Page 139 - Cyber Terrorism and Extremism as Threat to Critical Infrastructure Protection

ALEXANDRU GEORGESCU, ADRIAN VICTOR VEVERA, CARMEN ELENA CÎRNU: A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
PERSPECTIVE ON COUNTER-TERRORISM IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE

throughout the entire system of systems, leading to tighter couplings between systems compo-
nents and the “fortuitous alignment of breakages” which may result in cascading disruptions
(Pescaroli & Alexander, 2016).

The permeation of cyber is equivalent to an increase in the surface of contact between the
system(s) in question and a cyber environment that is increasingly dangerous (Gokce, 2018).
This leads to an increase in the opportunities and vectors for deliberate attackers to attempt to
disrupt normal system operation, for whatever purpose, placing the defenders at a disadvantage.

On the side of the defenders, we find that, just as many CI owners/operators are in the private
sector, there is a staggering variety of cyber preparedness levels, in terms of organization,
sophistication and levels of investment. This is also matched by variations in preparedness
levels for the competent authorities and decision-makers, not just in the region but throughout
the EU, where the NIS Directive has only recently been universally implemented.

For attackers, we find a variety of actors, including terrorist groups, lone wolves, state-sup-
ported actors, “enemies-within”, organized crime groups and other variations on the profit
motive. Coburn et al. (2019) also states that state-sponsored actors have registered growth in
financial motivation as a source for attacks. It is becoming more and more difficult to distin-
guish between cyber-terrorism, cyber-activism and organized cybercrime. Figure 3 highlights
the links between cybercrime and terrorism as an enabler, by creating the tools, the resources
and the opportunity for terrorists to act. Terrorists may fund their activities through cyber-
crime, they may steal information for planning attacks and access to a site or facility, they
may acquire tools for cyberattacks or outsource services, and they may tread on the path of
corruption and other frailties and vulnerabilities which organized crime leaves in institutions,
companies or society in general (Stytz & Banks, 2017).

Figure 3: The link between terrorism and transborder organized crime, especially cyber-
crime (Source: presentation by Liviu Mureșan)

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