UNITEDSTATESINSTITUTEOFPEACESPECIALREPORT.pdfVIP

UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE SPECIAL REPORT 1200 17th Street NW ? Washington, DC 20036 ? 202.457.1700 ? fax 202.429.6063 ABOUT THE REPORT The threat posed by cyberterrorism has grabbed headlines and the attention of politicians, security experts, and the public. But just how real is the threat? Could terrorists cripple critical military, financial, and service computer systems? This report charts the rise of cyberangst and examines the evidence cited by those who predict imminent catastrophe. Many of these fears, the report contends, are exaggerated: not a single case of cyberterrorism has yet been recorded, hackers are regularly mistaken for terrorists, and cyberdefenses are more robust than is commonly supposed. Even so, the potential threat is undeniable and seems likely to increase, making it all the more important to address the danger without inflating or manipulating it. Gabriel Weimann is a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and professor of communication at the University of Haifa, Israel. He has written widely on modern terrorism, political campaigns, and the mass media. This report complements a previous report, , issued in March 2004, which examined the variety of uses to which terrorists routinely put the Internet. Both reports distill some of the findings from an ongoing, six-year study of terrorism and the Internet. A book based on that larger study is to be published in 2006. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace, which does not advocate specific policy positions. SPECIAL REPORT 119 December 2004 CONTENTS Introduction 2 Cyberterrorism Angst 2 What Is Cyberterrorism? 4 The Appeal of Cyberterrorism for Terrorists 6 A Growing Sense of Vulnerability 6 Is the Cyberterror Threat Exaggerated? 8 Cyberterrorism Today and Tomorrow 10 Gabriel Weimann Cyberterrorism How Real Is the Threat? Summary ? The potential threat posed by cyberterrorism has provoked considerable