When five of the most trafficked Islamic jihadist websites went down in late March and into April, it derailed Al-Qaeda’s ability to communicate and post information to supporters.
The Internet is a vital tool for terrorists to spread propaganda around the world, share instructions on how to build bombs, and even raise money, all the while staying relatively anonymous.
So when the sites go down for an extended period of time it’s a major setback in their pursuit of global Jihad. Not only does it cut off communication, it gives the international community the impression that they’re behind in Internet technology.
American authorities and other western governments have denied any involvement, even though they would seem to have the most incentive to shut down the sites. However, monitoring Al-Qaeda’s online communication gives the American military insight into the psyche and technical ability of terrorists- information that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.
For insight into the coded world of cyber attacks, Christiane speaks with the foremost authority on the topic, former Counter Terrorism Czar under the Bush and Clinton Administrations, Richard Clark.
Category: Video, War/Defense
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
… taking down 5 out of over 4800 web sites does not strike me as being much of an impediment, “most heavily trafficked” or not. Apparently the reporters have forgotten (or never knew) that the initial purpose behind the Internet technology was to see if a communications network could survive a nuclear war and still be functional …
Western governments don’t crash them. The Mossad does it partly in return for the money the US gives to Israel for covert ops.
I disagree with Squeaky.
The Cyber Command unit at the Pentagon has moved at warp speed over the past three years. Give that unit some credit.
They are likely in cahoots with the Mossad, as well as other cyber intel units of allies.