Fox News has posted an article that is truly frightening to me. Digital jihad: ISIS, Al Qaeda seek a cyber caliphate to launch attacks on US.
For a few weeks now in the class we have been discussing many different types of cyber attacks. The typical goal of these attacks is to exploit businesses or people for financial gains or increased notoriety. This article details a threat that seeks a more catastrophic effect. This threat, dubbed e-jihad, is in its infancy. Their current ability to execute a successful attack on our critical infrastructure tomorrow is unlikely. What has me worried is the evidence of a long term vision being established by terrorist groups. They are recruiting talented cyber warriors to their cause, investing in encryption technologies and software development, and progressively increasing the scope of their attacks. The article mentions that a group teamed with hackers from China to attack some government websites. This shows a willingness to collaborate with entities who may have more advanced techniques.
While nothing critical has been compromised by this threat, the fact that they are pragmatically planning the establishment of an offensive cyber capability makes cyber security that much more important. Their target could be in the DoD, to the financial sector, or even to critical infrastructure such as the power grid. The point is that IF these characters ever obtain the ability to conduct such an attack they WILL follow through without warning. That is the difference between this threat and cyber threats from other countries governments or independent hacking groups. Their only goal is to cause as much widespread destruction and panic as possible, and they will pull the trigger without hesitation.
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