Swatting the Swatters: the management of social media 'threat' messages

摘要

As Internet Messaging applications continue to proliferate and the use of social media becomes a way of life for many, it's hardly surprising that terrorists, other criminals and hoaxers are exploiting some of these technologies as a tool to communicate threats. Many well-known terrorist groups have an internet presence, which is usually focused on propaganda and recruitment. The Yemen-based Islamist group, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), regularly produces its online 'Inspire' magazine, which as the name suggests, is aimed at inspiring individuals to engage in jihad. The group has been linked to a number of terrorist plots targeting civil aviation, including the underwear bomb plot, where a Nigerian man tried to bomb a US-bound flight on Christmas Day 2009 with an IED sewn into his underwear; the cargo planes bomb plot in 2010, which involved sophisticated IEDs being concealed in printer cartridges introduced into the cargo system; and a further foiled plot in 2012 to attack a US-bound plane using an updated 'underwear bomb' which was fortunately foiled by an insider who had infiltrated the group.