A Digital Haven for Terrorists on Our Own Shores?

May 6, 2008

comment by Jerry Gordon

What does our colleague Joseph Shahda keep saying" shut down terrorist websites because there is little actionable intelligence to be derived from them. Now comes this report by Prof. Niv Ahituv of the Netvision Institute for Internet Studies (NIIS) of Tel Aviv University. We had posted on Prof. Ahituv's comment at a NATO conference on cyber terrorism held in Germany in February.

Note what Professor Ahituv and his team has to say. Sounds like what Shahda has been saying all along:

"These websites hosted in America are targeting Muslim mothers in America, Canada, the U.K. and all over the world, convincing them that being 'Shahid' or a suicide bomber is particularly good and very important for their sons," says Prof. Niv Ahituv of the NIIS.


Available in English, Arabic, Spanish and other languages, the websites also provide tutorials on bomb building and enlist impressionable American and British Muslim women and men into a life of terror activity.

And how many of these terrorist websites operating in North America are we talking about. Here's what the NIIS report said:

According to the study, the Islamic Jihad operates 15 websites in Arabic and English, hosted by both U.S. and Canadian companies. Hamas operates 20 websites in eight languages, a portion of which are based in the U.S and Canada, while Hezbollah operates 20 websites, also hosted by companies in the U.S. and Canada.

Professor Ahituv's conclusions match those of Shahda, perfectly:

The FBI has shut down a few websites, but American law prevents the closure of most, says Prof. Ahituv. Terrorists could coordinate a 9/11-scale attack via these websites, he warns. There are, however, some people who believe that leaving those websites intact is desired in order to monitor content, trends and policy. It is hard to tell which side is right, adds Prof. Ahituv.

We have posted on Somali Jihadist websites hosted by an ISP in Vancouver, Washington, as well as, the problems that PalTalk got into trouble hosting terrorist web sites that US counter intelligence services wanted' monitored. Bravo to Prof. Ahituv and to our own Joseph Shahda.

Shahda had this comment on Professor Ahituv's testimony:

"The more the terrorism experts examine these terrorist websites and forums the more they should be convinced that the most effective way to eliminate the extreme danger that they represent is to shut them down. Based on my own experience dealing with these terrorist forums, there is nothing the terrorists fear more than shutting down their websites and forums. They know that they are being monitored and they take all available precautions known to man in to avoid detection. As long as the site is up they are achieving the goals that they are set up to do. Spread terrorist propaganda, recruit more terrorist for Jihad, and teach them how to conduct violent terrorist actions including building bombs and suicide explosive belts."

Mainstream Internet companies a home for terrorist websites, TAU study finds

American Friends of Tel Aviv University blog,, May 5, 2008

If you use one of America's top Internet service providers, you may share server space with an organization that enables worldwide terrorism, says a new study by Tel Aviv University.

A workshop on terrorist organizations and the Internet was organized for the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) by the Netvision Institute for Internet Studies (NIIS) and the Interdisciplinary Center for Technology Analysis & Forecasting, both of Tel Aviv University. Berlin's Institute for Cooperation Management and Interdisciplinary Research (NEXUS), affiliated with the Technical University of Berlin, also participated in the workshop.

The findings were presented in Berlin to a closed audience of high-ranking representatives from NATO in February 2008.

Organizing and Recruiting Online

Enlisted by NATO officials to study the web activity of terrorist organizations, researchers found that some of the world's most dangerous organizations are operating on American turf. Hezbollah, the Islamic Jihad, and al-Qaeda all have websites hosted by popular American Internet service providers -- the same companies that most of us use every day.

"These websites hosted in America are targeting Muslim mothers in America, Canada, the U.K. and all over the world, convincing them that being 'Shahid' or a suicide bomber is particularly good and very important for their sons," says Prof. Niv Ahituv of the NIIS.

Available in English, Arabic, Spanish and other languages, the websites also provide tutorials on bomb building and enlist impressionable American and British Muslim women and men into a life of terror activity.

Free-Speech for Terrorists

Prof. Ahituv acknowledges the dilemma that America's First Amendment creates -- free-speech protections may foster propaganda directed towards the U.S. "America's First Amendment protects these websites from being shut down," he says, recognizing the irony of waging a war on terror when some of the most dangerous propaganda is being created at home.
According to the study, the Islamic Jihad operates 15 websites in Arabic and English, hosted by both U.S. and Canadian companies. Hamas operates 20 websites in eight languages, a portion of which are based in the U.S and Canada, while Hezbollah operates 20 websites, also hosted by companies in the U.S. and Canada.

Limited Successes and American Law

The FBI has shut down a few websites, but American law prevents the closure of most, says Prof. Ahituv. Terrorists could coordinate a 9/11-scale attack via these websites, he warns. There are, however, some people who believe that leaving those websites intact is desired in order to monitor content, trends and policy. It is hard to tell which side is right, adds Prof. Ahituv.
An issue of great concern is that terrorist organizations are using the Internet to bypass the role of the established press, he notes. "Since those organizations do not possess TV stations, radio stations and printed press outlets, they use the Internet to impart their views and events to the public and to the media."

For more information, see the Netvision Institute for Internet Studies, http://www.niis.tau.ac.il/.