Cyber Terrorism: The Threat Is Real

CyberT err orism:TheThr eatIsRealKadinMcElwainDr .Chen,IntroT oCybersecurityKentStateUniversity1 1/15/23CyberT err orism:TheThr eatIsRealIn2018,FacebookwassuedbyCambridgeAnalyticaforcompromisingmillionsofuseraccountsandsellingthedatawithoutconsent(CadwalladrandGraham-Harrison,2018).ThiswouldlaterbeknownastheCambridge-AnalyticaScandalanditwouldbecomeanotablecaseofwhatiscalledcyberterrorism.Cyberterrorismisexactlyhowitsounds:T erroristsusecomputerstocommitharmand,asNA TOstated,cyberthreatstothesecurityoftheAlliancesarecomplex(NA TO,2023).Givenwhatisgoingonintheworldrightnow ,cyberterrorismisrampantintheworld,especiallyinthecountriesofIsrael,Palestine,Ukraine,andRussia.Forexample,asstatedbyCatherineStupp,anOctober23rdcyberattackbyhackersinbothIsraelandPalestinehavecausedhumanrightsgroupwebsitestocrash(Stupp,2023).Butthereishopeforthiscrimetobecombatted.Thereareseveraldif ferentwaysthattheaveragetechnologyusercancombatcyberterrorismbeforeit stoolate.TheNewHampshireGovernmentsuggeststhatthecomputeruserstakethefollowingprecautionswhenitcomestocyberterrorism,sothecomputeruserscanbesoldiersinthiswar(CybercrimeandCyberT errorism,2022):BeforeAnAttack:OnlyconnecttotheInternetonsecurenetworksthatarepasswordprotected,sotheterroristsdon tgetyourinformation.Don trespondtoemailsifyoudon tknowwhothepersonisandmostcertainlydon tclickonanylinksordownloadanysuspiciousfiles,asthiscouldbeadoxxingattackoraphishingscheme.Justremembertheoldsaying:Ifit stoogoodtobetrue,itprobablyis.Nevergiveoutyourpersonalinformation,especiallyiftheemailisclaimingtobefromthebank,thepoliceforce,orthelike.Thoseor ganizationswillneveraskyoutoinputyourpersonalinformationtosolveaproblem.Besuretosetallofyouraccountstoprivateandbecarefulwhoyoushareinformationwith.Alwaysusepasswordsonallofyourdevices.Don tusethesamepasswordsallthetimeandbesuretochangeyourpasswordregularly .Enablemulti-factorauthentication,sotheapplicationorwebsiteyouareusingcanassurethatit sreallyyouloggingon.ThiscouldbeassimpleastheiconicCaptchatest,whereyouhavetocompleteacoolpuzzleinordertoproveyouareahuman.Besuretodownloadonlysafeappsfromnotablecompaniesandalwaysdeleteappsthatyouneveruse,especiallygames,asthesecouldbefromhackerstryingtogetyourinformation.Installantivirussoftwareforyourdevice,incaseahackertriestoputavirusontoyourcomputer .Antivirussoftwarehasbeentalkedaboutalotinourclassthusfaranditisagreattooltoensureyourdevice ssecurity .IpersonallyrecommendtheMcAfeeantivirussoftware,asitisthemostfamousandhasallofthetoolsyouneedtokeepyourdevicesafe.DuringAnAttack:Ifyourworkdevicegetshackedorphished,reporttheincidenttoyourITdepartmentASAP .Theyllbeabletofixyourdeviceupandpreventanyfurtherdamagefrombeingdonetoit.Ifyourpersonalinformationisaccessed,immediatelychangeeverypassword,sothehackercan tgetintoanything,especiallybankapplicationsorcreditcardsites.Disconnectyourcomputerfromtheinternetifyouthinkyourdevice spersonalinformationwasaccessedbymalicioussoftware.AfterAnAttack:Restartyourdeviceinsafemodeanddoafull-systemreset,ifyourpersonalinformationisaccessedbythecyberterrorists.Contacteverycompanywhereyouhaveanaccount,especiallybanks,andgetthemtoeitherfreezetheaccountorshutitdown,soyoucansetupanewone,ifthoseaccountshavebeenaccessedbytheterrorists.Closeallaccountsthatwereaccessedbythehackerintheeventthatitdoeshappen.Finally ,themostimportanttipofall:Ifyouseesomethingweirdonyourdevice,reportitimmediately .Ifyoutaketheseprecautionsbefore,during,andafteranattack,youshouldbeabletoavoidcyberterrorismatallcosts.Y oucanbeanhonorablepartofthebattleagainstcyberterrorism.Cyberterrorismisaproblemintheworldanditwillremainaproblemunlesswetakeactionnow .Usingthesecuritymethodswelearnedaboutinclasssofar ,thisbattlecanbewon.Y ouareasoldierinthatbattlebysimplytakingtheadviceabove.W orkCitedPageCadwalladr ,C.,&Harrison,E.G.(2018,March17).Revealed:50millionfacebookpr ofilesharvestedforCambridgeAnalyticainmajordatabr each.TheGuardian.https://www .theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-electionCyber crimeandCyberT err orism.ReadyNH.(2022).https://www .readynh.gov/disasters/cyber .htmNA TO.(2023).T err oristuseofcyberspaceandcyberterr orism:Newchallengesandr esponses.https://www .nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_140739.htmStupp,C.(2023,October20).CyberattacksintensifyonIsraeliandPalestinianhumanrightsgr oups.TheW allStreetJournal.https://www .wsj.com/articles/cyberattacks-intensify-on-israeli-and-palestinian-human-rights-groups-1 18bcfd5