QuickLinks - Terrorism

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Issue no. 315 - 18 July 2004

• DE - Innenministerkonferenz beschließt zentrale Dateien für die Terrorismusbekämpfung (Heise)
  Die Sicherheitsbehörden von Bund und Ländern sollen bei der Bekämpfung des islamistischen Terrorismus und Extremismus noch enger zusammenarbeiten. Die Innenministerkonferenz hat heute in Kiel beschlossen, dass alle nationalen und internationalen Erkenntnisse über islamische Terroristen und Extremisten zentral ausgewertet werden können, um terroristische Anschläge besser verhindern zu können. Erforderlich sei die Prüfung der Voraussetzungen für die Einrichtung gemeinsamer Dateien von Polizei und Verfassungsschutz, insbesondere einer Indexdatei. Außerdem soll unter anderem die Zusammenarbeit weiter verbessert werden.

Issue no. 307 - 25 April 2004

• How Modern Terrorism Uses the Internet (USIP)
  The great virtues of the Internet - ease of access, lack of regulation, vast potential audiences, and fast flow of information, among others - have been turned to the advantage of groups committed to terrorizing societies to achieve their goals. Today, all active terrorist groups have established their presence on the Internet. Our scan of the Internet in 2003-4 revealed hundreds of websites serving terrorists and their supporters.

Issue no. 305 - 28 March 2004

• EU agrees sweeping counter-terror policies (Guardian)
  Police, security and intelligence agencies across Europe will have authority to hold and exchange data on individuals - and detain them - under a declaration on combating terrorism to be agreed by EU leaders meeting in Brussels. see Statewatch's "Scoreboard" on the threats to civil liberties and privacy in EU terrorism plans EU to use IT for anti-terrorism (IT Management).

Issue no. 304 - 21 March 2004

• EU - Legislative instruments relevant to the fight against terrorism (Europa)
  Existing legislative instruments relevant to the fight against terrorism, and draft measures already on the Council table. The Union has already put in place a series of legislative measures to combat terrorism. But implementation of these measures is often slow, poor an inadequate. The 5 Member States which have not yet taken the necessary measures to put the European Arrest Warrant(1) into their national law should do so as a matter of top priority. And transposition is not enough: the Commission will report at the end of this year on the measures Member States have taken and on the operational working of the European Arrest Warrant, a matter which the Commission and Eurojust are monitoring constantly; "

Issue no. 252 - 30 November 2002

• Cyberterrorism and Terrorist 'Use' of the Internet (First Monday)
  by Maura Conway. This paper examines the concept of cyberterrorism. Fringe activity on the Internet ranges from non-violent 'Use' at one end to 'Cyberterrorism' at the other. Rejecting the idea that cyberterrorism is widespread, the focus here is on terrorist groups' 'use' of the Internet, in particular the content of their Web sites, and their 'misuse' of the medium, as in hacking wars, for example. Terrorist groups' use of the Internet for the purpose of inter-group communication is also surveyed

• US - Bush signs Homeland Security bill (CNET News.com)
  When President Bush signed a bill creating the Department of Homeland Security, he started a process that will reshuffle bureaucracies, permit greater Internet surveillance and refocus the government's computer security efforts. The authors of the massive law, which totals about 500 pages, envision a far greater role for the government when it comes to making sure operating systems, hardware and the Internet are secure. The law allocates $500 million for research into new technologies. It also classifies certain activities as new computer crimes, stiffens penalties and permits Internet providers to hand more information about subscribers to police.

• US - Pentagon Defends Database Search Project (AP)
  The Pentagon defended an anti-terrorism technology experiment that critics have likened to domestic spying on the financial transactions of ordinary citizens. Pete Aldridge, the chief of technology for the Defense Department, told reporters that the project is intended to test whether new computer tools can comb through masses of information - such as credit card and bank transactions, car rentals and gun purchases - and spot clues to the planning of terrorist acts. see also Pentagon defends 'Big Brother' plans (MSNBC) 11/20/2002,

• US - Report: ISPs must learn from Sept. 11 (CNET News.com)
  The Internet sustained relatively little damage during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when the collapsing World Trade Center destroyed lower Manhattan's communications networks, according to a new report. The National Research Council's report, however, warns that Internet service providers must prepare for future emergencies. see The Internet Under Crisis Conditions: Learning from September 11 (CSTB).

Issue no. 251 - 24 November 2002

• Cyberterrorism and Terrorist 'Use' of the Internet (First Monday)
  Bytesby Maura Conway. This paper examines the concept of cyberterrorism. Fringe activity on the Internet ranges from non-violent 'Use' at one end to 'Cyberterrorism' at the other. Rejecting the idea that cyberterrorism is widespread, the focus here is on terrorist groups' 'use' of the Internet, in particular the content of their Web sites, and their 'misuse' of the medium, as in hacking wars, for example. Terrorist groups' use of the Internet for the purpose of inter-group communication is also surveyed

• US - Report: ISPs must learn from Sept. 11 (CNET News.com)
  The Internet sustained relatively little damage during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when the collapsing World Trade Center destroyed lower Manhattan's communications networks, according to a new report. The National Research Council's report, however, warns that Internet service providers must prepare for future emergencies. see The Internet Under Crisis Conditions: Learning from September 11 (CSTB).

Issue no. 247 - 19 October 2002

• Finnish police check DIY bomb website (BBC)
  Investigators in Finland say a young man suspected of killing himself and six other people in a bomb attack may have learned how to make an explosive device from the internet. They said they were checking chat rooms to try to find why Petri Gerdt, a shy 19-year-old technology student from a middle-class Helsinki suburb, set off the bomb at a busy shopping centre.

Issue no. 246 - 29 September 2002

• EU - Combatting terrorism - Speech by António Vitorino (RAPID)
  European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs at the 'Justice en Mouvement' Conference Brussels, 16 September 2002. I would like to use this occasion to outline a range of initiatives that the EU has taken to combat terrorism, both internally and externally with the US and others. In doing so, I hope to provide an illustration of the evolving nature of 'justice' in the European context, as we develop new collective mechanisms of 'justice' as part of our efforts to build an area of freedom, security and justice that effectively combats terrorism and organised crime.

Issue no. 244 - 7 September 2002

• Anti-terrorist measures 'threaten web freedom' (Guardian)
  The freedom of information available on the internet has been seriously curtailed since last year's terrorist attacks on America on September 11, a report by media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres has warned. RSF argued the campaign against terrorism and the resulting tightening of security has caused governments to clamp down on the free flow of information on the web. see The Internet on probation : Anti-terrorism drive threatens Internet freedoms worldwide (Reporters sans frontières).

• E-terrorism: Digital myth or true threat? (CNET News.com)
  Doomsday predictions of a "digital Pearl Harbor" have persisted in the year since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The specter was a driving force behind controversial new law enforcement measures portrayed as necessary by the government but decried by civil libertarians as an assault on constitutional rights to privacy. Yet security experts, network managers and public safety officials say privately that the threat of cyberterrorism has been overblown and misunderstood - and that physical attacks remain far easier to carry out. As a result, government officials and industry leaders may have spent needless effort addressing an arguably nonexistent enemy at a time when all resources are needed to guard against more realistic dangers.

• FBI Says Hotmail Hard to Find (Wired)
  The government said that a vigorous investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui's computer activity turned up no sign of an e-mail account the accused Sept. 11 conspirator said he used. In response to a judge's questions, prosecutors and an FBI computer expert said "xdesertman@hotmail.com" was not found because Microsoft's free Hotmail service does not verify an account user's identity. see Government’s response to court’s order on computer and email evidence and attached affidavit [PDF].

• For whom the Liberty Bell tolls (Economist)
  Almost everywhere, governments have taken September 11th as an opportunity to restrict their citizens' freedom

• Study: Most Support Gov't Web Action (Washington Post)
  More than two-thirds of Americans say it's OK for government agencies to remove public information from the Internet, even though many didn't believe it would make a difference in fighting terrorism, a new study finds. But Americans were evenly divided on whether governments should be able to monitor e-mail and Web activities, with 47 percent opposed and 45 percent in support. see September 11 and the Internet (Pew Internet and American Life Project)

• Terror laws 'eat away at privacy' (BBC)
  The UK is one of the worse places in the world for privacy with the internet playing a huge part in the erosion of rights, a report has found. A 400-page study compiled by Privacy International and the US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center paints a grim picture of the state of privacy in a post-11 September world.

Issue no. 243 - 31 August 2002

• US - Lack of E-Mail Trail Irks Moussaoui Judge (Washington Post)
  The judge presiding over the case of alleged Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui ordered the FBI yesterday to explain why there are no records of Moussaoui's Internet activities before his arrest, expressing near disbelief that investigators have not recovered Moussaoui's e-mail trail

Issue no. 231 - 14 April 2002

• USA - Ashcroft Calls For Web-Based Terrorist Data System (Newsbytes)
  U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft called on various law enforcement agencies within the Justice Department to construct a Web-based system for sharing terrorist data with state officials.

• USA - Clinton backs tech war on terror (Newsbytes)
  Bill Clinton has been outlining how technology can play a key role in defeating the new brand of terrorism. The former US president said that information management systems similar to those used by the big mass mailing companies could provide an early warning about suspicious behaviour.

Issue no. 230 - 7 April 2002

• Terror's Confounding Online Trail (New York Times)
  Even against a superior arsenal of technology, there are still plenty of ways for terrorists to avoid detection.

Issue no. 228 - 17 March 2002

• USA - Probe Spawns Unparelled Intelligence Sharing (Newsbytes)
  U.S. officials are struggling to analyze computerized and paper documents, computer hard drives, videotapes and voice and data communications scooped up since U.S. forces entered Afghanistan. It amounts to the largest and most complex intelligence operation ever mounted by the United States. By bringing together analysts from the military, the CIA and the FBI, the new system also reflects an unprecedented level of cooperation among agencies that historically have had a difficult time sharing even crucial information

Issue no. 225 - 24 February 2002

• Terrorism And The Global Digital Divide (FindLaw)
  by Peter K. Yu. The digital divide, defined as the gap between the information haves and have-nots, separates those who can make effective use of computers and information technology and those who cannot. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, the digital divide has been increasingly linked to the war on terrorism in major international forums. Whether coincidental or intentional, the link between the two makes a lot of sense.

• Thwarting cyberterrorism (Network World)
  Network World assembled a team of experts to discuss security issues. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, network executives have to consider the possibility that terrorists may one day attack critical IT infrastructures, private or public. New questions raised are how likely is such cyberterrorism, what can be done to defend against it, and who needs to be involved in that defense?

Issue no. 222 - 2 February 2002

• Spain urges EU to share secrets in anti-terror war (The Guardian)
  Spain is pressing the European Union formally to incorporate the war against international terrorism into its security and defence policy, requiring member states to pool intelligence resources in an unprecedented way.

• Germany - German courts put terror hunt in doubt (Guardian)
  Investigators searching for al-Qaida "sleepers" in Germany risk losing what they regard as the most important weapon in their armoury of techniques. Courts in two cities have upheld objections to the controversial use of a computerised search of official records - based on profiling of suspects, partly on religious grounds. The search, which is now almost complete, allows police and counter-intelligence agents to pick out people

Issue no. 221 - 26 January 2002

• USA - Online encyclopedia of terrorism (Markle Foundation)
  The Council on Foreign Relations launched a unique online encyclopedia of terrorism. Terrorism: Questions And Answers rroduced in cooperation with the Markle Foundation, will provide up-to-date, authoritative information in a crisp and clear question and answer format.

Issue no. 218 - 6 January 2002

• 'Terrorist' Sites Taking Donations Despite US Sanctions (Newsbytes)
  The Web sites of three U.S.-based organizations recently named in a list of groups that support terrorism are still functional and accepting online donations.

• Germany - Computer experts probe Sept. 11 deals (Reuters)
  German computer experts are working round the clock to unlock the truth behind an unexplained surge in financial transactions made just before two hijacked planes crashed into New York's World Trade Center on September 11.

Issue no. 217 - 16 December 2001

• UK Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act passed (BBC)
  The House of Lords finally agreed to the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act after concessions from Home Secretary David Blunkett. In a major policy U-turn, Mr Blunkett agreed to drop proposals making incitement to religious hatred a criminal offence. The new act allows foreign terror suspects to be detained without trial where they cannot be deported - those arrested will have a right to appeal although not to a full court of law. That power will, however, have to be renewed by Parliament after 15 months. Other measures mean police can access more data, such as tax returns, but disclosure must be proportionate to tackling terrorism. Other concessions included: Limiting the introduction of anti-terrorist measures agreed at a European level, allowing seven "wise people" to review the measures after two years, limiting police access to electronic data such as e-mail and the internet on suspicion of terrorist activity. Anti-Terrorism, Crime & Security Act 2001 c. 24 Royal Assent: 13.12.2001, will be posted at http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts.htm

Issue no. 216 - 8 December 2001

• Italy blocks EU arrest warrant plans (EurActiv)
  Italy blocked EU plans for a European arrest warrant at a meeting of interior and justice ministers on 6 December. Italy disagrees with a set of over 30 measures that would strengthen the Union's ability to fight terrorism and organised crime. All Member States except Italy agreed that the European arrest warrant should cover a list of 32 serious cross-border crimes. However, the Italian Justice Minister, Roberto Castelli, insisted that fast-track extradition procedures should only apply to a smaller list of six crimes.

• Who EU Calling a Terrorist? (Wired)
  European lawyers have denounced a European Union proposal to establish a definition of terrorism so broad that it could include workers' strikes or protests against globalization. More than 200 lawyers from nearly every country in the European Union (EU) have signed an appeal urging European Parliament and EU governments to reject a broad definition of terrorism.

• UK - Anti-terror defeats for government (BBC)
  The government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords over its proposed anti-terrorism legislation. In the latest pair of defeats, peers voted for amendments changing key aspects of the government's controversial proposal to detain terrorist suspects without trial. In five earlier votes peers backed moves to restrict police powers, involving the disclosure of personal financial information, to the pursuit of terrorists and defence of national security rather than criminal activity as wanted by the government. see also Guardian New powers to require internet service providers and businesses to retain data for use in potential criminal investigations by the police were also thrown out. Government tones down data retention

Issue no. 215 - 2 December 2001

• US shuts down Somalia internet (BBC)
  Somalia's only internet company and a key telecoms business have been forced to close because the United States suspects them of terrorist links.

Issue no. 214 - 23 November 2001

• UK - Anti-terror laws unveiled (BBC)
  Emergency plans to give police, customs and other agencies extra powers to tackle the terrorism threat have been published by the government. The proposals include allowing some foreign-born terrorist suspects to be detained without trial in a move described by civil rights group Liberty as "a fundamental violation of the rule of law". And telecommunications companies would be able to keep data on phone calls, faxes and e-mails - but not their contents - for national security reasons. see also10 Downing Street Press Release, Home Office Press Release and Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill.

Issue no. 213 - 11 November 2001

• Cybersecurity czar snubs ID plan, defends Govnet (Reuters)
  As technology companies promote the idea of a national identification card, the president's special adviser on cybersecurity said the idea has little support within the Bush administration

• FATF Cracks down on Terrorist Financing (OECD)
  At an extraordinary Plenary on the Financing of Terrorism held in Washington, D.C. on 29 and 30 October 2001, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) expanded its mission beyond money laundering. It will now also focus its energy and expertise on the world-wide effort to combat terrorist financing.

• Deutschland - Datenschützer halten Anti-Terrorpaket für nicht akzeptabel (Heise)
  Die Datenschutzbeauftragten von 13 Bundesländern haben dem Bundestag empfohlen, ohne Zeitdruck über den vom Kabinett verabschiedeten Gesetzentwurf zur Terrorbekämpfung zu beraten. In einer gemeinsamen Erklärung fordern sie, die "gebotene verfassungsrechtliche Sensibilität" zu bewahren. Die geplanten Verschärfungen von Sicherheitsgesetzen seien "unter rechtsstaatlichen Aspekten nicht akzeptabel". Besonders kritisieren die Datenschutzbeauftragten die erweiterten Befugnisse für Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) und Geheimdienste.

Issue no. 211 - 20 October 2001

• Canada Works on Terror Bill, Too (Wired)
  The Canadian government capped a week of anti-terrorist measures with the announcement of a $47 million injection of technology funding for two of its security agencies. The increased money for technology is part of the government's sweeping new Anti-Terrorism Act currently being rushed through the Canadian parliament, that could become law as soon as December.

Issue no. 210 - 14 October 2001

• Onion's Bitter Tears of Irony (Wired)
  Apparently no one told the editors at the Onion that Sept. 11 marked the end of irony in America. The Onion returned from a week off with an entire issue brazenly dedicated to satirizing the nation's, and particularly the media's, response to the attacks. The issue also includes an interview with God. The frustrated Almighty clarifies his position on the morality of killing.

• U.S. pulls sensitive details on chemical plants, pipelines from Web (Wall Street Journal)
  Information about possible terrorist attacks using chemicals plants and a pipeline-mapping system were among the items pulled from various Web sites in the days following last month’s hijack attacks, because of fears the data might be of use to terrorists. See also Secrecy foe scrubs data on Internet (MSNBC)

• UK - Alleged Jihad Internet Terrorist Pleads Not Guilty (Newsbytes)
  A 43-year-old London chef and operator of a "Jihad" Web site has pleaded not guilty to two charges under the British Terrorism Act of " providing training or instruction in the making of firearms, explosives or chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and inviting others to do the same." see also England Closes Extremist Site (Reuters).

Issue no. 209 - 1 October 2001

• Terrorisme : les dessous de la filière porno (transfert)
  Des terroristes islamistes dissimuleraient leurs noirs desseins dans des photos pornos. Après les "pédo-nazis", voici venir les "porno-terroristes" : info ou Intox ? Intox !

• USA - Response to September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks (CDT)
  Legislative Proposals, Testimony, Analysis, Statements, 1996 Counter-Terrorism Legislation Materials.

Issue no. 208 - 24 September 2001

• Bush Submits His Laws for War (Wired)
  President Bush sent his anti-terrorism bill to Congress, launching an emotional debate that will force U.S. politicians to choose between continued freedom for Americans or greater security. Created in response to last week's bloody attacks, the draft Mobilization Against Terrorism Act (MATA) rewrites laws dealing with wiretapping, eavesdropping and immigration. The draft, intended to increase prosecutors' courtroom authority, also unleashes the government's Echelon and Carnivore spy systems

• Bush: $55Mil Donated To Recovery Effort Over The Web (Newsbytes)
  President Bush said $55 million has been donated over the World Wide Web as Internet users pitch in to aid recovery efforts following the terrorist attacks. The president urged Americans to continue giving. The president said that the titans of high-tech - AOL Time Warner, Microsoft, Amazon, Ebay, Cisco Systems and Yahoo - have banded together to form the American Liberty Partnership, setting up libertyunites.org to generate more contributions.

• Europe must have common instruments to tackle terrorism (RAPID)
  The European Commission is calling for greater harmonisation and closer cooperation in combating terrorism and crime. With the adoption of two proposals for framework decisions on the fight against terrorism and the European arrest warrant, the Commission is getting down to the business of setting up genuine European cooperation in criminal matters on the basis of automatic mutual recognition between the Member States' judicial authorities. see Proposed Framework Decision on combating terrorism (pdf), Proposed Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant (pdf) and EU to adopt new laws on terrorism (Statewatch).

• Terrorists Leave Paperless Trail (Wired)
  Federal agents retracing the steps of the 19 hijackers suspected in last week's attacks are finding a digital trail that leads from one Internet connection to another. According to various media reports, at least some of them went online to plan the attacks, purchase airplane tickets, and coordinate their moves.

Issue no. 207 - 18 September 2001

• Hackers split over vigilante strikes (ZDNet News)
  The hacker community wrangles over its response to the attacks in New York and Washington, as one group calls for strikes against Palestinian and Afghani Web sites and another calls for calm.

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