Page Updated: 02-Jul-2007
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Cyber terrorism - a serious threat to peace and security in the 21st century

Exploring new avenues for future cooperation among leading experts on cyber terrorism and cyber crime, were among the objectives of a NATO Science for Peace and Security Advanced Research Workshop that took place in Sofia, Bulgaria in October 2006.

Following the attacks of September 11, fears that terrorists would use cyberspace as a new front to create havoc and jeopardise international peace and security, led the United States congress to increase investment in ways to defend the most critical systems from attack.

Through the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, Scientists from NATO Member countries have teamed up with scientists from NATO Partner countries to address this issue.

Since 2001 there have been a repeated number of attacks with varying degrees of success on the Pentagon, NASA, the US Treasury, and most recently the 3 week cyber attack against political and commercial institutions in Estonia.  These recent attacks in Estonia led to calls from NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels recently, to undertake urgent work to protect NATO’s critical information systems from possible future attacks.

Other private computer networks have also fallen victim to online terrorism – Worchester, Massachusetts Airport and the Waste Management Control System of Marooochy Shire in Australia, being the only best-known examples. 

Statistics gathered by the Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) are astounding – 3,734 incidents reported in 1998 compared with 137, 529 in 2003.  What is perhaps even more disconcerting is that CERT stopped publishing these incidents in 2003 due to the sheer volume.  This clearly demonstrates that work in this area is far from complete.

Five reasons why cyber terrorism is a viable option for terrorists

1. Cyber terrorism is less expensive than traditional terrorist methods.
2. It is more anonymous as it is more difficult to track a cyber terrorist.
3. The target base is much larger.
4. Attacks can be carried out remotely.
5. Cyber attacks can affect larger numbers of people than established terrorist methods.

The NATO Science for Peace and Security Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) “Cyber Terrorism as a New Security Threat, presented new NATO Member Bulgaria and Partner country Ukraine, with the unique opportunity to exchange their experiences and ideas with their colleagues from computer-advanced NATO countries such as Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Research areas that were explored included:

1. interaction between cyber terrorism and organised crime;
2. types of cyber attacks and the risks involved;
3. government cooperation on preventing cyber crime;
4. the role of international organisations and cooperation in fighting cyber terrorism;
5. security measures such as :
1. authentication and authorisation
2. intrusion detection and integrity verification
3. data and system protection
4. risk analysis
5. cryptography
6. biometrics
7. secure e-commerce protocols
6. wireless networks security;
7. and computer forensics.

While many experts continue to doubt the very existence and scale of threats that cyber terrorism poses, the findings from this ARW concur that theoretically feasible acts of cyber terrorism should not be overlooked, just as the threat of terrorists using a commercial airline as a deadly weapon once was.

An opportunity to hear and see experts from all over, to attend different presentations of problematic issues surrounding cyber crime and the new modus operandi of international terrorism – cyber terrorism.
Dr. Uldis Kinis, Latvia

Cyber terror risk should be viewed and dealt with similarly to avian flu: even if it does not reach pandemic levels, the planning, training and preparations will help in coping with future health emergencies.

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