the role of technology in modern terrorism

Napoli (Italy)January 28th, 2016

Pierluigi PAGANINI

The Role Of Technology In Modern Terrorism

AG

EN

DA

Analisi Rischi

Scenario Corrente

Cyber spazio e

Terrorismo

Cyber Terrorismo

Current Scenario

Terrorismo, a global alert

3

• Terrorism, it is global alert in major capitals

worldwide

• Paris, Istanbul, Jakarta and Ouagadougou

(Burkina Faso), terrorism is a global threat.

• Analysts fear possible attacks even in places of

limited interest.

• Technology plays a crucial role for the modern

terrorist threat.

• Cyber space, a new territory of confrontation

for a threat that has no boundaries.

• Lone Wolves attacks in cyberspace

Current Scenario

Media and Terrorism

4

“Terrorist attacks are often carefully choreographed to attract the attention

of the electronic media and the international press. Terrorism is aimed at

the people watching, not at the actual victims. Terrorism is a theater”.

(Brian Jenkins, International Terrorism – A new kind of Warfare 1974)

https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2008/P5261.pdf

Who are the terrorists in the Internet?

5Scenario Corrente

Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement), the Lebanese Hizbollah (Party of

God), the Egyptian Al-Gama'a al Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG), the Popular

Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the

Peruvian Tupak-Amaru (MRTA) and ‘The Shining Path’ (Sendero Luminoso),

the Kahane Lives movement, the Basque ETA movement, the Real IRA

(RIRA), Supreme Truth (Aum Shinrikyo), the Colombian National Liberation

Army (ELN-Colombia), the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Armed

Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Popular Democratic

Liberation Front Party in Turkey (DHKP/C), the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK),

the Zapatista National Liberation Army (ELNZ), the Japanese Red Army

(JRA), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), the Mujahedin, the

Chechens, Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Al-Qaeda.

Terrorism in the cyberspace

6

Presence of Terrorists in the Internet

• In 1998: 12 websites containing

terrorist material

• In 2003: 2,650 websites

containing terrorist material

• In September 2015: 9,800

websites containing terrorist

material

Prof. Gabriel Weimann - 06 Nov 15

Current Scenario

Significant increase of the number of website in the Deep Web

What are the advantages?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor

Cyberspace and

Terrorism7

Simple access Poor control

Interactive

Anonymity

Cheap

What are the possible uses?


Cyberspace and

Terrorism8

• Propaganda• Psychological warfare

• Recruitment and mobilization

• Fundraising

• Data Mining, information gathering

• Secure communications

• Cyber attacks

• Software distribution (e.g., mobile app)

• Buying false documents• Training

Social media & propaganda


Internet

Propaganda9

• Using images with high emotional impact.

• It reaches not Arab people, and it is easily accessible

to young people.

• Easy dissemination of content (easy sharing through

email, messaging and mobile apps)

YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, crucial option for propaganda activities.

Social media and propaganda


Internet

Propaganda10

http://gawker.com/how-isis-makes-its-blood-sausage-1683769387

http://gawker.com/how-isis-makes-its-blood-sausage-1683769387

Training Material


Narrowcasting 11

• Narrowcasting is the transmission of content restricted to specific

categories of users.

• Intelligence experts are worrying about distribution of content to

teenagers Websites using a ‘comic-

style’, lauding the Jihad

Videos and Animations

Computer "games"

Online Quiz Infographics

Training material


Narrowcasting 12

ISIS - propaganda Infographic

Social media


Social media 13

Tweets related to the IS - (Feb.2015)

• Saudi Arabia and Egypt

recorded highest increase, a

clear sign of interest in the IS

• Importance Social media

analysis for business

intelligence

• PSYOPS

Source Recorderd Future - https://www.recordedfuture.com/isis-twitter-growth/

https://www.recordedfuture.com/isis-twitter-growth/

Training Material


Training 14

• Manuals for a safe use of social media

and communication systems

• Propaganda material (e.g.

Encyclopedia of Jihad)

• Manuals for preparations Weapons

(i.e. chemical weapons, bombs)

• Instructions for kidnappings and

techniques of torture.

• Training Techniques

Information about targets.


Information

Gathering 15

• Collecting information on

targets

• Analysis of open sources• Passive Reconnaissance

• Availability of maps, images

and much more (e.g.,

Google Maps, Images from

worldc.am, etc.)

http://worldc.am/

Information about targets


Information

Gathering 16

Encrypt communications


Encrypted

communications17

• Tashfeen al-Jawwal, mobile application developed by the group Global

Islamic Media Front (GIMF) and released in September 2013.

• Asrar al-Ghurabaa, program for encryption of the information developed by

the group Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham and released in Nov. 2013.

• Amn al-Mujahid, software developed by the group Al-Fajr

TechnicalCommittee in December 2013.

Mujahideen Secrets - Al-Qaeda (2007)

Mobile Applications(2015)


Encrypted

communications18

Nasher App August (2015)Amaq Agency Android app 2016

Gruppi su Telegram

Counterfeit documents


Acquisto

Documenti Falsi19

In the abyss of the Internet


Deep Web & Dark

Web20

Pseudo anonymity offered by darknet makes the dark web an ideal

environment for various activities such as:• Propaganda

• Purchasing wepons

• Purchasing stolen card data

• Counterfeit documents

• Recruiting

• Download Mobile Apps used

for secure communications

• Purchase of malicious code

• Fund-raising (??)

• Doxing

Predominant technological component


Over the network 21

The Islamic State has an R & D team which prepares missiles and

hi-tech bombs

“The Islamic State is the first extremist group that has a credible

offensive cyber capability,” said F-Secure Chief Research Officer Hyppönen, speaking last week at the Wall Street Journal’s

WSJDLive conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. “Clearly, this situation

isn’t getting better. It’s getting worse.”

• The use of hacking technique to sabotage critical infrastructure.

• Hacking of systems containing sensitive information.

• Possibility of destabilizing political context through cyber attacks


Cyber Terrorism

Cyber terrorism

22

https://www.ted.com/speakers/mikko_hypponen

http://recode.net/2015/10/20/cybersecurity-expert-mikko-hyppnen-worries-about-extremists-with-computers/

• Low investment

• Organizational phase simpler and difficult to

detect

• Ability to create extensive damage like

traditional terrorist attack

• Different repercussions cyber attack (e.g.,

political, economic, social, technological).

• Risks associated with militarization of cyberspace and reverse engineering of cyber weapons


Cyber Terrorism

What benefits?

23


Cyber Terrorism

Hacking and Intelligence

24

• The ISIS is trying to infiltrate the

Indian hacking community.

• The terror organization offered

up to $ 10,000 to hack

government websites.

• Intense propaganda activities in

the area.

• Over 30,000 individuals in

contact with members of the

organization in Syria and Iraq.

• 12 arrests and 94 websites

blocked local intelligence.

All against all

Risk Analysis 25The Global Risks Report 2016 11th

Edition – World Economic Forum

Cyber attacks - high impact events with high probability

Terrorist attacks- high impact events with high probability of occurrence

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GRR/WEF_GRR16.pdf

Risk Analysis 26The Global Risks Report 2016 11th

Edition – World Economic Forum

Risks Strongly correlated

A cyber terrorist attack could

have the following repercussions:

Cyber attacks

Terrorist attacks

• Geopolitics

• Economic

• Technological

• Social

• Environmental

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GRR/WEF_GRR16.pdf

A look to the future

New Trends 27

• Possible cyber attacks launched

by isolated cells

• Disclosure of sensitive data

• Cyber-terrorism on a large scale

• Cyber attacks against critical

infrastructure

• "Narrowcasting" (restricted

transmission of information)

About me 28

About Pierluigi Paganini:Pierluigi Paganini is Chief Information Security Officer at Bit4Id, firm leader in

identity management, member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for

Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group, he

is also a collaborator at the GIPAF group, Italian Ministry of Economy and

Finance - Administrative Prevention of Payment Card Fraud (GIPAF). Security

Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer.

Editorial manager at Tech Economy for the Security Notes Channel and

Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security

expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker

at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that

security is founded on sharing and awareness lead Pierluigi to find the security

blog "Security Affairs" named a Top National Security Resource for US.

Pierluigi is a member of the Dark Reading Editorial team and he is regular

contributor for some major publications in the cyber security field such as

Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News

Magazine and for many other Security magazines.

Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency

and Bitcoin”, coming soon the new book "Spy attack”

Ing. Pierluigi Paganini

Chief Information Security Officer Bit4id

[email protected]

www.bit4id.com

Founder Security Affairs

http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress

[email protected]

https://www.enisa.europa.eu/

http://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com/

http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress

http://www.amazon.com/The-Deep-Dark-Web-hidden/dp/1480177598

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Virtual-Currency-Bitcoins-Financial/dp/1481905953/

Thank you