Contents

• Executive Summary 2
• Introduction 3
• History 4
• Nature of Cyber Terrorism 5
• Strategies 7
• Victims and damage caused 8
• Methods of Attack 9
• Existing laws (Australian and International) and their shortcomings 10
• Other issues in the field 14
• Counter measures 16
• Conclusion/Findings 19
• References 21

Description

Cyber terrorism is a complex issue that is influenced by and influences a number of other factors. It was born due mainly due to the inherent characteristics of the internet namely, its ease of use and anonymous communication. The integration and connectivity provided by the technology has only served the needs of terrorists. From an active use of the internet to cause harm to intended parties, cyber terrorism has evolved such that it is now used to carry out a number of additional functions. Tackling the issue of cyber terrorism has been accompanied by a number of obstacles and created a host of issues. Legislation is the central focus through which the problem is tackled, however, due to the global nature of the technology and the problem, cooperation within and among nations is a must. Those nations that have been hard on cyber terrorism have experienced issues such as those on civil liberty and freedom of expression. Therefore, due to the complex nature of problems associated with cyber terrorism it is important to act on multiple fronts and ensure the cooperation of a number of stakeholders in the scenario. Cyber terrorism, however, is only part of the bigger issue of terrorism. This implies that cyber terrorism requires a dual approach, an approach similar to dealing with cyber crime and one that deals entirely on the motives of terrorism. This in turn necessitates cooperation from the foreign affairs department of a nation. However, for the foreseeable future, cyber terrorism will be expected to evolve rapidly making use of sophisticated computer technology to launch attacks. Despite the absence of a large scale attack to date, there is no reason that an attack on a massive scale is not possible especially given the motivation and resources available to terrorists.