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Season Six Research Files
Episode Six
11:00am - 12:00pm
Al Qaeda and the other transnational terror groups have transferred most of their activities to the Internet, creating an almost “cyberjihad.” They use the web to recruit, raise funds, coordinate their actions, spread propaganda, perform research, and wage psychological warfare. They use traditional websites, as well as chat rooms and forums that provide links to other sites.
Intelligence officials monitor the sites instead of removing them. Not only would it be difficult to shut them down, but the information gathered from them is extremely valuable to analysts. Information is found in communiqués, videos and “chatter” -- casual online discussions among jihadi foot soldiers. However, terrorist websites try to elude tracing by feigning closure and moving them to different web addresses.
Currently, most terrorist activity on the web occurs in social networking sites, such as independent bulletin boards, Paltalk, or Yahoo! eGroups. The most important transactions are usually initially released on certain password-protected chat forums run by Al Qaeda supporters. These forums act as a virtual firewall to help safeguard the identities of those who participate, and they offer subscribers a chance to make direct contact with terrorist representatives.
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