Web of Terror, Part 1: Extremists take to the Net
"Organizations with sloppy server monitors are often 'zombied'" - or taken over remotely - "for jihadist purposes," explained Frank Preston, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin who works with a team studying media use in terrorist cell group formation. "E-jihadists," as he calls them, then use these zombie servers to host their training manual.
There's no denying that the Internet has changed the world for both good and bad, but few elements of its dark side inspire more fear than its use by terrorists.
Observers around the world were horrified when a video of the 2002 beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl was disseminated on the Web, and other gruesome images have followed. It may not always be clear where such communications originate, but one thing has become certain: Terrorist organizations are making full use of the Internet today.
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