ABSTRACT
Most terrorist and hate groups use the Internet to raise money for their activities. Even the well-funded Al Qaeda network utilizes websites to solicit contributions. Terrorists have also resorted to criminal activities in cyberspace to finance their activities, with credit card fraud first on list of their offenses. A growing array of state and non-state actors such as terrorists and international criminal groups are targeting US citizens, commerce, critical infrastructure, and government. Terrorists utilize computer technology and Internet to plan and coordinate their violent actions. In addition, computer-based communications seem ideal to further several other important objectives, namely, radicalization, recruitment, and incitement; self-reporting of violence; planning and executing terrorist operations; retrieving valuable information; raising funds. Among the terrorism-related cases the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced in the first half of 2015 were several that provided some clues about online radicalization and recruitment. Indeed, no other terrorist group has publicized its unspeakably brutal violence as detailed and widely as ISIS.
