Page 133 - Cyber Terrorism and Extremism as Threat to Critical Infrastructure Protection

3 A Critical Infrastructure Protection

Perspective on Counter-Terrorism in

South-Eastern Europe

Alexandru Georgescu, Adrian Victor Vevera,
Carmen Elena Cîrnu

1 Introduction

Terrorism is a severe threat to South Eastern Europe (SEE). The region features all of the sig-
nificant root causes of terrorism (Albrecht & Getoš, 2010), including a persistent lack of trust,
a history of conflict, unresolved group tensions, weak institutions and relatively weak econo-
mies. Matei (2009) wrote that “post-Cold War security challenges and threats no longer come
from organized, hierarchical state actors, but rather from non-state, easily adaptable, network-
centric groups and organizations (such as terrorist, organized crime (OC), money laundering
and human trafficking groups), which have progressively succeeded in altering the traditional
geographic borders between countries, as well as between domestic and foreign threats”.

The presence of organized crime, especially in its transborder version, acts as a facilitator for
terrorism both directly and indirectly, through its corrosive influence on institutions, trust,
the rule of law and the allocation of scarce resources (Busuncian, 2007). Historically severe
economic recessions, involving hyperinflation and widespread poverty have been the com-
panions of social upheaval and armed conflict. At the same time, the region has borne witness
to uncontrolled migratory flows and resurgent influences instrumentalizing radicalization and
persistent group animosity.

Counter-terrorism efforts are also required to decrease the likelihood of the materialization of
such an event, and to increase the resilience of societies to terrorist intent, threat perception
and action. This article argues in favour of the development and application of a systemic
framework of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) by the governments in the region, in
concert with other powers like the US and blocs such as the EU and NATO. Critical Infra-
structure (CI) includes “those physical and cyber-based systems essential to the minimum
operations of the economy and government” (PDD-63, 1998) and comprises infrastructures,
key assets and key resources (DHS, 2003). CI is a natural target for terrorists and other co-

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