Modern Terrorism and the Internet - Research Paper Example

The proliferation of the Internet has simplified the task of terrorists in obtaining publicity. Prior to the Internet, terrorists had to depend on print media, radio, and television to convey their demands, threats, and ideology. These were at best limited in scope, as there was no assurance that they would always disseminate the message of the terrorist. After the advent of the Internet, terrorists can project the image they choose regarding themselves and their enemies (Weimann, 2004).

Terrorist attacks on the Internet chiefly cause economic damage, and there is very little scope for employing such attacks to cause physical harm (Why Terrorists Use the Internet, 2005). As such, a terrorist attack that does not entail death and injury attracts less attention and is therefore less effective in spreading terror.

Moreover, terrorists host websites that display terrifying videos of their brutal murders. One such video showed the brutal killing of an American journalist by Islamic terrorists. The Islamic terrorist group, Al Qaeda employs advanced communication technology in conjunction with multimedia, in order to engage in a highly sophisticated form of psychological warfare (Weimann, 2004).

Al Qaeda has unremittingly declared; via its websites that its attack on the World Trade Center served to significantly damage the US economy, in addition to causing severe psychological damage to the populace. This contention has been borne out to some extent by the weakening of the dollar and the diffidence generated in the US economy, at the national and international levels (Weimann, 2004).

Moreover, the Internet provides a convenient means for raising funds for not only political organizations but also terrorist groups. In addition, terrorist groups employ the Internet to recruit and mobilize cadres. Terrorist organizations not only use various web technologies to enhance their allure, but they also collect information about the entities that browse through their websites (Weimann, 2004).

In addition, technical information regarding the manufacture and use of explosives is readily available on the Internet. For instance, there are several websites that post The Anarchist Cookbook and The Terrorist’s Handbook. These are detailed manuals for manufacturing a vast array of explosive devices (Weimann, 2004).

A major use of the Internet made by terrorist groups is for planning and coordinating terrorist attacks. The September 11 attacks were witness to the large-scale use of the Internet by al Qaeda to mount its murderous attacks. A large number of encrypted messages were retrieved by federal officials from the computer of the al Qaeda terrorist Abu Zubaydah, the monster who had masterminded these iniquitous attacks (Weimann, 2004).

Realizing the benefit being derived from the Internet, by the terrorists, the US Government embarked upon a counterterrorism strategy. This strategy was aimed at infiltrating the message boards of Islamic terrorists. In addition, the staunch ally of the US, namely the UK was successful in hacking an English-language online magazine of al Qaeda (Ackerman, 2011).

Moreover, in the UK, the Home Office had proposed that filtering software was to be introduced, which would prevent a computer from displaying material that could result in the development of radical views or terrorist recruitment. Fanatics of all colors and suicide bombers have derived inspiration from the Internet.