The Confluence of Cyber Crime and Terrorism

by Steven P. Bucci, Ph.D
Heritage Lecture #1123

Today the world faces a wide array of cyber threats. The majority of these threats are aimed at the Western democracies and the Western-leaning countries of other regions.

The reason for this is simple: They are ripe targets. These countries are either highly dependent, almost completely in some cases, on cyber means for nearly every significant societal interaction or are racing toward that goal. They seek the speed, accuracy, efficiency, and ease that a "wired" system of systems brings and all the benefits that accrue to such a situation.

The danger we face is that there are many individuals, groups, and states that desire to exploit those same systems for their own purposes. There is a new threat on the horizon that must be recognized and addressed.

Cyber threats we face today can be grouped into seven categories that form a spectrum of sorts. Any of these threat groups can attack an individual, a nation-state, and anything in between. They will exploit a lazy home computer user, an inefficient corporate information technology system, or a weak national infrastructure defense.

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