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Evolution of Cyberterrorism: Challenges and Solutions

Year 2024, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 64 - 73, 30.12.2024
https://doi.org/10.62425/jirs.1589559

Abstract

Cyberterrorism is an important international relations issue as it poses formidable challenges to international security due to its unanimity and easier reach to broad masses. Fighting cyberterrorism necessitates understanding what kinds of actors resort to it, what motivates them, what are their intentions and targets, what kind of means they employ, and what kind of effects their actions cause. This study addresses the actors, targets, motives, intentions, means, and effects of cyberterrorism and how they have evolved to contribute to providing effective counter-measures and safeguards. To this end, after the introduction, the study first provides a conceptual framework to assess the evolution of cyberterrorism by focusing on its key attributes. Second, it explores the evolution of actors in cyberterrorism. Third, the study focuses on the evolution of motives and intentions in cyberterrorism. Fourth, it examines the evolution of targets, means, and effects in cyberterrorism. The conclusion highlights the transnational nature of cyberterrorism and calls for reciprocating to it in kind.

References

  • References
  • Aday, S., Andžāns, M., Bērziņa-Čerenkova, U., Granelli, F., Gravelines, J., Hills, M., Holmstrom, M., Klus, A., Martinez-Sanchez,
  • I., Mattiisen, M., Molder, H., Morakabati, Y., Pamment, J., Sari, A., Sazonov, V., Simons, G., & Terra, J. (2019). Hybrid threats: A strategic communications perspective. NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.
  • Awan, I. (2017). Cyber-extremism: ISIS and the power of social media. Society, 54(2), 138-149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-017-0106-6
  • Ayad, C., & Zerrouky, M. (2023, March 20). Jordanian pilot burned alive by IS in 2015: The story of a failed release. Le Monde. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/03/20/jordanian-pilot-burned-alive-by-is-in-2015-the-story-of-afailed-release_6027456_4.html
  • Al Mazari, A., Anjariny, A. H., Habib, S. A., & Nyakwende, E. (2018). Cyber terrorism taxonomies: Definition, targets, patterns, risk factors, and mitigation strategies. In K. Al-Begain, M. Zak, W. Alosaimi, & C. Turyagyenda (Eds.),
  • Cyber security and threats: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 608-621). IGI Global.
  • Berger, J. M., & Morgan, J. (2015). The ISIS Twitter census: Defining and describing the population of ISIS supporters on Twitter (The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World Analysis Paper, No. 20). Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.
  • Cadwalladr, C. (2012, September 8). Anonymous: Behind the masks of the cyber insurgents. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/sep/08/anonymous-behind-masks-cyber-insurgents
  • Coleman, G. (2014). Hacker, hoaxer, whistleblower, spy: The many faces of Anonymous. Verso Books.
  • Collin, C. B. (n.d.). The future of cyber terrorism: Where the physical and virtual worlds converge. 11th Annual International Symposium on Criminal Justice Issues. http://www.crime-research.org/library/Cyberter.htm
  • Conway, M. (2007). Cyberterrorism: Hype and reality. Potomac Books, Inc.
  • Cyber Policy. (n.d.). 5 Cybercrime groups making organizations uneasy. https://www.cyberpolicy.com/cybersecurityeducation/5-cybercrime-groups-making-organizations-uneasy
  • Denning, D. E. (2000, May 23). Cyberterrorism. Testimony before the Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism Committee on Armed Services U.S. House of Representatives. https://faculty.nps.edu/dedennin/publications/Testimony-Cyberterrorism2000.htm
  • Denning, D. E. (2001). Activism, hacktivism, and cyberterrorism: The internet as a tool for influencing foreign policy. In J.
  • Arquilla & D. Ronfeldt (Eds.), Networks and netwars: The future of terror, crime, and militancy (pp. 239-288). RAND Corporation. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/mr1382osd.13
  • Eliaçık, E. (2022, June 17). What is considered cyberterrorism and why does it matter today? Dataconomy. https://dataconomy.com/2022/06/17/what-is-cyberterrorism/
  • Fruhlinger, J. (2020, February 12). The OPM hack explained: Bad security practices meet China’s Captain America. CSO Online. https://www.csoonline.com/article/566509/the-opm-hack-explained-bad-security-practices-meet-chinas-captainamerica.html
  • Ghafur, S., Kristensen, S., Honeyford, K., Martin, G., Darzi, A., & Aylin, P. (2019).
  • A retrospective impact analysis of the WannaCry cyberattack on the NHS. NPJ Digital Medicine, 2(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-019-0098-4
  • Global Coalition. (2017). Countering Daesh's propaganda. https://theglobalcoalition.org/en/mission/countering-daeshspropaganda/
  • Global Coalition Against Daesh. (2019). Dismantling Daesh’s illicit financial flows: Tightening the global financial system to stop terror funding. https://theglobalcoalition.org/en/daesh-financial-flows-stop-terror-funding/
  • Greenberg, A. (2018). The untold story of NotPetya, the most devastating cyberattack in history. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/
  • Greenberg, K. J. (2016). Counter-radicalization via the internet. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 668(1), 165-179. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716216631194
  • Gregory, J. (2022, January 26). 10 years later, what did LulzSec mean for cybersecurity? Security Intelligence. https://securityintelligence.com/articles/lulzsec-10-years-later-cybersecurity-influence-meaning/
  • Herzog, S. (2011). Revisiting the Estonian cyber-attacks: Digital threats and multinational responses. Journal of Strategic Security, 4(2), 49-60. https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.4.2.2
  • Haizler, O. (2017). The United States’ cyber warfare history: Implications on modern cyber operational structures and policymaking. Cyber, Intelligence, and Security, 1(1), 31-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/23802877.2017.1305773
  • Iftikhar, S. (2024). Cyberterrorism as a global threat: A review on repercussions and countermeasures. PeerJ Computer Science, 10, e1772. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.1772
  • Jayakumar, S. (2020). Cyber attacks by terrorists and other malevolent actors: Prevention and preparedness with three case studies on Estonia, Singapore, and the United States. In A. P. Schmid (Ed.), Handbook of terrorism prevention and preparedness (pp. 871–925). International Center for Counter-Terrorism.
  • Joubert, V. (2012). Five years after Estonia’s cyber attacks: Lessons learned for NATO. NATO Defense College Research Paper, Imprimerie Deltamedia Group.
  • Marquardt, A., Levenson, E., & Tal, A. (2021, February 10). Florida water treatment facility hack used a dormant remote access software, sheriff says. CNN. https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/2021/02/10/florida-water-treatmentfacility- hack-used-a-dormant-remote-access-software-sheriff-says/
  • Maryville University. (2022, January 20). Cyber terrorism: What it is and how it’s evolved. Maryville Online. https://online.maryville.edu/blog/cyber-terrorism/
  • McGuinness, D. (2017, April 27). How a cyber-attack transformed Estonia. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/39655415
  • Montasari, R. (2024). Cyberspace, cyberterrorism and international security in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Springer.
  • Olson, P. (2012). We are Anonymous: Inside the hacker world of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the global cyber insurgency. Little, Brown and Company.
  • Öğün, M. N., Yurtsever, S., Aslan, M., & Elburası, M. (2021). Terrorist use of cyber technology. Eskişehir Teknik Üniversitesi
  • Bilim ve Teknoloji Dergisi B-Teorik Bilimler, 9(Iconat Special Issue 2021), 113-128.
  • Plotnek, J., & Slay, J. (2021). Cyber terrorism: A homogenized taxonomy and definition. Computers & Security, 102, 102145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2020.102145
  • Schindler, H.-J. (2020). United Nations and counter-terrorism: Strategy, structure, and prevention of violent extremism conducive to terrorism: A practitioner’s view. In S. J. Hansen & S. Lid (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Deradicalisation and Disengagement (pp. 163-179). Routledge.
  • Tafoya, W. L. (2011). Cyber terror. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 80(11), 1-7.
  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2012). The use of the internet for terrorist purposes. United Nations. https://www.unodc.org/documents/frontpage/Use_of_Internet_for_Terrorist_Purposes.pdf
  • U.S. Department of Justice. (2020, August 13). Global disruption of three terror finance cyber-enabled campaigns. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/global-disruption-three-terror-finance-cyber-enabled-campaigns
  • Verton, D. (1999, April 4). Serbs launch cyberattack on NATO. Next Gov. https://www.nextgov.com/digitalgovernment/ 1999/04/serbs-launch-cyberattack-on-nato/195288/
  • Vilić, V. M. (2017). Dark web, cyber terrorism and cyber warfare: Dark side of the cyberspace. Balkan Social Science Review, 10(10), 7-25.
  • Wilson, C. (2005). Computer attack and cyber terrorism: Vulnerabilities and policy issues for Congress. CRS Report for Congress. https://fas.org/irp/crs/RL32114.pdf

Siber Terörizmin Evrimi: Tehditler ve Çözüm Önerileri

Year 2024, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 64 - 73, 30.12.2024
https://doi.org/10.62425/jirs.1589559

Abstract

Siber terörizm önemli bir uluslararası ilişkiler meselesidir. Teknolojinin teröristlerin kolay bir şekilde çok geniş kitlelere ulaşmalarını sağlaması ve teröristlere kimliklerini saklama imkânı sunması nedeniyle siber terörizm, önemli ve baş edilmesi güç bir uluslararası güvenlik tehdidi haline gelmiştir. Siber terörizmle etkili şekilde mücadele edebilmek için hangi tür aktörlerin buna başvurduğunu, onları neyin motive ettiğini, niyetlerinin ve hedeflerinin ne olduğunu, hangi araçları kullandıklarını ve eylemlerinin ne tür etkiler yarattığını kavramak gerekmektedir. Bu çalışma, siber terörizmin aktörlerini, hedeflerini, güdülerini, niyetlerini, araçlarını ve etkilerini ele almakta ve bunların etkili karşı önlemler ve güvenlik önlemleri sağlamak için nasıl evrildiğini incelemektedir. Bu amaçla, giriş bölümünden sonra, çalışma ilk olarak siber terörizmin evrimini değerlendirmek için temel özelliklerine odaklanan kavramsal bir çerçeve sunmaktadır. İkinci olarak, siber terörizmdeki aktörlerin evrimini değerlendirmektedir. Üçüncü olarak, çalışma siber terörizmin güdüleri ve niyetlerinin evrimine odaklanmaktadır. Dördüncü olarak, siber terörizmin hedeflerinin, araçlarının ve etkilerinin evrimini incelemektedir. Sonuç bölümünde, siber terörizmin ulus ötesi doğasına dikkat çekilmekte, bu tehdide doğasına uygun olarak cevap verilmesi gerektiğinin altı çizilmekte ve önerilerde bulunulmaktadır.

References

  • References
  • Aday, S., Andžāns, M., Bērziņa-Čerenkova, U., Granelli, F., Gravelines, J., Hills, M., Holmstrom, M., Klus, A., Martinez-Sanchez,
  • I., Mattiisen, M., Molder, H., Morakabati, Y., Pamment, J., Sari, A., Sazonov, V., Simons, G., & Terra, J. (2019). Hybrid threats: A strategic communications perspective. NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.
  • Awan, I. (2017). Cyber-extremism: ISIS and the power of social media. Society, 54(2), 138-149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-017-0106-6
  • Ayad, C., & Zerrouky, M. (2023, March 20). Jordanian pilot burned alive by IS in 2015: The story of a failed release. Le Monde. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/03/20/jordanian-pilot-burned-alive-by-is-in-2015-the-story-of-afailed-release_6027456_4.html
  • Al Mazari, A., Anjariny, A. H., Habib, S. A., & Nyakwende, E. (2018). Cyber terrorism taxonomies: Definition, targets, patterns, risk factors, and mitigation strategies. In K. Al-Begain, M. Zak, W. Alosaimi, & C. Turyagyenda (Eds.),
  • Cyber security and threats: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 608-621). IGI Global.
  • Berger, J. M., & Morgan, J. (2015). The ISIS Twitter census: Defining and describing the population of ISIS supporters on Twitter (The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World Analysis Paper, No. 20). Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.
  • Cadwalladr, C. (2012, September 8). Anonymous: Behind the masks of the cyber insurgents. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/sep/08/anonymous-behind-masks-cyber-insurgents
  • Coleman, G. (2014). Hacker, hoaxer, whistleblower, spy: The many faces of Anonymous. Verso Books.
  • Collin, C. B. (n.d.). The future of cyber terrorism: Where the physical and virtual worlds converge. 11th Annual International Symposium on Criminal Justice Issues. http://www.crime-research.org/library/Cyberter.htm
  • Conway, M. (2007). Cyberterrorism: Hype and reality. Potomac Books, Inc.
  • Cyber Policy. (n.d.). 5 Cybercrime groups making organizations uneasy. https://www.cyberpolicy.com/cybersecurityeducation/5-cybercrime-groups-making-organizations-uneasy
  • Denning, D. E. (2000, May 23). Cyberterrorism. Testimony before the Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism Committee on Armed Services U.S. House of Representatives. https://faculty.nps.edu/dedennin/publications/Testimony-Cyberterrorism2000.htm
  • Denning, D. E. (2001). Activism, hacktivism, and cyberterrorism: The internet as a tool for influencing foreign policy. In J.
  • Arquilla & D. Ronfeldt (Eds.), Networks and netwars: The future of terror, crime, and militancy (pp. 239-288). RAND Corporation. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/mr1382osd.13
  • Eliaçık, E. (2022, June 17). What is considered cyberterrorism and why does it matter today? Dataconomy. https://dataconomy.com/2022/06/17/what-is-cyberterrorism/
  • Fruhlinger, J. (2020, February 12). The OPM hack explained: Bad security practices meet China’s Captain America. CSO Online. https://www.csoonline.com/article/566509/the-opm-hack-explained-bad-security-practices-meet-chinas-captainamerica.html
  • Ghafur, S., Kristensen, S., Honeyford, K., Martin, G., Darzi, A., & Aylin, P. (2019).
  • A retrospective impact analysis of the WannaCry cyberattack on the NHS. NPJ Digital Medicine, 2(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-019-0098-4
  • Global Coalition. (2017). Countering Daesh's propaganda. https://theglobalcoalition.org/en/mission/countering-daeshspropaganda/
  • Global Coalition Against Daesh. (2019). Dismantling Daesh’s illicit financial flows: Tightening the global financial system to stop terror funding. https://theglobalcoalition.org/en/daesh-financial-flows-stop-terror-funding/
  • Greenberg, A. (2018). The untold story of NotPetya, the most devastating cyberattack in history. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/
  • Greenberg, K. J. (2016). Counter-radicalization via the internet. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 668(1), 165-179. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716216631194
  • Gregory, J. (2022, January 26). 10 years later, what did LulzSec mean for cybersecurity? Security Intelligence. https://securityintelligence.com/articles/lulzsec-10-years-later-cybersecurity-influence-meaning/
  • Herzog, S. (2011). Revisiting the Estonian cyber-attacks: Digital threats and multinational responses. Journal of Strategic Security, 4(2), 49-60. https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.4.2.2
  • Haizler, O. (2017). The United States’ cyber warfare history: Implications on modern cyber operational structures and policymaking. Cyber, Intelligence, and Security, 1(1), 31-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/23802877.2017.1305773
  • Iftikhar, S. (2024). Cyberterrorism as a global threat: A review on repercussions and countermeasures. PeerJ Computer Science, 10, e1772. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.1772
  • Jayakumar, S. (2020). Cyber attacks by terrorists and other malevolent actors: Prevention and preparedness with three case studies on Estonia, Singapore, and the United States. In A. P. Schmid (Ed.), Handbook of terrorism prevention and preparedness (pp. 871–925). International Center for Counter-Terrorism.
  • Joubert, V. (2012). Five years after Estonia’s cyber attacks: Lessons learned for NATO. NATO Defense College Research Paper, Imprimerie Deltamedia Group.
  • Marquardt, A., Levenson, E., & Tal, A. (2021, February 10). Florida water treatment facility hack used a dormant remote access software, sheriff says. CNN. https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/2021/02/10/florida-water-treatmentfacility- hack-used-a-dormant-remote-access-software-sheriff-says/
  • Maryville University. (2022, January 20). Cyber terrorism: What it is and how it’s evolved. Maryville Online. https://online.maryville.edu/blog/cyber-terrorism/
  • McGuinness, D. (2017, April 27). How a cyber-attack transformed Estonia. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/39655415
  • Montasari, R. (2024). Cyberspace, cyberterrorism and international security in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Springer.
  • Olson, P. (2012). We are Anonymous: Inside the hacker world of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the global cyber insurgency. Little, Brown and Company.
  • Öğün, M. N., Yurtsever, S., Aslan, M., & Elburası, M. (2021). Terrorist use of cyber technology. Eskişehir Teknik Üniversitesi
  • Bilim ve Teknoloji Dergisi B-Teorik Bilimler, 9(Iconat Special Issue 2021), 113-128.
  • Plotnek, J., & Slay, J. (2021). Cyber terrorism: A homogenized taxonomy and definition. Computers & Security, 102, 102145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2020.102145
  • Schindler, H.-J. (2020). United Nations and counter-terrorism: Strategy, structure, and prevention of violent extremism conducive to terrorism: A practitioner’s view. In S. J. Hansen & S. Lid (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Deradicalisation and Disengagement (pp. 163-179). Routledge.
  • Tafoya, W. L. (2011). Cyber terror. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 80(11), 1-7.
  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2012). The use of the internet for terrorist purposes. United Nations. https://www.unodc.org/documents/frontpage/Use_of_Internet_for_Terrorist_Purposes.pdf
  • U.S. Department of Justice. (2020, August 13). Global disruption of three terror finance cyber-enabled campaigns. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/global-disruption-three-terror-finance-cyber-enabled-campaigns
  • Verton, D. (1999, April 4). Serbs launch cyberattack on NATO. Next Gov. https://www.nextgov.com/digitalgovernment/ 1999/04/serbs-launch-cyberattack-on-nato/195288/
  • Vilić, V. M. (2017). Dark web, cyber terrorism and cyber warfare: Dark side of the cyberspace. Balkan Social Science Review, 10(10), 7-25.
  • Wilson, C. (2005). Computer attack and cyber terrorism: Vulnerabilities and policy issues for Congress. CRS Report for Congress. https://fas.org/irp/crs/RL32114.pdf
There are 45 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects International Security
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Mücahit Ergün 0000-0002-9213-9346

Gülşen Şeker Aydın 0000-0003-1288-4053

Publication Date December 30, 2024
Submission Date November 22, 2024
Acceptance Date December 23, 2024
Published in Issue Year 2024 Volume: 4 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Ergün, M., & Şeker Aydın, G. (2024). Evolution of Cyberterrorism: Challenges and Solutions. Uluslararası İlişkiler Çalışmaları Dergisi, 4(2), 64-73. https://doi.org/10.62425/jirs.1589559

Content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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