Non-Conventional terrorism mainly uses and executes non-traditional forms of weapons. They might include chemical, biological, and nuclear types of threat. In addition, the opportunities for terrorist attacks in cyberspace can also be considered as a non-conventional manifestation. Although the planning process for these types of acts is more delicate and difficult, the terrorists can transition to non-traditional methods. It is mainly due to the development of regular terrorism prevention measures. However, it is clear that planning and organizing the cyberattack is more available and executable, whereas biochemical weapons are difficult to acquire.
The suicide bombing threat is the most prevailing type of terrorism, which is used by Islamic radical groups. The danger will come in the form of cyberattacks by religious extremists against technologically developed nations in the foreseeable future. The opposing theoretical assumptions are that terrorism will occur either in the form of cyberattacks or biochemical ones. There are several cases where the largest corporations, such as Citigroup, have undergone hacking threats and resulted in leaked credit cards and bank account passwords (Khattak, Park, Hong, Boateng, & Smith, 2018). The given method is constantly improving, and today’s effective prevention methods of cybersecurity can render itself useless tomorrow.
It is important not to dismiss the potential dangers of the bio-chemical and nuclear forms of terrorism. Although these approaches are difficult to execute because of the need for the biological weapon, the outcome can be devastating. Spreading viruses, and hazardous gases and toxins are the main methods of bio-chemical terrorism (Horowitz & Narang, 2014). The nuclear threat is also considered a non-conventional one, but planning and executing it is almost impossible because of the rarity and expensiveness of the required materials. All these approaches demand a sufficient level of funding and secrecy because the national security agencies all around the world are becoming more competent.
It is important to note that both cyberterrorism and bio-chemical attacks are difficult to prevent and track, and they both can result in massive losses. The development of technology and the world’s high reliance on the internet increases the opportunities for hackers to execute the given practice (Wang, Lau, & Gerdes, 2018). Cyberattacks do not require a lot of funding, and they can be done by combining advanced technology and access to private information. In addition, it is challenging to track and prevent cyberterrorism due to the increasing use of the internet and the intellectual competence of hackers (Davies, 2018). The amount of information is growing with each second, which renders the targeted prevention useless. An average internet user can avoid IP number identification and encrypt the messages; thus, a properly armed and equipped cyberterrorist can plan and execute the attack without being caught.
In conclusion, non-conventional terrorism can manifest itself either in biochemical and nuclear form, or cyberthreat. Both of these approaches require a certain amount of resources and materials. Although virus and hazardous gas attacks can pose a danger on a massive scale, terrorists do not need many resources to execute cyberattacks.
References
Davies, S. R. (2018). Characterizing hacking: Mundane engagement in US hacker and makerspaces. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 43(2), 171-197.
Horowitz, M. C., & Narang, N. (2014). Poor man’s atomic bomb? Exploring the relationship between “weapons of mass destruction.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 58(3), 509-535.
Khattak, Z. H., Park, H., Hong, S., Boateng, R. A., & Smith, B. L. (2018). Investigating cybersecurity issues in active traffic management systems. Transportation Research Record, 2672(19), 79-90.
Wang, H., Lau, N., & Gerdes, R. M. (2018). Examining cybersecurity of cyberphysical systems for critical infrastructures through work domain analysis. Human Factors, 60(5), 699-718.