In previous years, if nations conflicted with one another, they settled it in war. Given our rapid technology expansion, countries are shifting their fight to an unlikely source: the Internet. This form of terrorism is known as “cyber terrorism.”
Though it’s a large concept to grasp, one could define cyber terrorism as an attack on technological communication networks and devices with a belligerent intent. In an article released a few weeks ago by The New York Times, we learned that Chinese citizens who were believed to be connected to their military launched a hack on The New York Times’ email system. Though their agenda remains unknown, it reveals the capabilities of China and other countries abroad.
A cyber terrorism attack could occur in many forms. For example, a form of cyber terrorism might include a foreign government — or simply a hacker — sending out an email that when opened would collect all the data from the computer and send it to the hacker. If a country like North Korea wants to see our military intelligence, they could perform this attack and gain the intelligence. Given that they have already threatened that we will meet a “miserable destruction”, this could be the breaking point. Imagine the potential for war and conflict among nations if one of our nation’s enemies found our government intelligence and shared it with the world.
Additionally, if China wanted to explore classified information within a large, progressive company they could hack the company’s system, thus gaining access to America’s resources and intelligence. This scenario has the potential to irreparably hurt the United States’ economy. If other countries are taking our technological advancements with intentions of building products similar to ours, the market would become competitive and we would fail to have the “upper hand.” Were they to access the plans for the next Apple iPhone, consumers would more than likely stop buying the American good because another country offers the same product at a cheaper price.
A common question to be posed about the issue might be: “Isn’t cyber terrorism better than violent terrorism?” In the short term, the answer is “yes.” I will admit that I would much rather watch a virus hit my computer than for thousands of innocent American citizens to die. We should be careful though, about underestimating its potential impact. Though the situation can start with a simple hack, it has the ability to infuse anger into nations that could prompt a violent attack on the United States. For example, if North Korea saw a classified document with plans for the United States to launch an attack on them, they would more than likely attempt to beat us to the attack. Ultimately, our nation would be worse off because of this security breach.
Though you can never be fully prepared, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. One of the best things you can do purchase a virus protection system. This will help scan viruses and ensure that you only open clean files. Secondly, if your computer contains important, classified information, you should maintain a level of contact with the FBI so that you can stay protected. Taking these precautions will help ensure a higher level of safety in the event of a cyber terrorist attack.
