ENABLERS OF TERRORISM: TECHNOLOGY AND THE WEB

Open Access
- Author:
- Buran, Brett
- Area of Honors:
- Security and Risk Analysis
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Peter Kent Forster, Thesis Supervisor
Peter Kent Forster, Thesis Supervisor
Peng Liu, Thesis Honors Advisor
Jacob Lehner Graham, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- terrorism
technology
web
Internet - Abstract:
- Over the last decade, digital technologies have vastly improved. No longer are users required to sit at their desk to access valuable resources on the Internet. With the click of a button on a phone, laptop, iPad, or any other mobile device, users can scour the vast world of the World Wide Web. This can be used by people to connect with other people through social networking and purchase items online through online distribution channels. Unfortunately, this information is not always used for good. It can be used to identify potential targets to attack by malicious people. With the help of search engines like Google and Bing as well as virtual maps such as Google Maps, crucial vulnerabilities in security measures can be discovered. Terrorists are one benefactor of information accessibility. They use information in planning and selecting targets. Using legal means, terrorists are able to obtain eighty percent of the information they need to plan an attack. Advancements in digital technologies have helped to enable terrorist recruitment, attack coordination, and command and control. It seems as if terrorists are always one step ahead of counter terrorism organizations. Only once we fully understand terrorism and how terrorists are integrating new technology will we be able to be ahead of terrorists and save American lives.