Recommended Reading: Internet Radicalization by Extremists in Southeast Asia

Most of the time, media and research reports on terrorism, technology and politically motivated computer crime are shallow, to say the least. However, once in a while, a research report surfaces that actually has both the breadth and depth of research to increase our understanding of the phenomena and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in conjunction with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University have just compiled such a report.

Titled "Countering internet radicalisation in Southeast Asia", it looks at terrorist interactions with the Internet in Southeast Asia:

"Although there is a growing body of research on terrorists’ use of the internet in Europe, the Middle East and North America , less attention has been given to the role of the internet in online radicalisation in Southeast Asia and how it affects neighbouring countries, such as Australia."

The paper's forward states the primary area of research - the use of social networks in radicalization:

"Although the internet has become an important tool for tactical operations such as bombings, psychological warfare and fundraising, the focus in this paper is on its use as a tool to radicalise potential supporters.

"This study found that the internet has contributed to radicalisation, will probably grow in regional significance, and might become the dominant factor in radicalisation in the region. And it’s not just passive websites that are important in this context: social networking sites of all kinds, such as blogs and forums, are evolving rapidly.

"This paper discusses several policy approaches to counter the use of the internet for radicalisation in our region. These include blocking sites, creating counternarrative websites to promote tolerance, and intelligence-led methods to tackle the problem."

The study is filled with analysis and case studies. Some of the key points and trends include:

• The number, technical sophistication and variety of extremist blogs and social networks is increasing and "create a stable network among members of the Bahasa and Malay language online community". Extremist websites increased from 15 in 2007 to 117 in 2008;


• Blogs and social networks allow localization of radical messages. "Translated materials were once the staple of the Bahasa and Malay language extremist websites, but their online media units are now increasingly producing their own materials to better resonate with the home audience.";


• While there are several strategies for combating online radicalization, "regional governments and national law enforcement agencies have done little to stop the rise of online radicalisation."

The report provides three broad policies to counter Internet radicalization and discusses the pros and cons of each:

1. Zero tolerance - where governments ban and block websites, censor Internet traffic, etc.;
2. Counter messaging - to educate potential recruits and provide alternate points of view;
3. Intelligence based strategies - "leading to targeting, investigation, disruption and arrest."
   

Highly recommended reading.


Countering internet radicalisation in Southeast Asia

Online Communication of Operations by Terrorists

An interesting article on why terrorist organizations do not plan or communicate operations online. The article discusses a blog posting proposing "...al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula (QAP) fire Katyusha rockets from the Saudi shore of the Gulf of Aqaba toward Sharm al-Sheikh, where international leaders are meeting...".

As the article points out, "...the jihadi internet is used for many things, but not for operational planning.":

"...the idea [for an attack] is useless the moment you post it on online for all the intelligence services in the world to see.

"The posting is nevertheless interesting, first of all because it is unusually specific and shows that we cannot completely dismiss the Internet’s potential as an arena for operational brainstorming. At the same time, it illustrates the lack of military know-how of many online jihadists. In much of the forum material, there is a spectacular disconnection between intention and capability. Unfortunately, the haute couture of terrorism is prepared behind closed doors."

Prêt à porter terrorism

Why Are There No Internet Terrorist Attacks?

Strategy Page posted an analysis of the fact that we have not seen a significant Internet based terrorist attack:

"The Internet Jihad (struggle) has been mostly smoke, and very little fire.

"Attempts by terrorists to recruit hackers have had very poor results. There are a growing number of programmers and Internet specialists in the Moslem world, but most of them have legitimate jobs in software firms, or maintaining software and Internet services for companies."

The article also rightly points out that what little activity we have seen has been ineffective and isolated:

"At most, there have been some defacing of web pages, often by hackers driven more by nationalism than religion."

The post goes on to explain categorically why:

"Counter-terrorism organizations know why there have not been more of these attacks by al Qaeda, or any other self-proclaimed Islamic warriors. The fact is that the Islamic terrorists are not nearly as well organized or skilled as the mass media would lead you to believe."

The premise that we are not seeing major cyber terrorist attacks is correct but I disagree with the conclusion. The potential of the Internet is the fact that it does not take a lot of organization to exploit it's strengths (positively or negatively). This is why an individual or small (unorganized) group can have a presence and voice on the world stage. As the article points out, "there are Cyber War tools available that even the poorly educated terrorist computer user could operate."

If a group has the organization to recruit a suicide bomber, they have at least the potential to launch a cyber attack. Furthermore, if the almost chaotic organization of various hacktivist protesters can launch (mostly ineffective) cyber attacks then most terrorist organizations could do at least the same; and that's the key - the effectiveness of these types of attacks.

A more likely explanation is that they choose not to use them for the same reason that they choose not to carry out low-level physical attacks - only a large, physical attack causes the damage groups such as al-Qaeda believe furthers their cause - creating fear and inspiring their followers. Even the best DDoS attack would only cause temporary outages. It might gain some headlines (which the hacktivist is happy to have) but would hardly inspire uneducated Jihadists in the slums of Middle East cities to rise up.

Terrorists groups do see the power of the Internet for communication, intelligence gathering and propaganda and will continue to use it for these purposes. Only if they truly believe a cyber attack will further their cause will they be motivated to carry one out. Even then, it won't have the same impact as a physical attack - inconvenience does not translate to fear.


What Happened To The Internet Jihad?

Radio Station Attacked by Jihadist Supporters

A U.K. radio station's website was defaced by Jihadist sympathizers in apparent support for Ahmed Al-Qahtani (who is suspected of involvement in the 9/11 attacks). The radio station also believes the attack may have been in retaliation for some of the Christmas music they had recently played.

"The site was compromised on Monday morning and again on Wednesday. The hijacker used the name ‘Soldier of Allah’ and ‘M03sl3m H4ck3rs’ - or Muslim Hackers written with numbers.

"The message warned: ‘Whoever thinks of insulting Islam or Muslims will suffer the same fate.

‘We are the nightmare of western websites in the cyber war.’

"The hackers claim they are defending Islam from harassment by America, Israel and Denmark."

Radio hijacked by Muslims as they are offended Cliff Richards halleluiah

Sunni-Shi'ite Cyber Attacks Motivated by Religious Beliefs

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has published a summary of the history and religious motivation of Sunni-Shi'ite cyber attacks:

"The Sunni-Shi'ite cyberwar started in 2007 when a group of Sunni hackers calling itself "XP Group" threatened to attack all Shi'ite websites on the Internet, and proceeded to hack some 120 Shi'ite sites."

Sunni groups escalated the cyber confrontation in 2008 adding the religious motivation behind the attacks:

"Among them were two groups called Shabab Al-Salafiyin and Al-Ayyoubiyoun. The latter declared on various forums that the war against Shi'ite sites was a form of jihad that brought one closer to Allah."

The article concludes with quotes from Egyptian columnist Diana Muqallid:

"Battles between Sunni and Shi'ite sites are being waged [on the Internet], with each side virtually killing and harming the other by targeting the websites of religious figures, political leaders, and media outlets... In our lifetimes, [we have seen] journalists murdered, incarcerated, tortured and exiled. Media outlets have been closed in our region or placed under supervision, [and their premises] have been burned down. Electronic attacks convey the very same sentiment of wanting to negate the other..."

Recent Rise in Sunni–Shi'ite Tension (Part I): Sunni – Shi'ite Hacker War on the Internet