[Air-L] ISIS & Boko Haram

Fri Apr 10 07:30:41 PDT 2015

Dear all,

I haven't conducted any systematic analysis (boy, that is a stuffy
sentence, isn't it?).

However, I have become increasingly fascinated by how social forces like to
generate threat from sparse thread. When  *terror* groups (ISIS, Boko
Haram, Al-Shabab) learn how to post to twitter and youtube, it is instantly
proposed that they can *hack* and eventually commandeer entire state
infrastructures from afar (water, electricity, etc.). At they same time,
those tech-savvy *terror* groups are  also framed as sub-human,
head-choppers. In other words, they become the ultimate enemy--animal
geniuses able to navigate the *matrix*. (The dog at the computer?).

Journalists may be the initial frontline of this framing, but they usually
get their initial images from government officials and the intell
community. There's a lot of gov't money being dumped into cybersecurity
right now, and it appears that shining a light on ISIS and BH feeds that
push.

I'm not saying that this is all MI-complex machinations, but it isn't
helping.

Besides, proposing potential cyberthreat is an unfalsifiable proposition,
because it *could* happen, someday. In fact, the chance that it *could*
happen increases the more that it hasn't happened (supposedly).

-robert

On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 9:40 AM, Seda Gurses <seda at nyu.edu> wrote:

> thanks robert for the inquiry and the others for the responses. robert, i
> hope you will share offline responses you may get on the list, too.
>
> i am interested in how cybersecurity research is being shaped, and a lot
> of it is justified through current “attacks on the cyber”. so, if it is ok
> with robert, i would like to join this thread and say i would appreciate
> any references to studies that look at different cyberattacks, like the one
> on sony, from a critical perspective.
> thank you,
> seda
>
>
>
>
> On Apr 10, 2015, at 9:07 AM, Maura Conway <maura.conway at dcu.ie> wrote:
>
> > Hi Robert, Richard, and All,
> >
> > I'm not familiar with any substantive research on the cyber attack
> > capabilities of particular violent extremist groups, albeit a lot of ink
> > has been spilled recently by journalists on IS' alleged capabilities.
> >
> > I have written rather a lot on so-called 'cyberterrorism,' but only treat
> > capabilities minimally and instead tend to focus upon other issues--like
> > theatricality, etc.--that are probably more important from a terrorism,
> as
> > opposed to a technology, perspective.
> >
> > You may nevertheless be interested in a couple of my papers:
> >
> > My most recent is 'Reality Check: Assessing the (Un)Likelihood of
> > Cyberterrorism' (2015)' at http://doras.dcu.ie/20060/
> >
> > A condensed version of my position is 'Against Cyberterrorism' (2011) at
> > http://doras.dcu.ie/16237/
> >
> > I guess it's clear enough where I stand!
> >
> > Best,
> > Maura
> >
> >
> >
> > On 10 April 2015 at 13:32, Richard Forno <rforno at infowarrior.org> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> (early morning, un-caffeinated response follows)
> >>
> >> Only with a semi-interested curiosity from time to time in case I get
> >> asked by a journalist. ;)   Most cyberattacks and hacktivism incidents
> >> these days don't rile my feathers anymore, even if the media falls over
> >> itself to 'report' (or more accurately, 'speculate') on them.   (And
> don't
> >> get me started on the 'politics of cyber', either.)
> >>
> >> As always, the issue with tracking and/or reporting on these things  is
> >> attribution[1] unless otherwise immediately claimed or confirmed by a
> known
> >> and semi-trustworthy authority --- ie, the leader or some other credible
> >> spokesperson known to speak on behalf of BH or ISIS or whomever. Sure,
> >> someone can claim to be from Group X but in actuality are a lone wolf
> >> and/or hold no formal association with the group they claim to be
> "from".
> >> They may simply be "aspirational" supporters in one way or other.
> >>
> >> In terms of media reporting of such incidents, my own nonscientific view
> >> is that nearly all reporting on cyber whodunits is speculation and/or
> >> flat-out wrong for at least 48-72 hours, if not longer.
> >>
> >> There are some independent groups that follow this stuff as a
> professional
> >> service to clients - including the media I believe.   I can dig up some
> >> links if that'd be helpful when I can.
> >>
> >> That's a long-winded answer to your question that I probably could've
> said
> >> "Kinda, sorta, yeah, maybe" and saved the bandwidth.  :)
> >>
> >> -- rick
> >>
> >> [1] A *huge* problem for the security services, military, and even
> >> politicians who flail about trying to point fingers at whatever they
> can.
> >>
> >> --
> >> It's better to burn out than fade away.
> >>
> >>> On Apr 10, 2015, at 7:27 AM, nativebuddha <nativebuddha at gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Anybody else out there tracking the alleged "cyberattack" capabilities
> of
> >>> ISIS and Boko Haram?
> >>>
> >>> -robert
> >>> _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > *Dr. Maura Conway*
> > *Senior Lecturer in International Security *School of Law and Government
> > Dublin City University
> > Glasnevin
> > Dublin 9
> > Ireland
> >
> > Tel. +353 1 700 6472
> > E-Mail. maura.conway at dcu.ie
> > Skype. galwaygrrl
> >
> > Twitter: @galwaygrrl
> >
> > Website: http://doras.dcu.ie/view/people/Conway,_Maura.html
> >
> > **********
> >
> > VOX-Pol Project on Violent Online Political Extremism
> >
> > Website: http://www.voxpol.eu
> >
> > Twitter: @VOX_Pol
> >
> > --
> >
> >
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