How the prominence of cyber space has shaped the evolution of counter terrorism: The case studies of the United States and India

Abstract

The past decades have witnessed two major phenomena, the intersection of which has presented a significant threat to national and international stability and security: on the one hand, the fast-paced development of cyberspace and information and communication technologies - which has led to the increasing dependency of most populations on the latter for a large number of daily activities and the basic functioning of societies; on the other hand, terrorist groups have continued to proliferate globally and to pose a severe security threat. As a consequence, individuals with malicious intentions - including terrorists - have begun exploiting cyber means to further their goals, transforming ICTs and cyberspace into weapons which could instil fear and insecurity. The debate on whether the latter phenomenon should be called cyberterrorism, online terrorism, or simply terrorists' use of the Internet has divided the academic opinion into two strands: one which believes that cyberterrorism strictly refers to the role of cyber technologies as both means and target of terrorist attacks, which must result into catastrophic loss of life and/or physical destruction; and another according to which the term encompasses any use of cyber means by terrorists - i.e. including for communication and organisational...