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Home >> Terrorism >> Terror Threats The Dark Web Of Cyber Terror – An Inescapable Reality Sammy Elrom - 11/11/2007 Cyber terrorism represents a much unknown facet of extreme Islamic terrorism. One must be extremely knowledgeable and well-versed in multi disciplines to gain a deep understanding of the professional meaning and potential destructive impact that cyber terrorism has on modern economies, national security and politics, and virtually on every aspect of our daily life. Dark Web terrorism, the “military” version of cyber terrorism application is known even less. This is the first part of a three series dedicated to this subject. Why nowSince the Internet became widely popular there were always negative forces that began testing the tremendous power available at their fingertips which resulted in a growing threat of viruses, worms, spam, phishing, hacking into protected systems, etc. More so, the more major businesses and enterprises developed protective systems, the more it posed a new challenge to those that were doing it just for “fun” but to those that were doing it maliciously because of their own agenda against the targeted entity that the system belonged as well. The new terrorism forms and structures evolution which began with the splintering of Al-Qeida after the demise in Afghanistan, forced them to find ways to regroup. The first revival attempts were virtual, using the existing websites while the leaders were hiding, trying to stay alive as the manhunt launched by the coalition partners led by the US intensified. Cyber connectivity wasn’t born in 2000 but the use of the World Wide Web as a initiation to terror and an instructional tool expended by three fold that year alone because the “official” websites used by terrorist groups before 9/11 where the only safe venue to reconnect and regroup. The new reality Al-Qeida was faced with following the immediate period after 9/11, led to what experts named “the critical convergence period”, characterized by changing physical attendance and face to face meeting with using new methods and interconnectivity through the Internet. At that time, and even before realizing what a powerful tool it can be, the Internet was used as a last resort because it maintained anonymous connectivity and because the anti-terror forces chasing them were not prepared to deal with it yet. After the initial shock following the demise of Al-Qeida in Afghanistan, OBL and Al-Zuhairi didn’t have neither the knowledge nor the leadership power to order or advice using the Internet as a safe alternative; this option was entirely created by local leaders who were desperately looking for ways to survive and know what was going on. The faster, more accessible and more reliable the Internet becomes, the easier and safer it is to operate sites that contain and convey essential information without exposure, and it nourishes the foot soldiers’ expectations, alertness and operational readiness. This strong will of becoming a shaiid is supported by religious figures which preach or issue fatwas containing indoctrination and inciting messages. Fatwas and other forms of faith decrees are repeatedly cited on numerous websites as a convincing faith factor intended for the human bombs and those that are taught that dying in the holly war is the ultimate path to meeting God. More than five thousand Al-Qeida and other terror groups websites along with sympathizers’ and supporting web sites operate today on the Internet. From the point of view of a Jihadist believer, the website is like the virtual interpretation of the world-wide New Caliphate proclaimed to be Islam’s global domination in a world without borders. The cyberspace becomes then the means, the preaching and teaching tool, the communication facilitator, the planning forum and the coordination platform, all wrapped in one bundle of almost untraceable electronic transmission, which allows terrorist groups to function and thrive. It is also worthwhile to mention that the more terrorists use organized crime as an operational strategic partner, many of the basic coordination and preparations don’t need long periods of planning because much of the scouting, logistic and ground preparations is carried out by their criminal partners. Such activities may include transport of weapon and explosives, infiltration of operatives and funding, preparation of safe houses, target scouting and leading the attackers to that target. The pact with organized crime minimizes the burden of simultaneous operation capabilities conducted from one command center, as witnessed in the 9/11 attacks. Al-Qeida leaders have to provide the operational instructions, codes and general guidelines and the spiritual and religious backup, the rest is in the hands of their criminal partners. Vital advantages The use of the Internet as part of the terrorism tools is actually the big story, much more than the new horizontal structure adopted by terror organizations. It has a much stronger impact on the war on terror than previously believed, because the West was not prepared to deal with neither the new flat structure of the reorganized terror groups, nor with the creative way of using the WWW as a tool that compensates for the lose of central command. Terrorists groups and especially Jihadists, discovered that the Internet is an excellent stealth attack weapon because: • It doesn’t require field training (actually the training is already built-in the website itself) • There are no special preparations after the site is up and running • Changing the content and updating is secure and done remotely • The technical support in minimal • It provides an excellent scouting, recruiting and real time Intel tool In other words, what terrorists need is a few IT professionals and a hosting server. The results of cyber war may not be as spectacular as detonating an IED in a busy underground parking, but the actual damage has the potential of being more disastrous and create more chaos, by far. The obvious threat and the quest for funding If terrorism is by nature an underground secretive organization running covert activities, then extrovert use of the Internet as an alternate venue, increased terrorists’ effectiveness in thwarting law enforcement and intelligence efforts as well. In general, our awareness awakens only when a terror attack actually happens or when special messages are broadcasted. The threat is always there but we can’t say “where”, “when” and “how”. We are all too deep in a reactive mode still which diminishes the chances to know in advance and thwart terrorist plans. Based on past experience when threats were foiled, it was in most of the cases accidental. The real dark web threats that industries and the business community as a whole are faced with, is very much hidden, mainly because: • Enhanced security means spending lots of money on “virtual” threats • There is a battle going on between the experts who believe that cyber terrorism can’t hurt the economy to much and those believing that it can bring down western economies • The government invests mostly in programs that protect its own systems leaving the protection of private and commercial systems in the hands of the owners, in spite the inter and inner connectivity between private and public systems and endless connections between them and the systems run by the state and federal authorities • It becomes more problematic to receive budgets for new and improved security measures before measurable evidence of the threat cannot be shown in a manner that would raise seriously enough concern to allocate proper budgets to protect the cyber communications. The problem though is that when such evidence is available, it is usually to late to intervene. • A true indication to the short sight approach exposed by private, state and federal entities is the explosion of companies that offer “business continuity”, “business recovery”, and many other related plans and services, all deriving from the assumption that cyber attacks are inevitable and destructive enough to collapse any business. Cyberterrorism and Computer Security There is a tremendously increasing dependency on information technology. Any modern economic, military, and social system relies heavily on IT, and more so do national critical infrastructures sites and main frame management and maintenance systems. The main systems are so deeply interwoven and interconnected that it is almost impossible to articulate a defined perimeter of activity for each such system independently, as each controls so many sub-systems and sub-sub systems consequently. This is especially evident regarding state and federal systems which obviously are complicate, susceptible to catastrophic crashes and difficult to run and maintain, making them thus a prime target. In the same manner in which non-militant cyberterrorism is generally defined as using computing resources to harm, create local panic, coerce and intimidate people, government systems and financial and business entities, darkweb terrorism is using similar means to attempt the destruction of the same for reasons of hate, ideology and radical faith belief. It is difficult to draw a clear line between cyber and darkweb terrorism because both use the same means and methods. The only distinctive characteristic is in the intensity and final goal. Cyber terrorism concentrates (in many cases it is one hacker only) in attacking certain institutions they aim to embarrass and cause damage to infrastructure and central government capabilities. Dark web terrorism on the other side is part of the Jihad war against the West who aims to totally annihilate western culture and subjugate the people to a new faith. Terrorists’ Main Objective of Using the Internet * Spread the message and diffuse propaganda * Gain publicity and popularity * Provide a platform for better communications * Increase fundraising * Thwart law enforcement and run counter Intel operations * Recruiting and training * Coordinate activities * Prevention and warnings As the number of Islamic and terrorists-controlled websites continue to multiply by two folds every year while becoming more sophisticated every day, we can define the framework of each mentioned above objective: Spread the “gospel of terror” – through a sophisticated combination of spirit (distorted views of the faith, discussion forums, favorable fatwas that back up the terrorists faith, etc.) and matter (by providing easy access to links and forums, visual results of the war against the West, and video clips of attacks taken in real time). Messages and statements made by leaders and other ”respected” figures, such as radical Imams, media quotes and quotes from Western leaders that show signs of dispute or weakness. The cyber space is also used effectively to communicate special events, remind followers of special anniversaries, declare martyrs and evoke their sacrifice, teach history the way they see it and propagate ideology in animated and visual ways. It is all done through: i. Content management ii. Document directories iii. Search indexes iv. Improved and simplified accessibility v. Navigation and identification support to users vi. Provision of hyperlinks vii. Connectivity & availability of other/external resources viii. Free web hosting and update RSS feeds Gain publicity & popularity – being aware that gaining public sympathy is of utmost importance, as is staying in top of local and international news, terrorists use the cybernet to generate news and use misinformation to create news. They learned to maintain close relations with cherry-picked journalists and few chosen media leaders. They show sophistication and media savvy by that they continue to provide counter inter-views and responses to law enforcement and government declarations and activities, diminishing the effectiveness of those actions against them; Furthermore, terrorist leaders release recorded messages and videos to show that they are still in full control, impacting public morale and weakening our perception of the need and will to fight. They cleverly take advantage of the fact that journalists and newspapers go out of their way to publish scoops, therefore they are engaged in a continuous give-and-take by-proxy dialog with the media, providing an uninterrupted flow of news. This partial information and disinformation is then used on their websites to strengthen and consolidate ideology and prove to their followers the lack of effectiveness of Western governments in their efforts. This of course is used as a morale booster and an effective recruiting tool. This is achieved by: i. Providing selected information resources, mostly international ii. Providing favorable, raw and doctored easy to understand interpretation of the news iii. Making available banners and special features like logos, insignias, video clips and other features that are downloadable that are also widely used by the Western media and academia iv. Providing maps and similar designed material to backup written material v. Presenting translations to and for various languages intended for their followers and the international media c. A platform for better communication - dedicated websites provide extremely important services: i. Peer-to-peer and peer-to-multiple sources communication while maintaining a constant state of anonymity ii. Best and most effective means for messaging and people searching (remember, terrorists use nick names, pseudo names, rank-defining names and special identification names given by their leaders. Looking up for a certain name could become a daunting and useless effort should not guidance be available). The following is a short list of features intended to simplify the process: 1. A very detailed Help function 2. The Search feature is supported by the use of Graphical User Interface, or GUI, to standardize and simplify the use of computer programs 3. Log-in and email address for web master and organization contact 4. Synchronous use (like MUD - Multi-User Domain) which is like a real-time structured chat forum allowing to log-in as a guest, video conferencing, and MOO (a variation of MUD) Object Oriented which allows the users to create objects, chat rooms and codes they can add to the virtual environment 5. Asynchronous features like emails, BB (bulletin boards), forums and UseNet (users network) which is the most decentralized information utility on the internet, comprised of a vast array of almost all government, private, public, political, economic and social active newsgroups 6. A variety of Feedback forms designed according to the purpose it serves d. Increase funding efforts- the internet is widely used to reach out to supporters and sympathizers and for funding campaigns. It allows group leaders and terror financiers to: i. Ask for donations ii. Describe the need for funds and how it will serve the cause iii. Provide ways & means to collect funds iv. Instruct local collectors and fund raisers where and how to conduct their campaign. It also allows to: 1. Control the donations flow 2. Move moneys around to make it difficult to track sources 3. Issue pay orders and instructions 4. Remote-control funds transfer and exchange of money for needed material, weapons and explosives 5. Use e-commerce applications geared towards the same objective 6. Sell memorabilia from notable terror activities e. To thwart law enforcement and run counter Intel operations – The internet is a very efficient tool for disseminating false information, setting traps and falsifying information intended at discouraging law enforcement and encouraging terrorists. This is done on a daily basis by: i. Leaving traces and false evidence that supposedly expose intentions, objectives and intended targets ii. Creating a guessing game in which law enforcement is chasing a wrong path which often leads to nowhere iii. Planting wrong or erroneous information in a format that the academia likes, thus using this venue to add useless information that is then conveyed by the academic powerhouses to law enforcement, developing wrong theories iv. Conducting counter-Intel operation intended at discrediting accurate information which leads to creating an environment of doubt and a sense of discouragement v. Hop websites from server to server to keep them protected vi. Send encrypted messages using all available means, such as emails and chat forums vii. Post targeted instructions (sometime real, sometimes fake) on a variety of subjects on more than one website viii. Post instructions on legitimate websites through the services offered there ix. To achieve those objectives terrorists will: 1. Set anonymous and multiple email accounts 2. Make available encryption software that can be freely downloaded 3. Provide password protected encrypted services 4. Offer secured email services 5. Execute automatic software upgrades 6. Help with material writing and shooting of bulk mail 7. Offer interactive services – ranging from maps, directions, overlaid info, and relaxation services such as video games, movies, etc. f. Recruiting and training – the internet proved to be a very effective and powerful recruiting and training tool. Again, it allows to achieve far set goals which in the near past required real training camps and public rallies. Today, all this, and more, is achieved through the internet. No wonder terrorist organizations invest so much in this venue, transforming it into the most widely used means of communication, recruitment, training and planning. This is done by: i. Visual appearance: using flashy attractive logos, banners and short clips, appealing to well defined audiences, potential recruiters and recruits, using formats that call for their special skills and experience ii. Focusing on conveying massages that speak to the soul and mind of browsers carrying the same religious convictions and Jihadi views iii. Create and host martyrs (shaiid) legends stories and run non-stop motivational speeches and witness stories iv. Propagate directives, fatwas and religious justifications reinforcing the commands to join the Jihad v. Prepare, develop launch, maintain and update a huge amount of dynamic online libraries that offer training resources using all educational means, ranging from written material, cartoons and video clips, supported by real time videos from actual attacks (mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan) vi. To be able to maintain and develop the system they use the same resource used on the internet by regular users, which may include: 1. Similar online registration process, using restrictions and limitations mentioned before 2. Well organized directories 3. Alerts, FQA (widely used) 4. Extensive use of multimedia which often replaces written material. Visual clips is being seen by followers as an undoubted proof 5. Virtual communities – mushroom because of the strong belief of its users as maintaining anonymity and protecting the source g. Activity coordination, prevention and warnings – As it transpires now, the internet proved to be the most significant change for the better that happened to the global terrorism movement, whether ideological or faith based. The internet eliminated the need to actually regroup for training, is capable of conveying indoctrination lessons and collect funds. Once terrorist understood the importance and the unlimited resources on the internet, most of the more dangerous activities shifted to this venue. More so, the internet became a very effective way of cooperation between terrorists and organized crime, a growing factor of concern that caught law enforcement unprepared. Instead of the old, ineffective and highly dangerous means of communications, especially in emergency situations, terrorist use the internet almost exclusively. The advantage of moving websites from hosting servers to other locations is essential to maintaining an horizontally-spread organization structure, while leadership remain in the shadows In summation The very existence of terrorist networks was at stake following the demise of Al-Qeida organization and the collapse of the Taliban in Afghanistan. OBL and all the other leaders were on the run, there were no training camps or even hiding places, and the future of the Jihadi movement looked grim, if not doomed. In those early days following the conquer of Afghanistan the internet became the only secure way to communicate and draw some help and comfort. It didn’t take too long until the internet turned to be the new alternative. Part two of the series will deal with those that doubt that when used by terrorists the Internet can severely impact the lives all millions over the globe, reaching the same level of threat acts of physical terror can. It’ll bring the theories, the facts and pros and cons, and let you decide whether the dark web is as dangerous and apocalyptic as believed by many, or just an erroneous interpretation of capabilities which will never materialize. |
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