Title: The mimetic virus: a vector for cyberterrorism

Authors: Nicholas Ayres; Leandros A. Maglaras; Helge Janicke; Richard Smith; Ying He

Addresses: School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK ' School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK ' School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK ' School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK ' School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK

Abstract: Like conventional terrorism, cyberterrorism has the same aims and goals but the act is done exclusively within cyberspace where the computer is both weapon and target. Unlike conventional terrorism, cyberterrorism is not analogue but digital and any potential attack could have global consequences. Current thinking is that critical national infrastructure (CNI) is the main target of focus for cyberterrorism but with so many people online on a national or even global scale, public could prove to be an easier, more tempting target. This article addresses how the cyberterrorist could use the public as target of a real or fake attack by using a mimetic virus as the weapon.

Keywords: cyberterrorism; terrorism; mimetic virus; cyber attacks; cyber security; general public; attack vectors; social media.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBCRM.2016.081256

International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, 2016 Vol.6 No.4, pp.259 - 271

Received: 21 Jul 2015
Accepted: 27 Feb 2016
Published online: 01 Jan 2017 *

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