'Cyber-jihad' alert as May launches report on anti-terror plans

Published on Tuesday 12 July 2011 18:02

A CALL for cyber-jihad has been made by al-Qaeda amid a series of attempts by terrorists to "invade" Facebook, the UK government's new counter-terrorism strategy has warned.

Terrorists are increasingly using online technology to plan and disguise attacks and there will be more cyber-terrorism in the future, it said.

The strategy added: "Since the death of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda has explicitly called not only for acts of lone or individual terrorism, but also for 'cyber-jihad'."

The use of social networking sites and video sharing is now "commonplace", it said.

"There have been a number of attempts by terrorist and extremist groups to 'invade' Facebook," it added.

"Twitter will be used to re-post media or forum articles enabling extremist content to be shared more quickly, widely and amongst people who would not normally search for extremist content."

The strategy comes the day after the UK threat level from international terrorism was downgraded from severe to substantial, meaning there is still a "strong possibility" of an attack and one may well happen without further warning.

Launching the strategy, Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Terrorists are increasingly using online technology, including Google Earth and Street View, for attack planning."

She added: "The marauding attacks in Mumbai in 2008 were directed by people using off-the-shelf secure communications technology to stay in contact with each other."

She also raised concern about the fact that software to encrypt mobile phone voice and text functions is widely available and improving.

She added: "Peer-to-peer networks can be used to distribute files and information rapidly and securely.

"And cloud computing offers new means for storing, sharing and distributing material online.

"It can be encrypted and configured to work with mobile devices, leaving little or no trace of the data behind.

"And while radicalisation continues primarily to be a social process, terrorists are making more and more use of new technologies to communicate their propaganda."

Mrs May said that, in order to tackle these "new and emerging threats", our own technology must constantly evolve and adapt. She said the government will "work much harder to tackle the particular challenge of radicalisation on the internet".

She added that the UK must also learn lessons from previous attacks, including the 7 July bombings in London in 2005 and the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

The Home Secretary also said the government was looking at ways to narrow the gap between the number of suspected terrorists and the number of people arrested and prosecuted, with post-charge questioning to be allowed in cases where further substantial evidence emerges after charges have been brought.