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May 19, 2006
Terrorists on the Net
Technology is for recruiting, fund-raising, etc.
Nechemia Meyers
The Internet is a terrorist's best friend. This is the clear conclusion
to be drawn from Terror on the Internet, a new book written
by Gabriel Weimann, a professor of communication at the University
of Haifa, and published by the United States Institute of Peace
Press in Washington, D.C.
This relatively new technological tool played a key role in the
9/11 attacks, according to Weimann. He points out that the al-Qaeda
operatives used the Internet to collect information, communicate
among themselves and co-ordinate their attacks. The Internet enabled
them to research U.S. flight schools, ascertain flight times, purchase
airline tickets, steal social security numbers and obtain fake driver's
licences. And though they used the Internet in public places, they
disguised their intentions by employing prearranged code words.
For instance, the "faculty of urban planning" meant the
World Trade Centre and the Pentagon was referred to as the "faculty
of fine arts."
More generally, another method used by terrorists to avoid the detection
of compromising information involves hiding messages inside graphic
files. This type of code can be in the form of maps, photographs,
directions and technical details. Messages are hidden on web pages
with access limited to users who have the right password. A digital
image of a sailboat, for example, might hold a communique or a map.
A digital song file might contain blueprints of a targeted building.
Today, Weimann writes, all active terrorist groups have established
their presence on the Internet. While in 1998 there were only a
dozen sites that served terrorist movements, last year there were
4,300 sites; now there are undoubtedly more.
The terrorist groups, Weimann reveals, use them on a daily basis
not only to gather background information in preparation for attacks
but also for the following activites:
• Networking – The Internet lets diverse terrorist groups
communicate and co-ordinate their activities.
• Recruitment and mobilization – Users who seem most interested
in the organization's cause or are well suited to carrying out its
work are contacted. Recruiters also use interactive Internet technology
to roam chat rooms and cyber cafés looking for sympathizers
and potential recruits.
• Instructions and online manuals – There are numerous
sites offering manuals and handbooks that explain how to build chemical
and explosive weapons.
• Fund-raising – Terrorists use personal information on
the identity of likely sympathizers, who are then solicited for
donations by front groups.
• Attacking rivals – The Net also serves as a virtual
battlefield between (and within) terrorist organizations. Debates
between such groups as Hamas and al-Qaeda, for example, as well
as conflicts within the groups themselves, are played out over their
websites.
Weimann's book also gives examples of how terrorists employ the
Internet to wage psychological warfare. They use it, for instance,
to spread disinformation and to deliver threats intended to promote
fear and helplessness. Among other things, they disseminate horrific
images of recent actions, such as the brutal murder of American
journalist Daniel Pearl by his captors. And because the Internet
is an uncensored medium, which carries messages regardless of their
validity, it is particularly good for allowing even a small group
to amplify its message and exaggerate its importance.
While calling for a vigorous fight against terrorism, Weimann warns
against implementing counter-measures "that erode the very
qualities and values that make our societies worth defending."
Nechemia Meyers is a freelance writer living in Rehovot,
Israel.
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