January 17, 2008
Stop Me if You Think That You've Heard This One Before: UK To Tackle Online Terror
Don't we hear this about every fortnight or so? The article is rife with skepticism (scepticism to you Brits) about the ability to actually fight the online jihad.
Gee, it's just so hard, say the experts.
True. But compare the costs and difficulties of fighting cyberterrorists to, you know, actual terrorists. The it's really hard excuse is not just dumb, it's dangerous.
Hey, let's not fight al Qaeda. It's really hard, and they'll just move to a new country.
Yeah, brilliant logic. You can read the article below.
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, had this to say as quoted by Times Online:
"Counter-terrorist policing is not just about sharp end - the disruption of those who see to attack us - crucial though that is," she said. "It must also be about stopping people becoming or supporting terrorists, We cannot, after all, simply arrest our way out of the problem." ...The rest of the article goes on to say how gosh darn hard it is to go after the internet jihadis, and thus, not worth doing."Let me be clear: the internet is not a no-go area for government," she said.
"We are already working closely with the communications industry to take action against paedophiles, and together we have improved the way that instances of possible abuse can be reported by internet users.
"If we are ready and willing to take action to stop the grooming of vulnerable young on social networking sites, then I believe we should also take action against those who groom vulnerable people for the purposes of violent extremism.
"In the next few weeks, I will be talking to industry and, critically, those in the community about how best to do this - and how best to identify material that is drawing vulnerable young people into violent extremism. Where there is illegal material on the net, I want it removed."
To be honest, I'm skeptical of any governments ability to fight the online jihad. That's why they should rethink their strategy. Government goals can often times be better met with private means. Let the private sector fight this war. Our enemies use non-hierarchical distributed networks, we should fight them using the same.
