What is ‘new age’ terrorism? In a paper addressing changes in terrorism, Dr. Arvind Adityaraj states: “…the magnitude of violence, lethality and the extensive use of technology to disseminate ideology, indoctrinate, and mold the mind of the youth in their fold…[with] business-like network structures clearly point towards the significant departure of old terrorism.”
Firms supplying essential services, e.g. for energy, transport, banking and health, or digital ones, such as search engines and cloud services, will have to improve their ability to withstand cyberattacks under the first EU-wide rules on cybersecurity.
Details of more than 18,000 Foreign Terrorist Fighters have now been shared via Interpol’s network with an increasing amount being sourced from the conflict zones. Biometric data such as photos, fingerprints and DNA profiles have already led to the positive identification of terrorists around the world, including via facial recognition.
The International Organization for Migration is working on introducing a Regional Biometric Data Exchange Solution (RBDES) to countries around the world in an effort to address irregular migration.
The RBDES will enable law enforcement agencies to exchange biometrics data in a fast and secure way to verify the identities of travelers at borders. The system does not however store biometric data.
Only about half of all countries have a cybersecurity strategy or are in the process of developing one, the International Telecommunication Union reported in its second Global Cybersecurity Index.
China is to use quantum cryptography to create an “unhackable” communications network. Using the network, some 200 users from the military, government, finance and electricity sectors will be able to send messages without the concern that others may be able to read them.
The Malaysian Coast Guard (MCG) and Australian Border Force (ABF) have completed Operation Redback VIII; an on-water operation to combat maritime security threats facing both nations, including people smuggling and human trafficking.
Hospitals in the UK are to be given £21 million to improve data and cybersecurity, taking the current level of government investment in this area to over £50 million. The £21 million cash injection follows a review into hospital cybersecurity, and it will be directed to the UK’s 27 major trauma centers including those that dealt with the aftermaths of recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London.
The looming shadow of terrorism is pervasive. The recent suicide attack that targeted a music concert in Manchester, UK; the vehicle attack in London, UK, two months prior; and compounded further by regular images across the media of marauding attacks in cities such as Paris and Berlin.
