Terrorists Turn to the Web as Base of Operations

When Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida operatives were hiding out in Afghanistan in the 1990s, they were one of the first to adapt to the new technologies of globalization, communicating via commercial satellite telephones and producing video propaganda with hand-held cameras. Today, nearly four years after the 9/11 attacks, al-Qaida has become the first guerilla movement in history to "migrate from physical space to cyberspace," according to The Washington Post. Relying on the internet's disregard for national boundaries and ethnic markers, operatives have built an extensive online library of training materials and recruited new members worldwide. The medium has offered terrorists "a virtual sanctuary" on a global scale, protecting them from potential obstacles that could hamper their activities in the physical world. And the terrorists' virtual operations are continuing to evolve. Realizing that fixed internet sites had become too vulnerable, al-Qaida and its affiliates are turning to increasingly sophisticated methods to evade government authorities. – YaleGlobal