Table of contentsThe motivation for acts of cyberterrorismTypes of cyberterrorism capabilitiesForms of cyberterrorismIllegal access (hacking)Data modificationDefacementsData espionageDenial of service (DOS) attacksSyntactic attacksSemantic attacksCyberbullyingDissemination of terrorist contentExamples of cyberterrorism attacks in the pastThe impacts of cyberterrorismIn today's context of increasing reliance on cybertechnology, a new threat is beginning to emerge at the digital frontier. Our daily lives are integrated digitally through computers and mobile devices. Our country's infrastructure and public services are also linked and accessible via computer, making them more vulnerable. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Cyberterrorism is defined as the use of computers and information technology for terrorist purposes. NATO describes cyberterrorism as an attack by hackers targeting the details of computer networks, while the FBI describes cyberterrorism as an organized, policy-related action. The goal of cyberattacks is to incite fear through destruction and threaten a company, government, organization or individual. A general explanation of cyberterrorism is the use of information technology to harm computer networks, servers or databases for political, religious, social and ideological reasons. Cyberterrorism is a major problem that will worsen in the future since everything is done in cyberspace today. The purpose of this article is to educate individuals who are unaware of what cyberterrorism is, the techniques of cyberterrorism, and how it affects Internet users. and governments. Understanding the threat of cybercrime is a very relevant issue as it has a significant impact on our society as a whole. Cyberterrorism is growing every day because technological advances in computer technology make it very easy for anyone to steal without physically harming anyone, due to the general public's lack of knowledge about how cybercrimes are committed and how cybercrimes are committed. how they can protect themselves against such threats. laid. This article will discuss several aspects of cyberterrorism, including the definition of the term, why cybercrimes occur, the laws governing them, methods of committing cybercrimes, who is affected, and procedures for prevention. In this study, mixed methods research involves both the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data in sequential order. The first step in the analysis cycle is to formulate a theory or hypothesis from the cyberterrorism literature, which can serve as an initial direction for data collection and analysis. Once the theory or hypothesis is generated, questionnaires are developed to obtain an in-depth understanding of the phenomena being studied. Data collection is a semi-structured method using in-depth interviews. Interviews are part of most interpretive studies and are a key means of accessing the interpretations of informants in the field. Since the first step is explanatory in nature, the data analyzes are carried out using a grounded theory approach. Qualitative research includes a variety of methodological approaches and grounded theory is one example. As we mentioned previously, the term grounded theory refers to a theory acquired from adata collection through literature, interviews and observations. In the next step, a quantitative approach is applied to corroborate the researcher's initial finding. A closed-ended question format survey is used for data collection to determine the views and opinions of the population that represents various groups in society. In this phase, the researcher's goal is to test the theory or hypothesis, the results of which are generalized from a larger representative sample. Statistical analysis is performed to test the validity of the theory or hypothesis. The numerical results help in interpreting the results, which allows for a clearer interpretation of the statistical results. All relevant methodological issues addressed in this article provide a rationale and practical approach to how research is conducted. The methodology explained in this article provides researchers with the right direction and understanding to conduct the research by choosing the right research plan. Research design as defined by Cooper and Schindler is a plan and structure of inquiry intended to obtain answers to research questions. It includes an overview of what the researcher will do from initiating the research to final data analysis. In this study, we suggest that a mixed methods research approach is appropriate. The determining factors in applying the mixed method as opposed to a single method are due to the following reasons. First, the nature of the research is exploratory and explanatory in nature and is grounded in theory. The objectives are to discover and develop a conceptual framework that describes the phenomena (qualitative method) and to test or verify the conceptual framework that describes the phenomena (quantitative method). As Yauch and Steudel note, mixed methods research complements each other, which explains the results of the analyses. Qualitative research is interpretive, allowing for the discovery of new ideas and unanticipated events. Qualitative research aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of a situation or a certain phenomenon. The objective of research is to understand and interpret a situation or a certain phenomenon. On the other hand, quantitative research aims to accurately measure something like a participant's behavior, knowledge, or opinion. The objective of the research is to describe and explain the hypothesis about a situation or a certain phenomenon. Therefore, by using a mixed research method, we believed that it would bring conclusive results on the findings of this study. Second, the mixed methods approach helps answer questions that qualitative or quantitative approaches alone cannot answer, thereby providing breadth and depth to the research. the study. Researchers who conduct mixed methods research are more likely to select methods and approaches to their underlying research questions in ways that provide the best opportunity to answer important research questions. In this research, a questionnaire survey using in-depth qualitative interviews is conducted to tap participants' views and ideas. During analysis, the qualitative researcher uses content analysis of written or recorded documents derived from participants' expressions and observations or review of documents. A qualitative research study via questionnaires, interviews and supplements with a closed-ended survey systematically brings breadth and depth to the research. Quantitative research examines thefrequency or any type of research that produces results obtained through statistical procedures. Through this approach, the results are believed to be corroborated by different approaches, giving greater confidence in the conclusion. Finally, the mixed method research framework is chosen to apply the concept of triangulation. Although it is known that terrorists already regularly use the Internet for purposes such as propaganda or internal communications, the threat that results from this use is heavily debated. . There is much discussion about whether a cyberterrorist attack is imminent or whether this is just a purely fictional scenario. The almost agreed-upon definition of cyberterrorism is the use of computer networks to cause destruction and damage for personal gain. We'll delve deeper into what is usually considered "real" cyberterrorism: attacks carried out via the Internet and targeting other computer systems, real-world property, human lives, and governments. Therefore, this analysis is based on the literature on cybercrime and cyberterrorism as well as specialized security reports, case studies and news reports. Only such a broad approach allows events from the past to be included and also takes into account possible future threats. The motivation for acts of cyberterrorism Location independence: Cyberterrorists do not necessarily have to be physically present at the target location of the attack, they must be connected to the Internet from anywhere in the world. Speed: Attackers have little or no dependence on their own connection speed for attacks they launch over the Internet. Instead, they can use a third party's bandwidth and speed, especially in situations where a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is launched. Anonymity: There are countless ways for cyberterrorists to carry out their attacks online without being noticed. . This involves the use of proxy servers, virtual private networks (VPNs) or they can route their traffic to thousands of hacked computers of innocent users. Cost-benefit: Cyberterrorists choose their targets taking into account the cost-benefit of their own definitions. Attacks that require minimal initial investment but have greater benefit or visibility are prioritized. Fear: Cyberterrorists aim above all to generate fear. Creation of economic losses: Cyberterrorists who target government organizations or infrastructure intend to cause losses and also a means of distributing their revenge. Gain fame, monetary income, or information: The cyberterrorist may be motivated by the need to be famous or to gain monetary income from an attack. They may also be motivated to access crucial information that does not belong to them. Political reasons: Hackers become politically motivated to carry out their attacks. Government dependence on the Internet: Cyberterrorists are aware that governments depend on the Internet for almost all of their services to its citizens and have exploited this accordingly. Types of Cyberterrorism Capabilities Simple-Unstructured: The ability to conduct basic hacks against individual systems using tools created by someone else. The organization contains little capacity for analysis, command and control of targets, or learning. Advanced Structured: The ability to carry out more sophisticated attacks against multiple systems or networks and potentially create hacking tools. The organizationpossesses basic analysis, command, control and target learning capabilities. Complex Coordinate: A coordinated attack capability capable of causing massive disruption against integrated and heterogeneous defenses. Ability to create sophisticated hacking tools. High-performance target analysis, command and control capability and organizational learning capability. Forms of cyberterrorism Illegal access (hacking) This involves illegal access to computer systems and data. In general, a distinction can be made between illegal access by technical means only and access with human assistance. An example of purely technical access would be the use of a computer program using identified software vulnerabilities to gain access to a system (exploit). The second category refers to access with human assistance. This can be carried out, for example, in the form of so-called social engineering, i.e. tricking the user into providing passwords or other protected information or bribing a member existing staff. Therefore, successful attacks against protected targets often require technical and social skills. Data tampering After a successful hacking attack, the perpetrator has many options for what to do with the system. An understandable first reaction would be to delete information or shut down the system. However, this technique would not work because administrators would immediately notice the failure and could rebuild the system from backup files or move to standby systems. The amount of damage that would result from such an attack would therefore not be too high. However, in some areas, for example in certain industrial production facilities or in medical environments, this could have disastrous consequences. DefacementsChanges visible to a wide audience are often considered better because they can demonstrate technical capabilities and instill fear that other systems might fall prey to future attacks. In this case, a page on the web server, often the most visible entry page, is modified. They are often put on the page with indications of the identity of the author (for example the name of a hacking group). Data Spying With most of today's communication structure being computer-based, data snooping is constantly increasing. It is the clandestine exploration and obtaining of protected digital information, which was originally particularly known between states attempting to acquire security-related information from other states to gain advantages. tactics. However, in the meantime, industrial espionage has also become an important factor for many economies. Denial of Service (DOS) Attacks Denial of Service (DoS) attacks target the unavailability of a system or a service and have a long tradition. in computer crime. Botnets containing hundreds or even thousands of Trojan-infected computers are controlled by individuals to send massive requests to single targets. These computers are often unable to handle the enormous amount of traffic and are no longer able to send responses to either bot-net computers or other legitimate requests. Syntactic Attacks These crimes involve the exploitation of vulnerabilities techniques for committing fraud Examples of these crimes include viruses, malware, plastic card theft and illegal fund transfers. Semantic attacks These crimes involve the exploitation of social vulnerabilities.