Chapter 13 - Cyber terrorism: Case studies

Abstract

This chapter discusses the threat of terrorism in cyberspace and examines the truth of the perceptions of this threat that have formed in recent years. It examines the capabilities that a non-state actor can achieve and whether this can constitute a real threat to the national security of states. For an analysis of the main threats facing a state from a multi-year perspective and in light of anticipated changes in a state’s strategic balance, the factors that threaten the state are presented and the roots of the threat are identified. The chapter thus examines whether terrorism, whose impact is generally tactical, could make (or perhaps has already made) the transition to a cyber-weapon capability with strategic impact, that is, a weapon that could inflict widespread damage or damage over time, of the sort that brings states to their knees and causes critical systems to crash.