IDN TAKE: Tackling Cyber Terrorism

by Raghul Thamotharan

Cyber space broadly posses of three major threats. They are:

i) Cyber Crimes

ii) Cyber Terrorism

ii) Cyber Warfare.

People confuse with these three terms and integrate into one same basket called cyber warefare. But this article was about cyber terrorism.

Who Is A Cyber Terrorist?

There are people out there with very different goals, who are our real threats, and who are, or will be, attacking us. Make no mistake, the threats are real, today. The goals may be based on undefined Ideological, regional and fictional.

Types of Cyber Terrorism

The following three levels of cyber terror capability is defined by Monterey group:

• Simple-Unstructured: The capability to conduct basic hacks against individual systems using tools created by someone else. The organization possesses little target analysis, command and control, or learning capability.

• Advanced-Structured: The capability to conduct more sophisticated attacks against multiple systems or networks and possibly, to modify or create basic hacking tools. The organization possesses an elementary target analysis, command and control, and learning capability.

• Complex-Coordinated: The capability for a coordinated attack capable of causing mass-disruption against integrated, heterogeneous defenses (including cryptography). Ability to create sophisticated hacking tools. Highly capable target analysis, command and control, and organization learning capability

In India the worst case of cyber terrorism was in 2008 Mumbai attacks which costs more than 165 life, which is about complex-Coordinated attacks. Even in every day life of Kashmir posses advanced and structured attacks in second category. So India needs to protect this vulnerability by having strong cyber security.

Last year, the discovery of the IS twitter account operator 'Mehdi' alias 'Shami Witness' from Bangalore jolted India. He was recruiting volunteers for IS for the past several years, abetted IS in its agenda to wage war against Asiatic powers and had posted the video of US aid worker Peter Kassig's beheading several times on his account.

Twitter India, when questioned, said it would not comment on individual accounts, for privacy and security reasons and only review reported accounts against their rules, which prohibit direct, specific threats of violence against others.

justify;">Post the Mehdi episode, a former National Security Adviser went on record to say that some 100 Indians were engaged in Mehdi type of activities on the Internet. Other social media too is being used for such purposes. Possibly the false news of rapes and photographs posted on social media during 2013 of homes attacked and burnt that forced the exodus of North-East youth working in Bangalore and Delhi was the handiwork of radicals.

Similarly, the Whatsapp message purportedly sent by a young officer after the terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri during 2014 too could have been by radicals aimed at creating dissension in the army's rank and file.

Additionally, Indian Mujahideen terrorist Riaz Bhatkal and his close aides are known to run a hi-tech command center in Karachi to communicate with terror cells in India and Nepal, and possibly even the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

How to Protect Cyber Terrorism?

i) First our experts should differentiate between type of cyber space and we have to develop customized solution. 

ii) Introduction of both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. Offensive we can monitor the terrorists’ activities and motives and defensive we can protect from future threats.

iii) Private sector participation in cyber related activities

iv) Unified command between armed forces (Army, Navy, Coast Guard and the Air Force) on space development and communication cyber experts and ground troops.

v) Prioritize between high and low profile terrorist targets based on region (J&k, Haryana) and sensitivity (Nuclear plants, oil refineries etc).

vi) The simple short term solution is the quick deployment of a counter Cyber Terrorist expert - someone who knows what you are up against today, someone who lives in the world of the people who are, and will be, attacking - someone who can train the people who must fight the battles.

Conclusion

So in conclusion the world around us changes but terrorism is long term ideological issue. In 19th century it was guns and bullets. In future it will be terrorist with remote computers using digital data.

Raghul Thamotharan is an avid Defence enthusiast and a great fan of IDN. This piece on Cyber war was written by him exclusively for IDN. Views expressed are his own.

Admin - IDN

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