CYBER-TERRORISM: FINDING A COMMON STARTING POINT

Cyber-Terrorism: Finding a Common Starting Point Attacks on computer systems for both criminal and political purposes are on the rise in both the United States and around the world. Foreign terrorist organizations are also developing information technology skills to advance their goals. Looking at the convergence of these two phenomena, many prominent security experts in both government and private industry have rung an alarm bell regarding the potential for acts of cyber-terrorism. However, there is no precise definition of cyber-terrorism under U.S. law or in practice among cyber-security academicians. The lack of a common starting point is one of the reasons existing law fails to directly address cyber-terrorism.