When contemplating the concept of terrorism, most people think of car bombs, assassinations or suicide bombers, but it seems as though the new war the world is fighting will also be waged on the cyber-front.
Recent reports suggest that a number of so-called terrorist organisations - from Al Qaeda and Hamas, to our own shadowy right-wing Boeremag - have begun conducting an electronic war against their perceived enemies.
Last week, the militant Islamic group Hamas, through a number of publications and sites, urged followers to conduct a three-day e-Jihad against Israeli Web sites, even going so far as to post "how to" tips for would-be hackers.
Internet experts have also reported that the Al Qaeda network has been using hackers to break into Web sites to create secret pages that send messages to its followers. Although the site looks ordinary to the normal user, if the path to the secret folder is known, those for whom it is intended can find it.
When a number of right-wingers were arrested earlier this year on charges of treason following a plot to destroy the Vaal Dam, it also emerged that their plan of destabilisation included the destruction of the state`s computer network.
The big question is: how vulnerable are we to a cyber-terrorist attack?
We have all witnessed how easily hackers can sometimes break into a system, and we`ve all experienced the chaos that can ensue when a server goes down, so it is obvious that cyber-terrorists could inflict a great deal of harm if they were to hit the right targets.
The measures needed to counteract such attacks could easily lead to restrictions on one of the bastions of democracy - the right to freedom of speech.
Rodney Weidemann, journalist, ITWeb
Perhaps a more pointed question would be: if this is the way that the terrorists of the 21st Century are going to conduct their wars, what measures do we need to take to fight back?
While it may be possible to make the environments that are likely targets more secure against such terrorist attacks, it will surely be at the expense of ease of use and functionality. In other words, those charged with countering cyber-terrorism will need to strike a balance.
Finding this balance is where the main problem arises, because the measures that would be needed to counteract such attacks could easily lead to severe restrictions on one of the bastions of democracy - the right to freedom of speech.
It is dangerous ground to tread, because if we are to restrict the right to freedom of speech and access to information, surely we are only helping these cyber-terrorists to achieve their goals, by eroding the basic rights that differentiate a democracy from a fundamentalist regime.
However, if we do nothing, we leave ourselves vulnerable to assaults that could be devastating in terms of their effects on the electronic environment.
Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September last year, some areas around New York had Internet access cut off and several major Internet services and e-business providers were left without service for nearly two days.
And this was just a by-product of the main aim of the attack, which was to strike at the heart of the US and destroy one of its most powerful capitalist symbols. Imagine if these terrorists specifically targeted the e-environment.
It is a tricky situation with few easy answers, but the world is changing at a rapid pace and - just as the terrorists have adapted to the new cyber-environment - so we will have to do the same.
However, we must make sure that in protecting ourselves from these potential threats, we do not become the spectre we are trying to combat. Otherwise, the terrorists will have won and they will have done so without having had to lift a finger.
Share