How Terrorists Are Using Technology to Weaponize the Internet

Just as it has become easier for civilians to communicate with one another, so too it has become easier for Islamic terrorists to recruit and inspire fellow radicals to commit deadly attacks against the West. Radicals are now able to mobilize and connect with one another in ways not possible even just a decade ago. Though on different continents, from different cultures and speaking different languages, all are able to march in unison for the same radical cause, thanks to technological advances, most notably the internet.

This is the urgent message of New York Times best-selling author Brigitte Gabriel, who in her new book, Rise: In Defense of Judeo-Christian Values and Freedom, helps equip Americans to fight the efforts of the nation’s enemies to undermine the U.S. culture at every level.

“No longer is it necessary to grow up in a radicalized community in the Middle East to absorb the same radical values,” Gabriel says. “Instead, the internet has created a borderless cultural exchange, where radical values from abroad can inspire deadly attacks from any location around the globe. To put it another way, prior to modern advancements such as the internet, smartphones and social media, jihadists were mainly limited to inspiring those they met in person. Now Islamic radicals can connect with people half a world away from them and spread poison to all those who will listen.”

The Center for Strategic & International Studies affirms Gabriel’s writing. In its latest report, the CSIS finds that “despite the Islamic State’s loss of territory in Iraq and Syria, an increasingly diffuse Salafi–jihadist movement is far from defeated.” The extensive report constructs a data set of groups and fighters from 1980 to 2018, including from the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Even before Sept. 11, 2001, Gabriel added, without today’s technological advancements, al-Qaeda was able to organize the deadliest terror attack in world history.

“That level of deadly destruction requires precise execution and organization,” Gabriel says. “For the terrorists to achieve such coordination in a time when almost none of the tools we use today to connect with one another or obtain information existed is beyond startling. The events of Sept. 11 are all the more terrifying when considering all the additional tools that Islamic terrorists have at their disposal today for recruitment, incitement, organization and execution.

“Fast-forward to contemporary technological advancements, and jihadists can literally hold access to the entire world in the palms of their hands,” she added. “Social media gives us the ability to connect with whomever we choose whenever we choose. Unfortunately, an object of blessing for peaceful civilians remains a weapon for those who seek to do evil. The internet has transcended borders, language and culture, and opened a can of worms with potentially deadly consequences. Welcome to the 21st century, where the world is smaller, and everything is faster, easier and more dangerous than ever before.”

Rise contains Gabriel’s most hard-hitting, explosive message yet. It’s not only a warning but also a rallying cry to unite Americans of all backgrounds in a fight for the survival of the nation, the protection of the Judeo-Christian values upon which it was built, and the preservation of the freedoms on which future generations depend.

In the 10 years since her groundbreaking first book took the world by storm, Gabriel has boldly faced death threats from terrorists, condemnation from critics and attacks from the “PC Police,” yet she refuses to back down. Gutsy, spirited, undauntable and resolute, Gabriel now issues a new clarion call to America that addresses the historical and religious basis of our greatest threats to national security.

She started her organization, ACT for America—now approaching 1 million members—in an effort to protect the citizens of the United States from the horrors she experienced as a girl. She is also the celebrated author of two New York Times best-sellers, Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America (2006) and They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It (2010). Rise is published by Frontline, an imprint of Charisma House, which has published 14 New York Times best-sellers.

For more information on Brigitte Gabriel, visit risetoact.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. View the media page for Charisma House here.