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Understanding Cyberterrorism: A Beginner's Guide to the Threats and Risks

Update Date: 01.09.2023

In recent years, there has been a great deal of concern over the possible risks presented by cyberterrorism. The threat of cyber terrorists breaking into public and private computer networks and destroying the military, financial, and service sectors of developed countries has been widely highlighted by security professionals, lawmakers, and others.

Cyberterrorism is the use of the World Wide Web to carry out violent activities that cause or threaten serious physical harm or the loss of life to advance political or ideological goals through fear or threat.

Cyberterrorism is the deliberate use of devices, networks, and the open internet to harm and destroy one's ends. Hackers with extensive experience and talent can seriously harm government systems and force a nation to be fearful of future attacks. Since this is a version of terrorism, the goals of such terrorists are political or ideological. There isn't much doubt that cyberterrorism is a preferable choice for contemporary terrorists who value its invisibility, ability to cause significant harm, potential effect, and media attraction.

There have been both significant and minor cyberterrorism incidents in years. Nonetheless, despite the manipulation and exaggeration of the fear of cyberterrorism, we cannot dismiss or deny it. For instance, the computer networks of the government systems, along with nuclear weapons and other classified military systems, are mostly severed, making them impenetrable to outside attackers. Although the systems in corporate companies are typically less secure, they are far from helpless, and terrifying stories about their susceptibility are typically mostly inaccurate. Ironically, if the war on terror is successful, terrorists become more reliant on novel weapons like cyberterrorism. The threat appears to be on the rise as a new, more technologically advanced generation of terrorists emerges.

In this article, the following topics are going to be covered:

  • What is cyberterrorism?

  • What is an example of cyberterrorism?

  • What are the major categories of cyberterrorism?

  • What are the goals of cyberterrorism?

  • Who are the targets of cyberterrorism?

  • What are the potential consequences of a successful cyber-terrorist attack?

  • How can organizations prepare for and prevent cyberterrorism?

  • What is the difference between cyberterrorism and cybercrime?

  • What is the difference between cyber terrorism and cyber espionage?

  • What are the tools of cyberterrorism?

What is Cyberterrorism?​

Cyberterrorism is the use of technological devices such as computers and information technology by clandestine operatives to carry out deliberate, politically, or ideologically driven violence against civilians to dramatically destabilize society or to cause widespread panic. Cyberterrorism is used to force a government to alter its policies by creating chaos and terror.

The phrase "cyberterrorism" is debatable. Many researchers choose to use a very specific definition, which means that they are talking about attacks on information systems that are meant to cause alarm, panic, or physical disturbance. On the other hand, some other commentators favor a broader definition that includes cybercrime. Participating in a hack has an impact on how people view the terror threat, even if it is not carried out forcefully. It is challenging to determine which online behaviors qualify as cyberterrorism cybercrime. For example, even if a cyber attack isn't violent, taking part in it can change how people think about the danger of cyberterrorism.

Although the definitions are divisive, cyber terrorism can take the form of planned, widespread disruption of computer networks, particularly those of personal devices that are connected to the web, using techniques including spyware, malware, phishing, malicious software, hardware approaches, and programming scripts.

The critical factor in cyber terrorism is the general use of technology, or, in other words, the dependence on technology on both sides. Technology is increasingly being used by terrorist organizations and those who support them to use the internet for a variety of heinous activities, including funding, recruiting, creating propaganda, training, encouraging violence, and collecting and disseminating confidential material, to create disorder and terrorize people.

Although the usage of the internet has been categorized in many ways by various researchers, these cyber groups and terrorists mainly benefit from using it for propaganda, funding, education, preparation, coordination, and execution.

Government agencies have been working on possible prevention methods or ways to reduce the impact of the attacks, as a result of widespread concern from media and governmental sources about the potential harm that could be caused by cyberterrorism.

What is an Example of Cyberterrorism?​

Although there are different definitions of cyberterrorism, one is attacks or threats of attacks on computers, networks, or the data they contain that are carried out illegally with the intention of intimidating or pressuring a government or its citizens for the advancement of social and political goals. For some experts, the damage is expected to be limited in the cyber area, whereas for others, physical and infrastructure attacks should be included. As a result, for someone who just wants to have an idea about cyberterrorism rather than go deep into academic definitions, it is a cyber version of terrorism that is separate from the usual cybercrime.

Cyberterrorism generally employs similar techniques as traditional cyber attacks. Cyber terrorists can use DDoS attacks, various forms of viruses, social engineering tactics, phishing attacks, and more to reach their targets. Some past cyber terrorism attack examples are stated below:

  • 2007, Estonia: Estonian government computer systems were the target of widespread denial-of-service cyberattacks in the spring of 2007. Botnets were used to effectively overwhelm the servers of commercial banks, media outlets, and government websites in Estonia. The lines between cybercrime, warfare, and terrorism were first believed to have been blurred by Russian organized crime and possibly the government. Following the strikes, NATO and the US sent experts to help Estonia recover.
  • 2008, Lithuania: Three days after passing a law prohibiting the use of Soviet and communist symbols, Lithuania experienced cyberattacks in June 2008; more than 300 websites were targeted. Some were denial-of-service attacks, while others saw the Soviet hammer and sickle being used to vandalize websites. Relations between Russia and Lithuania had gotten worse before the attacks.
  • 2008, Georgia: In August 2008, a synchronized denial-of-service attack was launched against the websites of the Georgian government when Russian and Georgian forces were battling. The cyberattacks also picked up speed as the ground attacks did. It was thought that this was the first instance of a cyberattack occurring during an ongoing war.
  • 2009, Kyrgyzstan: The two main Internet servers in Kyrgyzstan were subjected to denial-of-service attacks in January 2009, which caused the country's websites and communications to go down. The attacks' instigators were located in Russia. The strikes happened at the same time that Russia's government put pressure on Kyrgyzstan to deny American access to the Bishkek airbase.
  • 2021, South Korea: By taking advantage of a virtual private network in 2021, North Korea launched a cyberattack against the government-run Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute in South Korea.
  • 2021, Facebook: In 2021, Iran went after American service members on Facebook by pretending to be recruiters, reporters, and people from civilian groups. To deceive victims into divulging critical information, the hackers transmitted malicious files and exploited phishing websites.
  • 2021, Florida: Hackers infiltrated the network of a Florida water treatment plant in February 2021 using a flaw in an outdated version of Windows to raise the sodium hydroxide concentration to dangerous levels. An operator observed the change and adjusted the levels, stopping the onslaught before any harm could be done. Yet, the attack reveals how vulnerable the United States' critical infrastructure, including its water systems, is.

What are the Major Categories of Cyberterrorism?​

"Internet terrorism" is a common definition of cyberterrorism. As the World Wide Web has grown, people and groups are using privacy to hurt certain people, groups, religious organizations, cultures, or political or ideological views. Attacks carried out by cyber terrorists might take several different forms. The three main categories of cyberterrorism are as follows:

  • Simple and Unstructured: The capacity to use tools designed by various people to perform simple hacks against certain systems is defined as "simple, unstructured cyber terrorism." In this type of organization, most people don't know how to set goals, lead, or manage, and they don't know enough about education.
  • Advanced-structured: The capacity to carry out more complex cyberattacks against several systems or networks, as well as the ability to design or alter simple cyberweapons, are defined as advanced-structured cyberterrorism. The structure has a moderate capacity for learning as well as basic target analysis, management, and leadership abilities.
  • Complex-coordinated: The ability to launch coordinated attacks against both consolidated and diverse protection systems that can cause major damages is defined as "complex-coordinated terrorist attacks". Terrorists are capable of developing advanced cyberweapons. In addition, they excel at target assessment, as well as at leadership and management. They are capable of advanced, integrated operational learning.

Other than major categories, cyberterrorism attacks can also be classified according to the nature and purpose of the attacks, which are mainly intrusion, destruction, disinformation, denial of service, and website defacement. These attacks range in severity and aim to accomplish various purposes. We must be cognizant of the different attack strategies to better grasp how to properly defend against them.

  • Incursion: Attacks of this nature aim to infiltrate the systems and networks of computers to obtain or alter data. This technique has a significant rate of success and is quite popular. Terrorists exploit several vulnerabilities in unprotected networks and computer systems to collect and/or modify crucial information that are utilized to do more harm to the enterprise or for monetary interest.
  • Destruction: To cause serious harm or destroy networks and machines, this form of attack is used to break into them. Depending on how severe the attacks are, the results of such a breach could be catastrophic, forcing firms to cease operations for an indefinite period. Resuming activities proves to be quite expensive for the impacted businesses, which has an adverse monetary effect on them as well as harms their image and credibility.
  • Disinformation: This technique is employed to disseminate misinformation or material that could seriously harm a certain subject. Regardless of whether the reports are accurate or not, if such attacks are used irresponsibly, they could cause instability in the nation or the group. Since it is carried out practically immediately without requiring access to the victim's machine or network infrastructure, this kind of attack is very challenging to encapsulate.
  • Denial of Service Attacks: Another popular attack technique is the denial of service attack or DOS attack as they are more commonly referred to. Businesses with e-commerce capabilities that offer their goods or services online are the ones who are most affected by such attacks. Cyber terrorists occasionally use this sort of attack to target public web pages. By overwhelming the targeted hosts with a massive volume of network packets, which would ultimately prevent the servers from being able to fulfill routine service requests from authorized users, DOS attacks aim to halt or interrupt online operations. These cyberattacks have devastating effects on both the economy and society and they result in significant monetary costs for businesses.
  • Website Defacement: The objective of this kind of attack is to vandalize the victim's website. The web pages are completely altered to incorporate messages from cyber terrorists for notoriety or propaganda objectives, which could lead to their removal, or they can be directed to other domains that might carry similar ideas and information. Due to increased awareness of the problem, the number of such attacks has decreased over the past few decades. Nonetheless, there are still a few instances of these occurrences, so appropriate security measures must be implemented to prevent further instances of these humiliating and monetarily devastating events.

What are the Goals of Cyberterrorism?​

Globally, terrorists get involved in cyberterrorism as a strategy to harm or destroy their targets for a variety of reasons. Terrorists carry out such attacks with four main objectives in mind including; to undermine or at least weaken the enemy's operational capacity; to damage or falsely portray the public image of a group, country, or partnership; to influence the targets of the attack to switch allegiances; and to show their supporters that they can cause serious damage to their targets.

One of the main goals of cyberterrorism is to undermine an adversary's operational effectiveness. Cyberterrorism is primarily employed to accomplish this specific objective. Terrorists believe that using cyber capabilities allows them to seriously harm or destroy their targets, blocking them from carrying out their regular operations. If such attacks are successful, the results might be devastating in several ways, including significant declines in social and economic standing. An entire country or organization might essentially come to a standstill if critical infrastructure and commercial activities were to be compromised.

Another primary objective of cyberterrorism is to harm or falsely represent the reputation of a group, country, or coalition. Because of their clear and solid reputation, many institutions, groups, movements, governments, and coalitions are capable of functioning effectively and are highly appreciated. If this crucial component is damaged, it could have a detrimental effect on the targeted institution's routine maintenance. The most widely used techniques for damaging or falsifying the target's reputation involve defacing websites and spreading untrue stories about the specific target via electronic channels, including social media, web pages, and other communication channels.

Cyberterrorism is occasionally used to coerce the targeted entities into changing their connections with or allegiances to specific groups. Even though accomplishing such an objective is far more difficult, it has occasionally turned out to be effective. The attacked organization must develop strong partnerships with its associate organizations in the interest of protecting against such motivated attacks and to more effectively manage the situation or prevent such circumstances from occurring in the first place.

One more goal of cyber terrorists is that they want to demonstrate to their supporters, sympathizers, and the public that they are capable of causing substantial harm to their targets. While a sizable portion of the population is still skeptical about the existence and potential of cyberterrorism, cyberterrorists are often eager to carry out cyber attacks if they sense that they must demonstrate to their targets their ability and potential.

Who are the Targets of Cyberterrorism?​

Since the world is becoming more and more dependent on IT systems, a new type of vulnerability has emerged in the past decades, allowing terrorists to approach heretofore completely unattainable targets. Many governments view cyberterrorism as a high-ranking concern given the potential harm and disruption it might bring about. Governments, banks, and utilities like oil, gas, chemicals, and communication systems seem like the obvious targets because attacks on these can devastate the nation's critical infrastructure the most economically, politically, and physically. However, cyber terrorism groups are becoming more organized and sophisticated in their attacks and will use any device with internet access to assist an attack.

The U.S. government lists potential targets for cyber terrorists as follows:

  • Banking sector
  • Military facilities
  • Power plants
  • Air traffic control systems
  • Medical facilities
  • Communication systems
  • Water infrastructure

A nation's infrastructure, the more susceptible it is to cyberattack the more technologically advanced it is. A cyber terrorist group seriously impairs the effectiveness of enterprises and operations by attacking one or more of the structures mentioned above. Another objective of cyber-terrorist groups is sensitive data. Sensitive information can be stolen, revealed, and uploaded online by terrorist organizations by acquiring access to data from institutions like banks, federal agencies, and social media. This causes civil unrest and puts security agencies as well as other people in danger of economic or direct harm.

The common targets of cyberterrorism attacks are summarized below:

  • Energy sectors like the electricity grid, natural gas, oil
  • Information and Communication Technology including telecommunication systems, satellites, broadcasting systems, hardware, software, and networks, including the internet
  • Transportation including shipping, aviation, railways, roads, logistics
  • Healthcare institutions, medicines, vaccines, laboratories
  • Water supply components like dams, storage, purifying, and distribution grid
  • Financial services, banks, stock exchanges, insurance companies
  • Government institutions, parliament, emergency services
  • Food supply chain, agriculture
  • Broadcast media, press, cultural assets, symbolic buildings

What are the Potential Consequences of a Successful Cyber-terrorist Attack?​

Financial institutions, including banking, stock markets, and interior economic activities, might all be interrupted by cyber terrorists in a successful cyberterrorism attack. The populace of a nation will lose all trust in its economic structure. When it comes to cyberterrorism operations, the cyberterrorist may be located in a different part of the world while disrupting a country's economic network structure, which may cause significant turmoil.

The next-generation air traffic control systems may be the subject of a cyberterrorism attack, which might lead to a collision or chaos. Given that the cyber-terrorist will be able to compromise the aircraft's in-cockpit sensors, this is probable. Railway tracks are another possible target for cyber-terrorism attacks.

Although they would be highly protected in a closed circuit, in terms of logical exercise, one can say cyberterrorists may remotely alter the medication formulas at pharmaceutical factories, which will cause an immeasurable number of fatalities.

In another case, cyberterrorists may then alter the flow or the tension in the international gas pipelines, causing a valve to fail and cause explosions and block gas flow and latency in desperate times. Likewise, electrical power lines are becoming more exposed to cyberterrorism threats. For instance, in December 2015, a cyberattack on the electrical distribution firms in western Ukraine resulted in a significant power outage and the damage of more than 50 substations on the distribution networks. Over 200,000 users were reportedly affected by the several-hour-long blackout in the area, as well as several other customers and locations that experienced power outages.

In a past disaster scenario workshop conducted by NSA, the Red Team used hacking tools that were accessible online to take down the U.S. military's command-and-control system for the Pacific operations. The outcome of this activity astounded everyone who was part, which was alarming from a military standpoint. During this exercise, a far wider vulnerability was exposed. Companies and utilities have been compelled to migrate the majority of their activities online to increase efficiency and save costs due to a growing focus on profitability and structural reforms. Authorities found that several pieces of the private infrastructure in the US, including the telecommunications and electric power grid, could be infiltrated using the same methods and tools while assessing the accomplishments.

The supervision and control functions carried out by chemical processing factories, water filtration systems, wastewater management facilities, and a variety of manufacturing companies could be altered, controlled, or disrupted by cyber terrorist attacks, endangering both national and regional security.

Another aspect of the potential consequences of a successful cyberterrorism attack is the effect on political beliefs, public confidence, and psychological health. Cyberterrorism, according to researchers, causes individuals to feel more stressed and anxious, making them vulnerable, and political behaviors become more inflexible. It is claimed that cyberterrorism triggers reactions akin to those brought on by traditional terrorism. These answers bring to light the emotional and social element of cyberterrorism, which is frequently overlooked as protecting borders, vital infrastructure, and military capabilities is what politicians prioritized in the name of national security. Both are significant, and as the threat of cyberterrorism increases, governments will need to focus on both the psychological harm that cyberterrorism causes and efforts to improve defensive and offensive security measures.

Cyberterrorism causes an effect on the community in different aspects. Cyberterrorism exacerbates fear and insecurity on a personal level. All forms of terrorism heighten personal uneasiness and perceptions of threat. Finally, a lot of individuals are inclined to embrace strict government regulations, including international and domestic politics; in terms of counter-attacks and domestic strict surveillance and internet control regulations. Such policies may harm the free speech that is essential for a thriving and open democracy.

How can Organizations Prepare for and Prevent Cyberterrorism?​

The scope and scale of cyber threats are expanding, and it is getting harder to detect, define, analyze, and investigate them. Internet communities and discussion boards are frequently used by cybercriminals to conduct their business. They sell illegal goods and services, including technologies that can be used to support cyberattacks. The intricacy of these criminals' plots has also improved, making them harder to catch and more resilient. Communication and collaboration with international law enforcement partners are crucial since many cybercriminals are based abroad or cover their identities by using foreign resources.

The information realm is an intrinsically distinct fighting environment. To deal with the unique problems that threats of cyberterrorism bring, government agencies should work together with the rest of the intelligence community and law enforcement. Government entities must adapt and change to reduce redundant efforts and move toward real-time communication and cooperation to keep up with the evolving threat.

Although significant progress has been made toward the shared goal of defending the nations from capable and persistent cyber adversaries, there is still much to be done to make sure that the government agencies have the necessary resources, structure, and mission to seamlessly work together on the cyber threats, including cyber terrorism. Cooperating with the private sector and developing better communication with civil organizations is necessary to develop a better shield against threat actors. To sum up, governments can take the following measures against cyberterrorism;

  • Improving cybersecurity capabilities
  • Encouraging the industry of cybersecurity to flourish
  • Advancing technology and science related to cybersecurity
  • A productive horizon scan and forecasting

Other than governments, there is a role for private organizations and members of society to prepare for and prevent cyberterrorism. Even though cyberterrorism is different from a normal cyber attack, cyber espionage, cybercrime, and even cyber warfare, it still uses similar tactics and/or uses them to prepare for a cyber-terror attack, which could take a long time. For instance, cybercrime or even cyber espionage may not be categorized as cyber terrorism, but the information gathered from those attacks is likely to be used for one.

The list that follows gives a quick rundown of the various groups of personnel engaged and a quick examination of their training requirements.

  • Public individuals: Even though the majority of users use virus protection software, only half of them reportedly update or renew it regularly. With a growing trend in which cybercriminals use a wide range of techniques, such as the use of personal information from social media sites to customize realistic information more capable of tricking people into allowing a variety of forms of malware into their computers to clickjacking, and so forth, it is obvious that a lot more needs to be done to educate the public. Early education and training are essential, and both adults and children of school age need to be better educated in cyber security topics.
  • IT support workforce: This personnel is technically trained to provide IT services to a business. Many people either lack the necessary security training or have a misunderstanding of the threat to their corporation. Basic cyber hygiene measures like developed firewalls, anti-malware software, and strong passwords might prevent most of the attacks, in case they are patched and kept updated. Top management should mandate and oversee relevant training via certificates.
  • Developers, managers, and employees: Due to inattention to detail or inefficiency, or a lack of knowledge on how to safeguard their code against threats, many engineers produce substandard solutions. Organizations should invest in their developers in the area of security as part of their education and security awareness training programs. On the other hand, large firms often employ personnel with strong project management abilities but low technical proficiency. These employees also require training to comprehend the risks to the organization. Other than software developers, many technology users in an organization often find security annoying since it makes systems less functional. They sometimes come up with alternatives and not realizing the risks they could be introducing to the systems of their company. This includes problems with using personal equipment at work, which introduces spyware and various other threats.
  • Executive branch: Despite investing heavily in cybersecurity, many organizations still experience security breaches that cost them and their customers unexpectedly. The majority of executives and company leaders lack knowledge of security issues, management strategies, and employee behavior, which can lead to security vulnerabilities. All CEOs and top executive branch members should have a thorough understanding of the risks associated with IT, how to use it for commercial reasons, and what personnel requires what kind of training. They must be capable of determining their level of susceptibility to a cyber-terrorist attack, comprehending how to do so, and implementing the necessary measures. They must plan how they will handle the loss of data, downtime, the effects on infrastructure, and their customers, including the loss of their information, costs, reputational damage, how to handle future issues of security versus privacy, risks of outsourcing and off-shoring, and so on. Senior personnel may require crisis management training, depending on the possible an example consequences, to help them deal with the media and handle a breach, which might take months or years to completely detect and fix. Using training tools that use an event-based timeline model to replicate genuine crisis training and allow for the exploration of various scenarios, could be beneficial.

What is the Difference Between Cyberterrorism and Cybercrime?​

To describe technology-based attacks against an opponent's resources, the phrase "cyberterrorism" was introduced. Even though these attacks take place online, they occur at the intersection of terrorism and cyberspace, and they nonetheless share certain characteristics with other terrorism-related crimes.

Cyberterrorist attacks must be carefully thought out and prepared for because they require the development or acquisition of software. One way they differ from usual cyber crimes is, they are intentional rather than impulsive acts of violence.

Cyberterrorism is political or ideological and intended to affect the political system. Hackers](/docs/network-security-tutorials/what-is-hacker) with political motivations are known as "cyber terrorists," and their operations have the potential to corrupt or destroy governmental structures. Interfering with computer systems of electoral procedure and trying to support a political side can be given as.

Although sometimes cybercrimes can also have a political agenda, they differ from cyberterrorism in that they mostly try to lay low, remain undetected, and gain an advantage to keep operating while trying to get rid of the consequences. On the other hand, cyberterrorism is mostly noticed widely as the public and governments face their results, and one of their goals is to be seen and noticed in the first place.

Attacks by cyber terrorists frequently target noncombatant populations. By definition, cyberterrorism is an operation that culminates in aggression against individuals or assets or causes enough damage to create fear. Meanwhile, cyber crimes do not aim at these targets specifically. They focus on any party according to their goal, including governments, civilians, and profit organizations in particular.

There are occasions when cyber terrorism is distinguishable from information warfare, which are computer-based attacks coordinated by operatives of a nation-state. They are carried out by informal groups rather than by military units.

What is the Difference Between Cyberterrorism and Cyber espionage?​

The act of conducting an attack or series of attacks that allow an unauthorized user or people to examine sensitive information is known as cyber espionage. These attacks generally consist of little more than a background process or piece of code running on a mainframe or personal workstation, and their common target is a company or government agency.

Typically, the aim is to obtain government or intellectual property information. Attacks can be carried out as acts of terrorism or as part of military action, and they can be driven by ambition or the desire for financial gain. Repercussions might include losing a strategic advantage, as well as losing resources, information, infrastructure, or even lives. Targeting government networks, authorized military contractors, and private businesses, they frequently follow instructions from foreign governments and may include political purposes.

Meanwhile, state-sponsored and non-state organizations known as cyber terrorists, utilize cyberattacks to further their goals. The internet has been used by actors like international terrorist organizations, insurgents, and extremists for attack planning, radicalization and recruitment, propaganda dissemination, communication, and disruptive activities.

Cyberterrorism differs from cyber warfare or cyber espionage in that it typically aims to demoralize a civilian population, whereas warfare is not designed to target civilians, and where cyber spying is not for destruction, propaganda, or spreading fear in the first place. In the physical realm, terrorist attacks frequently result in the injury or death of civilians as well as the destruction of property, which serves to demoralize the population.

We must consider how terrorists can use computer technology to terrify or coerce a civilian population and thereby weaken a society's capacity to maintain internal order if we are to understand what cyberterrorism can be. Theoretically, the ways cyber terrorism could be used for this purpose are, as a weapon of mass disturbance, mass diversion, or mass destruction.

In conclusion, cyber espionage is more interested in any type of confidential information on the R&D of the company, payments, and intellectual property including top-secret projects, and plans. Customer and client information, anything that a victim of an attack could sell or utilize for their gain, short- and long-term marketing objectives, as well as competition knowledge and intelligence, are other goals of cyber espionage actors.

Figure 1. Cybercrime vs Cyberterrorism vs Cyberespionage

What are the Tools of Cyberterrorism?​

Similar methods used in conventional cyberattacks are used in cyberterrorism. Different types of cyber attacks are mostly categorized by the purpose of attacks instead of the techniques that are employed. By using this structure, it is possible to create a system for classifying the various parties involved. Cyberterrorists use DDoS attacks, various types of malware, social engineering strategies, phishing operations, and more to reach their targets. They benefit from any type of commonly used and newly emerged technologies including their weak points. Cyber espionage and any type of other cyber crimes can be a tool for future cyberterrorism attacks, as they turn to useful tools for analyzing the target, intrusion, and even distraction from the on-the-way main attack.

Some common tools and techniques for cyber attacks, including cyber terrorism are stated below:

  • Hacking: The most common tactic utilized by terrorists is hacking. Any unlawful access to a computer or computer network is referred to by this general phrase. Hacking is facilitated by some component technologies, such as packet sniffing, tempest attack, password cracking, and buffer outflow.
  • Trojans, viruses, and worms: Trojans are programs that appear to perform one thing but are designed to accomplish another. Computer viruses are computer programs that spread by altering other software applications. Their rate of dissemination is high. Computer worms are self-contained software or a collection of applications that can transmit functioning copies of themselves or their parts to other computer systems, typically through communication networks.
  • Emails, social media: To be implanted, worms and malicious software typically need to attach themselves to a host median. Viruses and worms employ specific emails as hosts. Webpages and social media platforms are used to disseminate lies, threats, violence, and libelous material.
  • Denial of Service: These cyber attacks are meant to prevent legitimate users from accessing a device or a communications system.
  • Cryptology: The use of cryptography by cyber terrorists has expanded to include high-frequency encrypted speech and data. The information a terrorist is sending using high-level data encryption would be extremely difficult to decrypt.
  • Watering Hole Attacks: In this scenario, attackers breach a legitimate website by deploying a false one to target users who are accessing the site.
  • Phishing: In this scenario, cyber criminals employ phony emails to get hold of a user's or an organization's confidential information.
  • Ransomware: This is a method used by cybercriminals to prevent people from accessing a system or attacking it by encrypting files and then demanding a ransom.
  • Scanning: In this example, terrorist groups take advantage of flaws in systems or particular internet networks to launch attacks on a larger scale and at random.
  • Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): This is a scenario in which a network or website is flooded with a large number of packet requests, typically from a botnet, to overwhelm the system and deny access to genuine users.
  • Spear-Phishing: This attack's key distinction from the Phishing attack is that it targets specific people or organizations.
  • Zero-day attacks: Tailored exploitation of a system with a particular vulnerability that the attacker has not yet identified.
  • Supply chain attacks: In this case, a cyber actor strikes a target using a supplier or a component of an organization.

On the other hand, the internet is often the main tool for cyber terrorists. These organizations have increasingly used information technology in recent years. Politically affiliated terrorist and rebel groups are now using the world wide web to raise money. This could eventually allow smaller terrorist or resistance organizations to get the majority of their funding via online payment donations. The affiliation with an established group that includes cyber terrorists may indicate that they have access to financing for their operations. This would thus mean that a terrorist group might employ specific cybercriminals to conduct attacks on their behalf, thereby outsourcing the requisite technological know-how. In this case, the hackers themselves may not support the terrorists' objective, but they will still seek lucrative opportunities.