Cyber Caliphate and Technology
Advisor Information
Gina Ligon
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
6-3-2015 9:00 AM
End Date
6-3-2015 10:30 AM
Abstract
ISIS previously called as Al-Qaeda in Iraq stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIS and Al-Qaeda got separated from each other on February 2014 and now, each have been trying to compete in order to gain influence on other Islamist extremist groups (Beauchamp, 2014). ISIS is mainly controlled by Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi who is also known as Abu Dua (Graphics, 2014). And, if what certain experts believe is true, ISIS could overtake Al-Qaeda as the most dominant group across the globe. ISIS and Al-Qaeda always shared same goal and that is to establish a caliphate. ISIS has proved to be remarkably adept at using technology and does most of its propaganda including recruitment campaign over social media (Frizell, 2014). Another surprising aspect is that, they wish to establish “digital caliphate” and therefore a cyber-dimension in any scenario could be expected (Lyngaas, 2014). The goal of the present effort is to share research our team has conducted on the cyber capabilities of the violent extremist group ISIS. We have profiled the pathways they use to recruit members, spread ideology, and communicate with funders, and we plan to share the overall diversity of platforms (e.g., number of different types of cyberbased technology) as well as the sophistication of the group in terms of internet use. This project was funded by the National Consortium of the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).
Cyber Caliphate and Technology
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
ISIS previously called as Al-Qaeda in Iraq stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIS and Al-Qaeda got separated from each other on February 2014 and now, each have been trying to compete in order to gain influence on other Islamist extremist groups (Beauchamp, 2014). ISIS is mainly controlled by Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi who is also known as Abu Dua (Graphics, 2014). And, if what certain experts believe is true, ISIS could overtake Al-Qaeda as the most dominant group across the globe. ISIS and Al-Qaeda always shared same goal and that is to establish a caliphate. ISIS has proved to be remarkably adept at using technology and does most of its propaganda including recruitment campaign over social media (Frizell, 2014). Another surprising aspect is that, they wish to establish “digital caliphate” and therefore a cyber-dimension in any scenario could be expected (Lyngaas, 2014). The goal of the present effort is to share research our team has conducted on the cyber capabilities of the violent extremist group ISIS. We have profiled the pathways they use to recruit members, spread ideology, and communicate with funders, and we plan to share the overall diversity of platforms (e.g., number of different types of cyberbased technology) as well as the sophistication of the group in terms of internet use. This project was funded by the National Consortium of the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).