Hackers breaking into databases is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to terror on the Internet. A report compiled by Prof. Gabriel Vaiman at Haifa University says that international terrorist organizations have moved most of their activities online, to social media. There are already groups on Facebook calling for people to support Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations. "Some 90 percent of terrorist organizations' activities on the Internet are carried out through social media. These tools allow the organizations to be active in recruiting new friends, which means they are not limited to specific geographical areas or to the passive abilities of regular websites," Vaiman said. These organizations' move to social media is not limited just to Facebook and Twitter. They have branched out to chat rooms, YouTube, Myspace and other interactive sites. Terrorist organizations also use Facebook as a source of intelligence and information: According to past reports, Hezbollah has used Facebook to search for information on activities of the Israel Defense Forces. At the same time, a number of countries, including the U.S., Canada and Britain, have instructed their soldiers to take personal information off of popular social networking sites for fear that al-Qaida may be monitoring them. "Many users do not take the trouble of checking whom they approve as friends or to whom they give access to personal information," Vaiman said. "At the same time, terrorists themselves can create fake profiles and thus enter the sites of closed groups." Another use of social media is to transmit "professional" knowledge for instance, assembly instructions for explosive devices. "Paradoxically, advanced communications technology from the West is precisely what terrorists are using in order to battle the West," Vaiman said.
Hezbollah uses Facebook to make friends, gather intel on enemies
Haifa professor's report shows terrorist groups taking advantage of the interactive character of social media • "Some 90 percent of terrorist organizations' activities on the Internet are carried out through social media," says Prof. Gabriel Vaiman.
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