FBI says ISIS using 'dark web' to inspire terror attacks
Source: Cynthia Hodges
From neo-Nazis to child pornographers, the digital underworld is a haven for unsavory characters. In his new book, "The Dark Net," author Jamie Bartlett pulls the high-tech curtain back on these online communities that prefer to remain unknown.
on.aol.com
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) said on Wednesday that Islamic State or ISIS, is using a "dark web" to inspire terror attacks across the globe. U.S. officials warn that sophisticated tactics employed by ISIS and other terrorist groups make it difficult or impossible to detect online terrorist activity -- pose a serious threat to the homeland.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials say there is evidence that members of the Islamic State or ISIS is using encrypted mobile messaging applications which cannot be intercepted by the U.S. government agencies to recruit Americans and to inspire lone-wolf terrorist attacks on American soil. The FBI is currently pushing for government access to encrypted communications, but top security experts warn that giving government agencies backdoor access would result in a host of unanticipated security problems. FBI Director James Comey argues that without access to encrypted communications, terrorists, pedophiles and other criminals will able to communicate without law enforcement agencies knowledge, which poses major consequences for the security of all Americans. Whitfield Diffie, one of the inventors of modern cryptography, compared giving government agencies encryption keys to unlock people's private communications to leaving the keys to the doors of one's home under the doormat. Diffie and other top encryption experts say the problem with granting encryption keys it that it opens many parties to messages that are encrypted for passage across public networks, not just the U.S. government. Other governments would take advantage of it, too, destroying any real hope of privacy.
Following the release of a report that revealed the FBI is operating a fleet of spy planes in the United States in June, Federal Bureau of Investigation counterterrorism division's Assistant Director, Michael Steinbach told the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee that while the FBI is working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to implement cyber tactics within their means, new legislation is needed for situations where the communications being sought are unrecognizable and therefore remain undetected. The shocking report of abuse of power by the FBI came just hours before Congress voted to pass the first legislation to reform a controversial NSA program that allows for the collection of cell phone records of virtually all American citizens -- without consent or a search warrant.
Since 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned that YouTube and other social media websites including Facebook and Twitter have increasingly proved to be an effective recruiting tool for terrorist groups. In March, 2015, an online ISIS affiliate posted the personal information of dozens of U.S. military members and called for attacks against them.
Terrorist groups with technological savvy members are increasingly communicating in code, and flying under the radar of traps set by the intelligence agencies and the military. Terrorist organizations have also turned to the vast, anonymous Dark Net, the secret basement of the public Internet, where criminals, hackers, and governments conduct much of their illicit activities. The heated debate among scholars and security experts on how to balance individual civil rights vs. the U.S. government's "need to know" rages on.
| }
|