Terrorism and Organized Crime PDF

CHAPTER 6: Terrorism and Organized Crime DEFINING TERRORISM ➡ From a governmental perspective, terrorism would involve: ○ All criminal acts directed against a State or organization...to create a state of terro...

CHAPTER 6: Terrorism and Organized Crime DEFINING TERRORISM ➡ From a governmental perspective, terrorism would involve: ○ All criminal acts directed against a State or organization...to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons or the general public. (League of Nations Convention, 1937). ➡ From an academic perspective, terrorism is: ○ Employed for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons ○ In contrast to assassination, the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. ○ The immediate victims are generally chosen randomly or selectively from a target population, and serve as message generators. ○ An attempt to communicate messages through the use of orchestrated violence. TERRORISM ➡ Terrorism includes: ○ An act of violence ○ The victimization of innocents ○ Methodical or serial operations ○ Advance planning ○ Criminal character ○ Absence of moral restraints ○ Political demands ○ Attempts to gain attention ○ Performed for an audience ○ Unpredictability or unexpectedness ○ Intended to instill fear TERRORISM: CLASSIFICATION THROUGH MOTIVATION ➡ Classification through Motivation can distinguish among acts of terror by the goals of those committing acts of violence: ○ Individual Terrorism can get overlooked due to its often lower impact, while eschewing group involvement. ○ Political-Social Terrorism is often carried out by those with a political agenda, often to overthrow an existing government; if successful, they get called patriots, freedom fighters, or heroes, as with the rebelling American colonists or Castro's 26th of July Movement. ○ Nationalist Terrorism can involve those with a social commonality or group identification and a collective perception of oppression, who persist with large memberships due to persecution. ○ Environmental Terrorists, also called ecoterrorists, are ideologically focused on conservation of natural resources and animal rights; for example, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF). ○ State-Sponsored Terrorism consists of governments committing acts of terror against their own citizens, such as in Nazi Germany or those that support or commit acts of terror against other governments, like North Korea. ○ Religious Terrorism is perhaps the most virulent, dangerous and persistent, due to a basis in religious zealotry, among a continuum of religious organizations, including Christian, Judaic, and Islamic, among others.  CYBERTERRORISM ➡ Cyberterrorism: is the act of Internet terrorism in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, large-scale disruption of computer networks, by the means of tools such as computer viruses. ○ It is a controversial term. ○ disruption attacks against information systems for the primary purpose of creating alarm and panic. ○ The intentional use of computers, networks, and public internet to cause destruction and harm for certain objectives such as political or ideological. CYBERTERRORISM AS A CONCEPT ➡ Instead of a display of physical catastrophe or suffering, like other forms of terrorism, may instead emphasize communication, requiring: ○ A transmitter (the terrorist). ○ A recipient (an audience, who typically are not the victims). ○ A mean (victims which are usually randomly selected). ○ A message (often ideological). ○ A reaction (the desired impact). CYBERTERRORISM TYPES ➡ Cyberterrorism Types: ○ Simple-Unstructured. ○ Advanced-Structured. ○ Complex-Coordinated. ➡ Simple-Unstructured: ○ The capability to conduct basic hacks against individual systems using tools created by someone else. The organization possesses little target analysis, command and control, or learning capability. ➡ Advanced-Structured: ○ The capability to conduct more sophisticated attacks against multiple systems or networks and possibly, to modify or create basic hacking tools. The organization possesses an elementary target analysis, command and control, and learning capability. ➡ Complex-Coordinated: ○ The capability for a coordinated attack capable of causing mass-disruption against integrated, heterogeneous defenses. Ability to create sophisticated hacking tools. Highly capable target analysis, command and control, and organization learning capability. TERROR ONLINE ACTIVITY ➡ Terror Online Activity: Propaganda, information dissemination, recruiting and fundraising. ➡ Categories for justification of committing acts of terror include that they: ○ Are victims and had “no choice” but to commit these acts. ○ Have a weakness that makes this the only feasible option. ○ May employ peaceful, nonviolent rhetoric to achieve a settlement. TERROR ONLINE ACTIVITY ➡ Terror Online Activity: Training: ○ Started using web-based training like legitimate organizations, which is cheaper. ○ Still use films, training documents, outlines, and checklists about topics like building a suicide vest, using surface-to-air missiles, and creating fraudulent identification. ➡ Terror Online Activity: Research and Planning: ○ Critical processes involving identifying, locating critical information like blueprints or "how to" manuals (i.e., bomb-making), as well as plotting steps to take. ➡ Terror Online Activity: Communication: ○ Especially with the Web, communication can be decentralized, cheaper, more reliable, and harder to detect ○ Can use electronic dead drops (storing messages in draft folders on computers with shared access), steganography (embedded messages), online social networking sites (like Google's Orkut), and encryption ➡ Terror Online Activity: Attack Mechanism: ○ Cyberattacks attacks can come as quickly as the attack in Estonia, or more slowly, as when Stuxnet disabled Iranian centrifuges to produce weapons-grade uranium TERROR ONLINE TERRORISM AND CRIME ➡ Criminal Activities: ○ Identity theft ○ Copyright infringement ○ Cyberwarfare ○ Computer viruses ORGANIZED CRIME ➞ Organized crime: is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals who intend to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for money and profit. ➞ Example of Organized crime: ○ Trafficking in nuclear materials ○ Human smuggling ○ Identity theft ○ Online criminal activities ➡ All organized crime groups began as: criminal gangs ➡ Those engaging in organized crime are increasingly turning to: technology for complex, more profitable crimes. ➡ Examples of organized crime: ○ Structure & hierarchy ○ Violence ○ Recognizability ○ Longevity ○ Recruitment ○ Innovative,entrepreneurial, and opportunistic ○ Exclusive membership ○ Strict rules and regulations ○ Ritualistic ○ Profitability ○ Corruption of political authorities ○ Racketeering and infiltration of legitimate business ○ Monopolistic ○ Criminal activity ORGANIZED CRIME AND TECHNOLOGY ➡ Organized crime exploiting technological advancements to conduct traditional crimes, including: ○ Extortion ○ Fraud, including bank ○ fraud, ATM/credit card fraud, and stock fraud ○ Money laundering ○ Human smuggling ○ Confidence scams, such as the Nigerian 419 letter ○ Fencing of stolen property ○ Data piracy and counterfeit goods CYBERGANGS/CYBER-CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS ➡ Cybergangs/Cyber-Criminal Organizations: ○ Groups of individuals brought together through the medium of the Internet which conspire and/or commit non-violent or violent criminal acts facilitated by the exploitation of networked or interconnected systems. ORGANIZED CRIME VS. CYBERGANGS ➡ Organized crime: ○ A recognizable, monopolistic, self-perpetuating, hierarchical organization willing to use violence and the corruption of public officials to engage in both traditional vice related activities and complex criminal enterprises, which ensures organizational longevity through physical interaction, ritualistic practices, rules and regulations, organizational tithing, and investment in legitimate businesses. ➡ Cyber Gangs/cyber criminal organizations: ○ Groups of individuals brought together through the medium of the Internet which conspire and/or commit non-violent criminal acts facilitated by the exploitation of networked or interconnected systems.  CONFRONTING CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZED CRIME ➡ When confronting contemporary organized crime consider: ○ The diversity among emerging groups,suggesting that more are involved. ○ The economic motivation behind hacking, cyber-attacks by organized crime groups. ○ Incorporating "know your customer" requirements in banking to reduce fraud. ○ That traditional hacking methods employed by organized crime groups are innovative. ○ The convergence of transnational organized crime and terrorism. ○ The benefits of global harmonization of regulation and the development of mutual legal assistance treaties, including banking/securities & guidelines for police action ○ Using bilateral and multilateral crime-fighting efforts ○ The devising of specific strategies for individual groups ○ Empowering local government responses through an increase in resources ○ Increasing educational efforts, accountability for e-banking vendors and companies THE INTERSECTION OF ORGANIZED CRIME AND TERRORISM ➡ The Intersection of Organised Crime and Terrorism: Differences: ○ Organized crime is economically focused, where terrorist groups are ideological. ○ Terrorist groups plan on replacing the government, while organized crime wants to corrupt the existing government. ○ Organized crime wants to avoid publicity, whereas terrorist groups seek it out and thrive on it. ○ Terrorist groups indiscriminately seek victims, while organized crime tends to want to limit outsiders. ➡ The Intersection of Organised Crime and Terrorism: Similarities: ○ Increasingly sophisticated ○ Employ similar methodologies ○ Use the web to engage in money laundering ○ Use the web for communication ○ Most common where there are minimal government controls, weak enforcement of law, and open borders ○ Exploit geographic locales far removed from control centers of government