Information Terrorism as a Contemporary Threat to the Information Security of Man, Society and the States

Abstract

The article discusses the content and characteristics of information terrorism as a threat to national and international security in contemporary circumstances. The relevance of the topic stems from the fact that information is currently considered a strategic resource, the delibe­rate manipulation of public opinion and the commission of terrorist acts to that end has become one of the most dangerous manifestations of hybrid confrontation in the contemporary international arena. Due to the impossibility of clear distinction with ordinary computer crimes and domestic manipulation in mass media, the concepts of «information terrorism» and «cyberterrorism» do not have a clear interpretation. Therefore, information terrorism is viewed in a broad sense (mani­pulation of public consciousness to create tension, instability, chaos aimed at achieving political or economic objectives in the interests of terrorists) and in narrow terms (cyberattacks on critical government infrastructure information systems to disable them, which can lead to economic, environmental and other disasters).

General characteristics of information terrorism have been defined and specific characteristics peculiar only to terrorist acts in the information sphere have been identified. The methods of information terrorism are described, which are aimed at influencing people’s consciousness on a large scale and at imposing their will on society and State institutions through the use of disinformation, propaganda, diversification of public opinion, psychological pressure, rumours, manipulation, intimidation. Variants of information terrorism are described: information and psychological (media-terrorism / media-killing) and information technology (cyberterrorism).

The conclusions are that today virtual space and mass media are widely used by various terrorist-oriented groups for their own purposes, because accessibility, the absence of censorship, the large potential audience of users, the speed with which information is disseminated and the complexity with which it is presented and received are all contributing to the spread of information terrorism in today’s world.

The threat of terrorism through the use of media and cyberspace is a complex challenge of our time. The danger of such terrorism lies in the absence of geographical and national borders, as well as in the difficulty of identifying the identity of the terrorist in the information space and establishing his whereabouts. Therefore, in view of the further development of technology and mass media, the issue of countering information terrorism will be particularly relevant.

Key words: information terrorism, cyberterrorism, media terrorism, manipulation, virtual space.