Daily Times

As the cauldron is already out of control, extremist users of the internet put more fuel on the fire. The internet is under close watch by the Tackling Extremism and Radicalisation Task Force (TERFOR) to identify terror suspects and jihadist mafia groups in the UK. Since the internet became the main tool and means of communication — and also a source of terrorism — jihadist groups began to invite young people to die in order to kill. In 2014, they have been successful in their mission by sending hundreds of young UK citizens to Iraq, Syria and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) networks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their bomb-making manuals are freely available online and their financing through the internet has become a serious issue. The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, London, Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, recently warned that the internet is becoming a “dark and ungoverned” place for terrorists to safely operate. “Encryption on computers and mobile phones is frustrating police inquiries and leaving parts of the web as ‘anarchic places’,” Mr Bernard said. According to a UN report in 2012: “The internet may be used not only as a means to publish extremist rhetoric and videos, but also a way to develop relationships with, and solicit support from, those most responsive to targeted propaganda.”

Though our law enforcement and intelligence agencies are struggling to develop sophisticated tools to prevent, detect and deter terrorists’ online activities, the issue of mass surveillance in our society has become a headache. We are unable to walk unfettered as mass surveillance has tied our hands and feet, and confined us to a specific domain. From our e-mail box, Facebook profile, Twitter feed and telephone to bedroom, nothing is safe. On October 28, 2014, Chatham House, an international affairs think tank, organised an event on mass surveillance and counterterrorism, in which UN Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism and Human Rights Dr Ben Emmerson and Chairman Intelligence and Security Committee of the British Parliament Sir Malcolm Rifkin were the main speakers. The debate started with the violation of privacy and massive surveillance blankets in the US, Europe and the UK. Dr Ben Emmerson raised serious questions about the way UK and US surveillance mechanisms operate. The revelations of the new chief of the GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, in his Financial Times article, further complicated the issue when he categorically said that privacy has never been an absolute right.

British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond also admitted in his statement before the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee that the bulk data collection did not amount to mass surveillance. In his public remarks, Mr Philip said, “Mass surveillance is illegal.” In June 2014, the UK’s top counterterrorism officials were forced to reveal a secret government policy justifying the mass surveillance of every Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google user in the UK. These revelations were made public due to the deep pressure from Privacy International, Liberty, Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union. Mr Charles Farr, the director general of the office for security and counterterrorism defended his organisation.

The bureau of investigative journalism in the UK filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, challenging the current UK legislation on mass surveillance and its threat to journalism. On August 29, 2014, UK’s prime minister warned that his country faced the “greatest and deepest” terror threat in history. Mr David Cameron said that the risk posed by ISIS will last for “decades” and raised the prospect of an expanding terrorist nation “on the shores of the Mediterranean”. Privacy and human rights groups complain that these day-to-day changing surveillance mechanisms might possibly alienate citizens from the state. The government and its security infrastructure are also worked up over the exacerbation of prevailing fear of online extremism across the country.

On September 1, 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron announced a series of new anti-terror measures. In fact, this announcement was the introduction of new powers to be added to the current terror laws. The cyber security strategy of the UK tells us about the challenges of cyber terrorism and the fatality of violent cyber attacks on national computers. Cyber terrorism and attacks on the UK’s sensitive computers from a safe distance have become a complex security challenge. Constant connectivity and the way modern cyber terrorism operates have transformed the way individuals, organisations and states interact. Every year, the UK’s society is becoming increasingly dependent on information and communications technology. It receives various kinds of threats through cyberspace, while our state’s computers are being attacked on a daily basis.

As the threat of online jihadism exacerbates, the anxiety felt by our government increases. The failure of the government and its frustration are evident from its changing directions and strategies together with the day-to-day introduction of new counterterrorism measures. New surveillance laws added to the list of UK’s mass surveillance have concerned cyber security and law and order experts. They think that these laws might further prompt mistrust between the state and society. Counterterrorism mechanisms by TERFOR and other relevant agencies against the online war on extremism and radicalisation is 50-50 or failing as jihadists continue to join ISIS, al Shabab and Boko Haram’s ranks in Africa, and Taliban networks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

During the last two months, our intelligence agencies have arrested several terror suspects involved in online illegal activities. We understand that the day-to-day increase in cyber attacks on our computers by Chinese and Russian cyber terrorists are bigger challenges but mass surveillance is not the only way of solving the prevailing jihadist culture in the UK. We have failed to intercept their hate campaign in our streets, mosques and educational institutions. They are intimidating our children openly while intelligence agencies are finding it difficult to control this hydra. The GCHQ continues to store their emails, data, text messages and images but the result is still poor. Finally, we are still working to prepare our horses for the long and tenacious battle ahead and request professionals to join our intelligence war against terrorism and radicalisation.

The writer is the author of Punjabi Taliban and can be reached at zai.musakhan222@gmail.com