EU wants to fight against cyber terror
02/10/2007 Written by minor
Sophisticated equipment in small airplane is used to eavesdrop and monitor of suspected terrorists. In UK this plane is flew by RAF. But this is not only one technological measure against terrorists.
More such action will follow and not only against suspected terrorists. Last month European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini spoke about connection between Internet and terrorists. The same he told on last meeting of European Home Department secretaries in Lisbon.
It is no doubt that terrorists are using Internet as e-learning tool for any kind of activities: from tactics to bomb assembly, everything of that king you can find just few mouse clicks. Mr. Frattini told that he doesn’t want to violate freedom of speech, but he wants to punish those who spread terroristic propaganda, because this in not about freedom of speech.
His initiative is looks interesting, as Reuters wrote earlier , Mr. Frattini wants to block access to these websites from EU. Of course idea behind is good, but we should take to question another fact: how the whole filter should be realized? What are criteria for such website?
For example, Zone-H more times reported about cyber terrorist activities and if you look better, you maybe find a link to electromagnetic bomb. But are we terrorists? No. If the website will contain words like “how to make a bomb” or “jihad”, does it mean the site will be blocked? Well, more or less it looks like beginning of new censorship in EU. Apropos, censorship is well known also in other countries of the world, like China, or recently Burma, Iran…
Zone-H will observe, how this website blocking will come to life. I’m pretty excited to see, how will be the result of good idea.
On the other hand, we should not forget the fact, that EU is now talking seriously about fight with cyber terrorists. It seems, that after “few” years of Internet presence in the world European Commision finally understood, what kind of tool the Internet is. Cyber terrorists and other criminals are using it long time, because they understood it’s value and possibilities.
Therefore, any countermeasures against cyber terrorists will affect also another innocent surfers. Since the terrorists are long time on the internet, often they use it in much more sophisticated way, then only posting messages and “how-to’s” on their websites. Hidden forums, that are not traced and cached by Google are know only to few “right” persons.
Anyway, Mr. Frattini was true in the fact, that all these actions against terrorism in various forms require joint action from all organizations and countries in EU.
But this is an initiative and action will come later. Later can mean: hunting the InterCity train on a bike…
