BSS Flashcards
Definitions - why are they needed?
Legal - to consistently apply laws
Academic - to consistently apply research and corroborate findings
the key points defining terrorism (academic) (3 and 2)
- Act of violence or the threat of force and or violence
- Non state actor
- through fear and/or intimidation
one of the following
1. aimed at attaining political, economic, religious or social goal; or
2. an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims
Expand on 1 act of violence or the threat of violence (*)
Usually easy to decide
Some definitions exclude property (most do not)
Threats on property are the most common but do not make the news
Expand on 2 designed to cause fear in general population
About fear induced in wider populations
Public fear that they will be targeted?
Do assassinations fit this profile?
Fear is to pressure an authority to enact change
Expand on aim is to use fear to pressure an authority into change
Change can be political, religious or social NOT personal
How do we consolidate actions within a campaign? Eg ransom demand for solely money, but part of a wider political campaign?
How are the terrorist victims described?
For terrorism to hold, victims need to be identified as civilian
Some terrorist groups consider off duty law enforcement/military as combatants
How are the terrorist perpetrators described?
Some definitions, eg CIA, define terrorists as being sub national, therefore states can never carry out terrorism.
That said, international law would suggest that Nations carrying out acts of violence against specific groups could be considered to be carrying out genocide/war crimes
What is the global terrorist database?
Research tool trying to monitor and gather statistics on all terrorist related events
Is a terrorism label a value judgement?
No, it is a specific set of metrics that combine to label an event ‘terrorism’
Why do terrorists want publicity?
To generate fear that can be used as leverage to bring about change
Publicity about the acts creates the fear
What is ‘new terrorism’?
Jenkins (1987) ‘terrorists want a lot of people watching not a lot of people dead’? Has it changed?
Is higher body count due to requiring more media attention ?
Multi national approaches, is there less concern about alienating a core population IRA vs ISIS
Reasons terrorism is a form of communication
Create fear in public
Develop a supporter base
Backlash from supporter base v important
Targets and methods important to deliver impression management - eg IRA bomb warnings
Can be a recurring tool after successful attacks
Terrorism as a propaganda tool
Show of power
Message to those claimed to be represented by the group
Policies to only attack or not to attack certain groups - similar to rules of warfare
Why does Terrorism seek to deliver provocation of a government?
Terrorists regularly cite ill treatment by authorities (Hogan and Silke)
Terrorists can provoke authorities into heavy handed responses - eg Israeli policy on assassinations in early 2000’s.
Provocation also know as jujitsu politics (McCauley 2006)
Provocation can make things worse due to reprisals
Is there a ‘cause’ of terrorism?
Misleading, rarely one cause, complex factors usually at play. Implies a directly causal relationship rather than ‘one policy too far’
Correlation does not equate causation in these cases
Individual factors rarely predict terrorist leanings but do help understand the wider views of the terrorist community being supported
Is profiling useful?
Yes in that it frees up cognitive abilities of law enforcement and creates a simple checklist of indicators for them to look for.
BUT IF the terrorist does not follow the ‘standard’ archetype, ie gender, skin tone, accent etc then will lead to false sense of security
No, ends up demonising a community and potentially increase support for a terrorist group rather than breaking it.
Most research indicates that most terrorists are ‘normal’
What is Silke’s 2003 take on terrorism radicalisation factors?
Wrong circumstances create terrorists
Most people Support or consider joining a terrorist group when exposed to discrimination against yourself/loved ones
can make terrorism seem a justified response
2 terrorism myths
Not related to poverty or lack of education
Blackmail / coercion is rare
Cases where terrorism has not been related to education or wealth
2007 Glasgow airport bomb 5 of 8 questioned were doctors, one was a engineering PhD
2009 underwear bomber UCL trained Mech eng? But these are cases against western targets, would this hold true for Tamil Tigers etc?
Further research by Krueger Maleckowa 2003, Sageman 2004, Pape 2005 support this hypothesis
What are Borums 3 main causes of terrorism?
Perceived injustice
Identity
Need for belonging
Additional factors with Borums 3?
No way to change through legitimate political means
Feelings of revenge against those believed to perpetrate perceived injustice
Social factors leading to people becoming terrorists?
Need for social identity and belonging (IRA and ETA)
Excitement
Common correlates for terrorists in western countries? (X6)
Sociological discrimination
Feelings of alienation
Social exclusion or marginalisation
Political exclusion
Educational or occupational discrimination
Racism
cases where it is really hard to decide on whether an act was or was not an act of terrorism and the reasons for that.
Murder of Jo Cox and David Amess If no political rhetoric is put forward, if the attack does not inspire fear in general population, is it against citizens or just infrastructure?. Ie does it meet the 3 criteria for a terrorist act?
What is the difference between terrorism and hate crime?
Hate crime focus on minority groups whereas terrorism is against society as a whole.
Hate crime can cover speech, whereas terrorism needs to be a physical act, incitement to commit an act or plan to commit a violent act
Hate crimes are generally single ideology - anti gay, trans, Jew, Muslim, etc that would stray from the societal norm of creating an inclusive society
There are three common components of definitions of terrorism
Use of force
Create climate of fear
Get a government to change its policies on a topic
Some specifically exclude nation states from being terrorist organisations
What are the PURPOSEs of terrorism?
Not just about killing, some acts and organisations try their best to avoid this, some groups eg Greenpeace in France, do not target people
Long term goals - not just a prisoner release
Publicity
Communication
Recruitment
Provocation
Purpose of terrorism - Publicity definition
is needed in order to create the fear that will pressure for change.
- The ‘symbiotic’ relationship between terrorism and the media.
- Is there such a thing as new terrorism?
What is ‘new terrorism’?
Juergensmeyer calls new terrorism the “anti-order of the new world order of the 21st century”, stating that “[new terrorism] appears pointless since it does not lead directly to any strategic goal, and it seems exotic since it is frequently couched in the visionary rhetoric of religion.
”New terrorism can be broadly defined by three main characteristics:
- Ethno-nationalist and separatist based
- Inspired by the rise of extremist fundamentalist religious factionalism
- Emergence and prevalence of ‘Ad hoc’ terrorism
Generally:Amorphous in structure
Us against the West rhetoric Fundamental religious tie
Seen as ‘performance violence’ but this could be due to the need for more sensationalist attacks for media to report, particularly if the attack is outside a Western nation. Also organisations may not have same need to protect core demographics as the IRA or ETA did for their support.
Purpose of terrorism - Communication definition
Highlight strength of organisation with own constituency and therefore potentially also propaganda.
Purpose of terrorism - Provocation definition
They are deliberately trying to provoke us (government/society) into responding…why?generate fear
create a disproportionate response so government looks bad* “Jujitsu Politics” - McCauley (2006).
What is Jujitsu Politics?
McCauley (2006)A terrorist act designed to provoke a massive over reaction by the victim nation. Arguably the most effective example was US response to the 9/11 attacks. Huge economic drain on the US as they put in place measures to counter potential violent extremism
What factors increase someone’s likelihood of becoming a terrorist?
Mental health
Personality
Significant life event
What factors are not indicative of being a terrorist?
Poverty
Education
What is Target hardening and Situational Crime Prevention
Target hardening - increase of security on building/installation/city area to mitigate/lessen the impact of an attack
Situational crime prevention Situational crime prevention aims to increase risk and/or minimise reward, thus making either the commission of a criminal act too difficult, or the reward for committing the act too low to risk being caught.
Uses rational choice theory and routine activities theory to create the following effects on someone trying to committee a crime:
increasing the effort
increasing the risk
reducing the rewards
reducing provocations
removing excuses
What is the difference between prevention and deterrence
Prevention is an upstream approach, it is about wanting to stop people wanting to commit a crime
Deterrence is about making an attacker choose a different target because your target is too difficult or boring to attack
How can we measure the success of counter terrorism measures?
Great question, observe how other countries with similar threat profiles to yours fair over the same time period.
Whether database such as GTD demonstrate a downward trend in activity against your nation, and Indra hopefully overall!
what are Substitution or Transference in terrorism terms?
this is when terrorists decide that a target is too difficult for attack so transfer to one of the following approaches:
Time - come back when a target is less well protected - murder of Lee Rigby
Space - attack the same type of target but in a different location - IRA murder of Horse guards in Hyde park
Target - change target type - eg embassy hostages for hotel hostages. 7/7 from tube to bus
Mode - switch to a different form of action eg transfer of action from bombing, to marauder shooter to driven vehicle
What is Routine Activity Theory ? (3 components)
in order for a crime to occur, there must the presence of three linked elements:
motivated offenders,
suitable targets and
the absence of capable guardians. Capable guardians can include people such as security guards or the police, as well as environmental factors, such as locks or other security devices.
What is Rational Choice Theory?
Minimise risk, maximise reward
potential offenders rationally choose to commit crime, and also the methods used in order to do so. This choice is influenced by the offender’s need to maximise reward while minimising risk.
Note this has its detractors as to accurately measure on this model you need to account for cognitive biases, at the moment there are approx 200 which could be indicative of the mode needing to be reassessed
Define protective security
The means to:
Mitigate risk that arise directly from the potentially harmful actions of people such as criminals, terrorists, hostile states, and malicious insiders
Security risks arise from?
Purposeful adversaries
What is security? (X2)
First duty of government and basic human need
Security builds (x2)
Trust and confidence
Is security a common good?
Yes
What is risk?
Risk = threat x vulnerability x impact
Are security risks static monoliths?
No they are dynamic and adaptive - a system created by a human can be defeated by a human
Risk funnel top tier - what combine to make the threat?
threat actors intentions
threat actors capabilities
Risk funnel middle tier - what combine to make the likelihood?
Threat and victims vulnerability
Risk funnel bottom tier - what combine to make the risk?
Likelihood of attack
Impact of attack
What are the main threat actors? (x7)
Terrorists (Islamist, NIRT, XRW)
Hostile foreign state actors
Criminals
Insiders
Hacktivists, script kiddies and other hackers
Political extremists and violence-prone protestors
Fixated individuals
Three stages in risk management cycle?
Understand the risks
Decide on how much risk to take
Act to reduce risks
Characteristics of good security? (x8)
- Risk based (and intelligence-led)
- Proportionate
- Well governed
- Holistic
- Regularly tested
- Well measured
- Layered
- Dynamic
What is an insider?
A person who exploits, or intends to exploit, their legitimate access for unauthorised purposes
Someone who betrays the trust of others by causing harm
Types of insider?
- Insiders may be third parties (e.g. contractors, suppliers)
- Insiders may be malicious or unwitting
- Insiders may be self-starters or cultivated by external threat actors (e.g. criminal or terrorist groups, hostile foreign states)
What is Personnel security?
The defensive measures by which an organization protects itself against insider risk
Difference between Personnel and Personal security
first is a risk to an organisation, the latter to an individual inside the organisation.
eg the MOD holds a risk from personnel, but provides personal security to senior leaders and Ministers.
2 methods of creating personnel security
verifying identity
assurance of trustworthiness
4 ways we can misperceive risk?
Noting Wikipedia has a list of approx 200 cognitive biases, these 4 are seen as a common group that affect personnel security
- Availability bias
- Optimism bias
- Present bias
- Inattentional blindness
5 biases for mishandling risk
- Confirmation bias
- Groupthink
- Sunk-cost bias
- Hindsight bias
- Outcome bias
What is trust? (*)
a psychological state that reflects a person’s “willingness to rely on another in a risky situation based upon positive expectations of the other’s intentions or behaviors
“Omanda state of mind that gives confidence that the risks ahead are being managed to a point where everyday life and investments for the future can continue.
How can we measure trust?
Tactical
Are people in org honest? vetting, criminal background checks etc
Risk registers
policies and procedures
Strategic
SROs
Assurance - trust but verify
How do we deter /prevent individuals from becoming a malicious insider?
Good management
Regular check ups 1-2 times a year
What experiential and personality factors predispose individuals towards insider action?
Personal grievances with organisations
Perception of being held back etc
Is money an important motivator for insiders?
No
How can we avoid recruiting malicious insiders?
Vetting
Russians tried to infiltrate US security with sleeper agents, does not appear to have worked
How can we avoid creating malicious insiders?
Good management!
What are the early lead indicators of potential insider action and how can we detect them?
Change in lifestyle
Negative Change in performance
Working unusual hours when compared to their baseline of normal
How can we improve people’s ability to assess risk?
Experience
Training - classroom and live exercises
Exposure
Lessons learned
How can we help people to understand complex adaptive systems?
use of examples - covid and the 2nd, 3rd…nth order effects. War in Ukraine affecting gas and food prices globally
push the need for resilience in systems
