Cyber Terrorism

In a world of new technologies popping up every day, terrorists everywhere are becoming bolder.  With the mask of a screen, it has become easier for a terrorist to plan and initiate attacks.  Their informational skills are multiplying with each new application that is developed.  Technology is developing at such a rapid rate that even those who are in the elite of the technology world are not always able to keep up.  Cyber terrorists use many different means of initiating their plans, these can include hacking into important files, phreaking, and communicating with others around the world.

Hacking is the art of using one computer to gain access to another computer.  Sometimes this may mean that the other computer is close proximity, but most of the time for cyber terrorists, it means accessing a computer many miles away or more.  Many cyber terrorists are using their hacking skills to break into the nation's top banks and steal money out of people’s private accounts.  Others, with bigger goals, are hacking into government websites to gain access to private files or information on people.  It is important to understand how to protect yourself so that if anything were to happen, you know what to do.

Phreaking is a word not many people have been exposed to.  Those who consider themselves phreakers are simply people who have learned to use the tones that phones make in order to make free calls around the world.  In recent years, phone companies have begun switching to a different system in which these tones are played on a separate and inaccessible channel.  However, the phone systems that still use the older versions make it easy for cyber terrorists to connect with similar groups all over the world in order to plan attacks in the real world.

Lastly, technology has made it so that cyber terrorists can communicate much easier.  These new channels of communication have made it easier for cyber terrorists to decrease their cyber footprint making them virtually untraceable.  All bits of information on the internet can be changed or manipulated to better suit the user, if the user knows how to do that.  Cyber terrorists are increasingly being used by terrorist organizations to help achieve these manipulations effectively.

Today’s terrorists are doing more than just kidnapping and bombing, they are also hacking, phreaking, and communicating more effectively.  It is for this that every nation should have more laws regarding the upkeep of the internet and its pertinent information.  The average citizen may think that the government is spying on them, but by having someone who is constantly on the lookout, our assets are much safer.  The next step is regulating internet traffic so that terrorists are more likely to be spotted before an attack is made.