Cyber Terrorism and Information Warfare

Cyberterrorism is the convergence of cyberspace and terrorism. It refers to unlawful attacks and threats of attacks against computers, networks and the information stored therein when done to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives. Recently, terrorist groups have been conducting more passive forms of information warfare. It is reported that these terrorist groups are using the Internet to conduct their operations by employing email and file encryption and steganography, as well as conducting web defacement attacks. Information Warfare (IW) has been around since the dawn of war. Information warfare has been and remains a critical element in deciding the outcome of military battles. According to Denning, “Information warfare consists of those actions intended to protect, exploit, corrupt, deny, or destroy information or information resources in order to achieve a significant advantage, objective, or victory over an adversary. This book discusses the nature and impact of cyber terrorism with the methods that have proven to be effective in law enforcement.