Cyber terrorism and Information Warfare

Cyber terrorism and Information Warfare

A recent concern in computer and national security has been the possibility of cyber terrorism, which is defined by Herman Tavani as the execution of “politically motivated hacking operations intended to cause grave harm, that is, resulting in either loss of life or severe economic loss, or both”. The possibility of major attacks on information infrastructure, intending to debilitate or compromise this infrastructure and harm economic,

industrial or social structures dependent on it, has become a major concern since the 9/11 attacks. Such attacks could be both foreign and domestic. Controversy exists on the proper scope of “cyber terrorism”. Where should the boundaries be drawn between cyber terrorism, cyber crime, and cyber vandalism? Should a teenager who releases a dangerous virus that

turns out to cause major harm to government computers be persecuted as a

cyber terrorist? Are politically motivated hijackings of the homepages of major organizations acts of cyber terrorism? A distinction between cyber terrorism and other kinds of cyber attacks may be found in its political nature: cyber terrorism consists of politically motivated operations that aim

to cause harm. Yet, Mark Mai non and Abby Good rum have argued that not all politically motivated cyber attacks should be called cyber terrorism. They distinguish cyber terrorism from hacktivist, which are hacking operations against an internet site or server with the intent to disrupt normal operations but without the intent to cause serious damage. Hacktivists may make use of e-mail bombs, low-grade viruses, and temporary homepage hijackings. They are politically motivated hackers who engage in a form of electronic political activism that should be distinguished from terrorism .Information warfare is an extension of ordinary warfare in which combatants use information and attacks on information and information systems as tools of warfare. Information warfare may include the use of information media to spread propaganda, the disruption, jamming or hijacking of communication infrastructure or propaganda feeds of the enemy, and hacking into computer systems that control vital infrastructure (e.g., oil and gas pipelines, electric power grids, or railway infrastructure).