Lecture 4: Instrumental Cyber Terrorism

Terrorism  as  Psychological  Warfare

Terrorism at its heart is a vicious species of psychological warfare.

It is violence as communications.

The psychological impact of modern terrorism is designed to reach beyond the immediate victims to others who were not victimized directly by the attack.

Modern terrorists are not necessarily interested in the death or injury of their direct victims as much as in the impact of this psychological victimization on a wider public.

Terrorism  as  Psychological  Warfare

Terrorism aims to isolate the individual from the group, to break up a society into so many frightened individuals, hiding in their homes and unable to go about their daily lives as citizens, employees, and family members.

The terrorist aims to undermine the individual’s belief in the collective values of his society, by amplifying the potential threat to the extent that security appears to outweigh all other political concerns.

Terrorism uses the victim’s own imagination against him.

Has this happened in the U.S.?

Terrorism  as  Psychological  Warfare

Terrorist seek to provoke overreaction by their enemies.

The terrorists hope that a clumsy and over-generalized strike against them will hit some of their own side who are not yet radicalized and mobilized, will enlarge their base of sympathy, will turn the sympathetic but immobilized to action and sacrifice.

Importantly, terrorist not only want to provoke fear in their enemies, they also want to deliver other messages to other audiences.

In a sense terrorist are actors producing a play in which they have various different messages for different audiences.

Terrorism  as  Theatre

Enemy Population: Terrorist message is one of threat and fear, with the intention that this fear translate into moral breakdown, collapse of confidence in the government, and pressure on decision makers to accept terrorists’ demands.

Message: Fear, instability, uncertainty.

International Public Opinion: Message is usually based on the noble political goals such as freedom, equal rights, self-expression, a free state, liberation of prisoners, etc..

Message: Sympathy, support, assistance.

Who are the different audiences terrorists play to?

Terrorism  as  Theatre

Terrorist Supporters and Recruits: Terrorist message is designed to make the terrorist look successful, emboldened, and feared. A group to be reckoned with

Message: Success, commitment, vision, pride.

Population Terrorists Serve: Terrorist message is designed to make them look successful, worthy of praise and worthy of support.

Message: Success, vision, commitment.

How are these various messages delivered to the different audiences?

Media, specifically traditional media of TV and print

Terrorism  as  TheatreModern terrorism can best be thought of as media oriented terrorism

or media centered terrorism.

In order to get the message across to the different audiences in the most efficient way, terrorist have taken to producing media oriented incidents.

This is ever important in a jaded world in which we are faced with innumerable choices for entertainment

September 11, 2001

Staged during the day to have the most dramatic images and the most victims.

Target and victim choice were chosen for their spectacular and symbolic impact.

Hollywood-like spectacle

9/11  as  Media  Centered  Terror

Hollywood like images designed for maximum impact not only on the building but on the psyche

Terrorism  and  Tradi:onal  MediaHow does the traditional media help to enable this media centered

terrorism and assist in the psychological warfare aspect of terrorism and getting the message to the different audiences?

Traditional media provide an outlet for terrorists and their actions by broadcasting them and providing a vehicle for their message.

TV networks provide constant coverage of terrorist incidents saturating the public with images and views of the incident:

• Interviews of victims

• Naming of the incident

• Live and in-depth coverage

Media  Satura:on  of  Terror

Terrorism  and  Tradi:onal  Media

Is the traditional media coverage of terrorism always beneficial for terrorist groups?

No, because of the lack of control over the message that is delivered via traditional media.

Traditional media has few producers and many consumers, giving terrorist groups little to no input into the message being delivered.

Media is about profit and thus the goal of traditional media is to package a product that has popular appeal and will generate huge advertising dollars

This leads to traditional media covering only the mainstream and government views of terror incidents and terrorists

Terrorism  and  Tradi:onal  Media

Traditionally the elite-dominated media have focused media coverage on only one or two viewpoints, leading to further marginalization of minority viewpoints.

Marginalized groups that most often make up terrorist group membership are rarely represented in media coverage.

Most depictions of these groups only further reinforce the negative or marginalized images of the group

Is there a way to break the control of these media depictions?

In the traditional media it is difficult if not impossible to achieve

But through the Internet it is possible to produce your own media

Terrorism  and  the  InternetWhereas traditional media is a broadcast medium with few

producers and many consumers, the Internet is a decentralized communication system where individuals are both producers and consumers.

The Internet allows individuals to interactively choose the information they receive and send and it breaks the stranglehold that traditional media have on image creation.

The Internet allows marginalized groups (terrorist groups) to control their own message and shape their own image.

Terrorist groups no longer are at the will of the traditional media in terms of messages they wish to convey.

The impact of this cannot be over emphasized.

Terrorism  and  the  InternetThrough the use of the Internet, terrorist groups have the ability to:

• Control the message: Editing of images, sound bites, etc.. All are controlled by terror groups.

• Increase the audience: Rather than reach only a geographically limited audience via TV, the Internet has the ability to globalize the message.

• Control Time: The Internet is always on, allowing the message to be received at any time.

• Control Costs: Internet media is cheap if not free in many cases, allowing increased delivery.

Benefits  of  the  Internet• Easy access

• Little or no regulation, censorship, or other forms of government control.

• Potentially huge audiences spread throughout the world.

• Anonymity of communication.

• Fast flow of information.

• Interactivity.

• Inexpensive development and maintenance of a web presence.

• Multimedia environment (text, graphics, audio, video, downloads, etc..)

• Ability to shape coverage in the traditional mass media, which increasinlgy use the Internet as a source for stories.

Terrorists  uses  of  the  Internet

• Propaganda

• Recruiting

• Training

• Fundraising

• Communication

• Targeting

Propaganda• Terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda have used

websites as a way to target potential supporters and sympathizers as well as the international community.

• Sites are not only official Al Qaeda sites but also sites maintained by group members and supporters.

• The Center for Islamic Studies and Research is the official media wing of Al Qaeda.– Sawt al-Jihad: Bi-monthly virtual magazine – Al Khansa: Online magazine for women of

Jihad• Hammas and others have childrens website with

games, chat, and downloads to help spread the word of Jihad to young children.

Propaganda• Sawt al Jihad Issue 11.

– Fighting the Crusaders– Achievements of the Mujahideen– Stand against the Saudi Family

• Al Khansa issue 1– Biography of the Mujahidat

(Female Mujahideen)– Raising Children on Jihad’s

Teachings

Propaganda

Propaganda

Al Fateh: “The Conqueror”

Site includes games, chat, music, etc..

Sample pages of the site discuss Jihad and “unequalled tales of heroism”

October 2004, published a picture of a decapitated head of a female suicide bomber who had killed several Israeli soldiers

The accompanying text praises the act and states that she was now in paradise

2001 they posted the last will of a suicide bomber

Propaganda

One of the most consistent Al Qaeda websites that has been one of the primary sources for “official” statements from Ayman al-Zawahiri

Often attacked by pro U.S. hackers it has moved around the Internet and since 2002 it has largely been a “parasite”

PropagandaIn addition to official propaganda sites, there are innumerable numbers of “fan” sites dedicated to supporting terrorists and terror groups.

These sites are not official sites but they often provide official announcements and contain lots of propaganda.

•Celebrate suicide bombers

•Cult-like in nature

•Help to spread the message, while simultaneously feeding the growing mythology around the Jihadists martyrs

Propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda

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Propaganda

Osamma Fan site

Common  Aspects  of  Propaganda

•Provide news articles w/fundamentalist spin

•Editorials and commentary from Islamic religious and military leaders

•Rulings on legal and religious matters

•Photos of alleged atrocities

•Links to other sympathizer sites

•Arabic only content

• Choose a terrorist group and find out how they are using propaganda on the Internet to further their message.

• The terrorist group must be from the State Department list of terrorist groups.

• Write a summary of the way in which they are currently using propaganda, including pictures and screen grabs of the web sites you have found.

• Videos, Online magazines, pictures, websites, etc..• Due Date: October 12, 2011 @ 5:00 p.m.

Assignment