How Twitter could be a security threat – Terrorist tweets aplenty
Twitter is a micro-blogging service that has already gained a huge amount of fans amongst the tech community, and is currently trying to gain a foothold of popularity amongst a wider mainstream demographic. But that wider set of fans could include terrorists who would use Twitter to spread their message and even direct operations.
This warning comes from the U.S. Army by way of an intelligence report 304th Military Intelligence Battalion. It was posted on the Federation of American Scientists website before Noah Shachtman brought it to the attention of the wider public on Wired.
The report identifies three new technologies as possible threats to national security. Alongside Twitter, Global Positioning System maps and voice-changing software are claimed to be “potential terrorist tools”.
Twitter is rapidly becoming an essential tool for many. Back in July, news of the Los Angeles earthquake rebounded around Twitter before the event was picked up by any news organisation. The Presidential candidates are also using it to keep up with their supporters. And in April, a man used Twitter to alert his friends that he’d been arrested in Egypt.
But these uses could potentially have a dark side, at least if you believe the scaremongering of the U.S. intelligence services. The report states:
“Twitter has become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences,”
“Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives,”
“Extremist and terrorist use of Twitter could evolve over time to reflect tactics that are already evolving in use by hacktivists and activists for surveillance. This could theoretically be combined with targeting.”
It’s theoretically possible I suppose but then every piece of emerging technology can be used by either side of this global war on terror. Does that mean we should halt progress to ensure our security? Especially when terrorists can use completely non-cutting edge techniques such as nail bombs and home-made explosives to inflict damage on people and property.
I’m glad there are people watching out for our safety but I tend to regard this as pure scaremongering. And all that does is make us all live in fear rather than peace.
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May 29th, 2011
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