Fergie's Tech Blog

Feds Really Do Fear Hippy Cyber Terror

Kevin Poulsen writes on 27B Stroke 6:

If you were curious, as I was, why the notional evildoers in DHS's anti-cyber terror wargame Cyber Storm were anti-globalization lefties instead of home grown right wing extremists or al Qaida, it turns out the threat model was completely in keeping with the Bush administration's assessment of where terrorists are festering.

From the very end of the government's newly-and-partially-declassified National Intelligence Estimate [.pdf] summary:

"Anti-U.S. and anti-globalization sentiment is on the rise and fueling other radical ideologies. This could prompt some leftist, nationalist, or separatist groups to adopt terrorist methods to attack US interests. The radicalization process is occurring more quickly, more widely, and more anonymously in the Internet age, raising the likelihood of surprise attacks by unknown groups whose members and supporters may be difficult to pinpoint.

"We judge that groups of all stripes will increasingly use the Internet to communicate, propagandize, recruit, train, and obtain logistical and financial support."

posted by Fergie @ 9/28/2006 06:14:00 PM