Jihadist sympathizers and operatives use the Internet to distribute ideological inspiration, religious justification, and training materials and to coordinate sensitive operational details.
In order to defeat the modern jihadist movement, it is important to understand how it uses the Internet. Many commentators misunderstand how al-Qaeda and its broader ideological movement use a network of affiliated web sites. Jihadists allegedly use the sites as a conduit to plan the specific details of proposed terrorist attacks. The network of jihadists web sites are used to distribute ideological inspiration, religious justification, and tactical training to as many would-be jihadists as possible. Specific references to planned operations are rarely found on these sites. Rather, they host a list of suggested targets, bomb-making tips, and other advice on how to carry out a successful attack. When operatives need to communicate sensitive operational details, they typically utilize less obvious and harder to detect online channels.
Case Study: London Airline Plot
The Internet’s role in the global jihadist movement must be viewed in context to past terrorist attacks?both successful and disrupted ones. In the recent plot to use liquid explosives to destroy 10 transatlantic flights , terrorists used the Internet in a number of ways. Most notably, the plotters are suspected to have researched various bomb recipes on-line (source). Additionally, operatives conducted intelligence gathering via the Internet when they searched for flight schedules on-line.
While not yet proven, the plotters likely used the Internet to communicate covertly and plan the specifics of the attack. Sensitive communications were unlikely carried out via the more public jihadist web sites. Rather, they were more than likely carried out via less obvious and more hidden channels, such as one-time use email addresses, encrypted chat rooms, and other less obvious channels. The plotters likely used the Internet to communicate sensitive information, given that some of the plotters were located in Britain and others in Pakistan . This geographic dispersal would have made it difficult for the plotters to communicate quickly in other more traditional ways, such as face-to-face meetings.
Propaganda & Covert Communication
The Internet plays a vital, but bifurcated, role in the global jihadist movement. One the one hand, the more public jihadist web sites are designed to inspire self-generated terrorist cells to take action and carry out their own attacks. On the other hand, seasoned jihadists also use the Internet in more covert ways to plan operations’ specifics.
This is not to argue that the Internet makes spending time at a physical training camp unnecessary. Time spent on the Internet is complemented by time spent in a physical training camp. The propaganda found on-line acts as virtual recruiter that can push otherwise unwilling actors to physical training camps and toward preparation for violent jihad. Moreover, after training is completed a recruit can remain connected to the global jihadist movement through the Internet and establish covert communication channels with other jihadists through an assortment of on-line technologies like those listed above.
