From the 18th to the 20th of February 2008, 45 international experts on terrorism and the internet met in Berlin to present, discuss and assess recent findings and experiences concerning the topic “The internet as a tool for terrorists; socio-technological aspects with a special emphasis on targeting women and children”.Whereas the usage of the internet by terrorists for various purposes such as propaganda and recruitment, fundraising, coordination and acquiring and sharing knowledge is fairly well understood, the targeting of women and children via the web has so far received only limited attention. This research workshop was initiated to fill the gap.The choice of panels and the selection of speakers and participants reflect the underlying problems in researching and addressing the topic:
- In abstract terms, the internet is a place where bits and bytes are exchanged, hence having a strong technical component. This is particularly relevant when we want to acquire quantitative data concerning usage of the internet by terrorists.
- Behind the bits and bytes are human beings - addressing the targeting of women and children and radicalisation processes, etc., are social phenomena regardless of whether they are carried out face to face or via the internet.
- From an organisational perspective, terrorists are well coordinated on a global level. The same, however, does not hold true for the “anti-coalition”. The traditional division in various states and a wide range of international organisations with diverging memberships (e.g. NATO, EU), together with the sensitivity and secrecy of many aspects of this issue, makes coordination of counter-efforts very difficult.
In choosing experts and participants from a wide range of backgrounds (technical/social, academia/practitioners/representatives of services, NATO/EU/various states) and choosing three panels (technical, social, women and children), we aimed to overcome the problems mentioned above. In the following paragraphs we will highlight selected issues that appeared during the workshop that are most important in regard to potential countermeasures before we suggest future activities.
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