewage into the Sunshine Coast that ultimately caused extensive contamination. In this similar context, the cyber terrorists enthusiastically use the conception of cyber terrorism in order to cause extensive toxic ecological contamination which ultimately poses severe impact upon the health of a particular individual in the community (Clem, Galwankar, & Buck, 2003). Different Tools of Cyber Attacks In order to accomplish the desired objectives, the cyber terrorists largely employ different tools of attacks that generally include e-mail spoofing, keylogger, IP address spoofing, logic bomb, physical attacks, viruses, sniffer and worms. The idea of e-mail spoofing is considered to be a technique of transmitting e-mails to a particular user that is viewed to be originating from a specific source but in reality the e-mail gets delivered from another source. This particular tool of cyber attack is chiefly executed with the intention of making a damaging statement or delivering sensitive facts such as the passwords that are employed by the users. The other attacking tool i.e. IP address spoofing is fundamentally described as a procedure that generates Transmission Control Protocol or Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) programs by employing the IP address of another individual person. This particular tool i.e. IP address spoofing is mainly carried out in order to hide the actual identity of the attacker. The notion of keylogger acting as one of the vital attacking tools is often considered as a software related program or hardware linked mechanism. It is generally executed for the purpose of tracking as well as monitoring each of the keys that a particular user types into the keyboard of a computer system. Hence, the tool of keylogger ultimately helps the attackers to obtain any sort of valuable information that the computer operator may not desire others to be acquainted with. The instrument of logic bomb destroys the information or data by performing the function of reformatting the hard disk or erratically inserting junk into the important data files. The junks can get inserted by downloading any kind of application program through the execution of internet and once it is downloaded, the damage occurs instantly and destroys the valuable data. The conception of physical attacks in relation to cyber terrorism often involves the real physical devastation of a particular computer system along with its various components along with the networks. The physical attacks also include destroying the terminal equipments as well as the transport networks of a specific computer system. The sniffer which acts as another strong attacking instrument is viewed as an effective device or a program that traces as well as monitors the precious information that travels over a network. However, sniffers are largely used while performing cyber attacks for the motive of stealing information such as the passwords, IP addresses and other valuable data. It can be stated that once the sniffers are used in a computer system, it is difficult to detect as well as resolve the problem instantly (Air University, 2005). Additionally, the application of generating viruses is recognized to be one of the significant attacking equipments, which has been designed in a way that ultimately helps to alter, infect, destroy or create any other major difficulties associated especially with the software programs of a computer system. There lies various sorts of destructive viruses that include boot sector, stealth, polymorphic, companion, overwrite, executable and resident viruses that broadly contribute towards devastating the overall functioning of a particular computer system by a significant level. Finally, along with the above discussed strong attacking tools that are found to be normally put into use by the cyber terrorists while performing cyber crimes or terrorist acts, the other important attacking tool can be the introduction of worms. This powerful attacking tool i.e. worms is closely attached with a computer system which basically destructs the software related application programs that possess the capability of attaining greater access towards the computer system as well as the network. The worms normally destroy the functioning of the software application programs of a computer system by erasing, altering, wrongly allocating as well as imperfectly manipulating the information or data by a considerable extent. By the formation as well as the implementation of the various attacking tools which are discussed, the cyber terrorists largely contribute towards destructing various infrastructures in order to fulfill their social or political objectives. The potential infrastructures that might get affected by the consequence of the application of powerful attacking tools generally contain the energy systems, telecommunication system, banking as well as finance segments, transportation, water supply system along with emergency services (Verton, 2003). Prevention and Control Against Cyber Terrorism It has been recognized by Computer Crime Research Center that California in the United States is viewed as one of the leading countries in receiving massive complaints related to the issue of cyber terrorism and other similar criminal activities (Computer Crime Research Center, 2012). Furthermore, it has also been viewed that New York has been ranked as one of the topmost regions facing e-commerce linked fraud risks or crimes. In this context, New York, Chicago and Atlanta are viewed as the prominent places especially for the cyber criminals who chiefly focus on stealing credit cards, identities as well as passwords (Computer Crime Research Center, 2012). In order to prevent and to control the increased rate of cyber crimes, certain procedural strategies would have to be emphasized. The various procedural strategies might include suitable documentation of system and accurately organizing the different application configurations along with implementing proper security controls. The other prevention strategies could be keeping off-site backups along with data storage, execution of substitute hard drives, execution of Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) and utilization of redundancy in critical system components (Gustin, 2007). The security of the computer along with its several components is principally regarded as one of the vital facets, which plays an imperative part in the control and the prevention system against cyber terrorism. The various safety measures in order to keep the security of the computer systems might consist of different approaches such as executing latest security systems and firewalls along with conducting personal vigilance. The other outlooks may also comprise adequate utilization of the resources that can be gathered from the internet in order to protect the computer systems and to ensure that all valuable accounts that are present in the computer system possess strong passwords. Furthermore, the other remedial measures that can help towards protecting against cyber terrorism also comprise establishing a sort of security model that splits the information in different categories with providing suitable hardware or software security for each category and making sure that the various cables are well protected with proper cabling method. In addition, the other noteworthy strategies might include systematic operational procedures, tracing successful or unsuccessful accesses, delivering training on the basis of technical arrangements along with providing security awareness to all working personnel and imposing restrictions upon the aspects of dial-up connection and internet-access. The creation of competent mechanisms that cause rapid advancement and recognition as well as standardization of the finest practices associated with internet security and network survivability can also contribute towards the prevention and the control against the occurrence of cyber crimes or terrorism by a significant level (Centre of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism, 2008). Conclusion The aspect of cyber terrorism is principally regarded as a complex concern that poses substantial impact upon the community. It is quite necessary to recognize the various facets of cyber terrorism in order to evaluate the merits as well as the demerits of cyber attacks that are duly performed by the cyber terrorists. It has been viewed that the cyber terrorists usually use the method of cyber attacks in order to perform cyber terrorism or crime due to easy application of the method, being less costly in nature and limited utilization of the resources. The consequences of cyber terrorism affect different infrastructures associated with the specific areas that include transportation, telecommunication, banking as well as finance, water and electricity systems. The cyber terrorists often make effective utilization of various instruments of cyber attacks that comprise viruses, worms, physical attacks, sniffer and logic bomb among others. In order to protect and control cyber terrorism, it is essential to initiate major remedial measures and procedural strategies that might assist towards eradicating the factor of cyber terrorism by a considerable extent. References Acharya, S. (2008). Cyber terrorism- the dark side of the web world. Retrieved from http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l169-Cyber-Terrorism.html Air University. (2005). Cyber operations and cyber terrorism. Retrieved from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/guidterr/sup2.pdf Amoroso, E. G. (2012). Cyber attacks: protecting national infrastructure. 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