Terror Online
It should come as no surprise that terrorist groups are tapping into the global reach and power of the Internet. They hope to recruit followers with propaganda, often targeting the younger "wired" generation, and instill fear in the process. It's also become a "digital messenger" by providing a way to coordinate attacks from anywhere in the world. I've covered the story of insurgents on the Internet on a few different occasions, but what struck me this time was how sophisticated the terrorists have become, and how much it's grown.
We recently spent some time with Ned Moran, a senior intelligence analyst with the independent Terrorism Research Center in Washington, D.C., who says the terror activity online has increased nearly fourfold over the past year. He showed us well-produced videos that could've been on the nightly news except these ones keep a running tally of the violence against U.S. troops. He played clips from video-sharing site YouTube that depict a clear terrorist agenda. And he let us watch videos shot by Iraqi insurgents that apparently show a Marine helicopter being shot down. It was tough to watch. And there are hundreds more like them on dozens of sites. (Incidentally, YouTube told us they work to remove anything that shows someone being "hurt, attacked, or humiliated.")
Moran tells me the videos often show up on known hardcore terror or Jihadist sites, and sometimes an icon that looks like a banner ad announces a new posting in Arabic. By clicking on the banner you're taken to a long list of Internet links, each hosting the new video. Moran tells me this way the terrorists or sympathizers can spread the latest material at an exponential rate. Visitors to the site can see the videos, then re-post them again somewhere else online. It's viral marketing in the true infectious sense of the word.
While we were in the Terrorism Research Center Moran also revealed some of the high-tech tactics he and his team use to track the source of the video, images or sites. It's tedious and difficult work. They pass on this research to paying customers, including those in the private sector and government agencies. He kept much of his tricks secret during our interview so as not to tip their hand, but suffice to say they pull out all the stops when necessary. For Moran, he's seen so many disturbing terrorism videos online that he's nearly numb to it. I hope to never reach that point.