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 CIA Director John Brennan, in a speech in New York, said such
communications heighten the challenge of dealing with diffuse
threats and attacks across the world from groups like Islamic State,
known also as ISIL, and others.
"New technologies can help groups like ISIL coordinate operations,
attract new recruits, disseminate propaganda, and inspire
sympathizers across the globe to act in their name," Brennan said,
using an acronym for the militant group that has taken hold in Syria
and Iraq.
"The overall threat of terrorism is greatly amplified by today’s
interconnected world, where an incident in one corner of the globe
can instantly spark a reaction thousands of miles away; and where a
lone extremist can go online and learn how to carry out an attack
without ever leaving home," Brennan said.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, Brennan cited a recent
spate of attacks, including shootings at the French satirical
newspaper Charlie Hebdo, at a Pakistani school, and at a cafe in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
"These attacks underscore a disturbing trend that we have been
monitoring for some time: The emergence of a terrorist threat that
is increasingly decentralized, difficult to track, and difficult to
thwart," he said.
While U.S. agencies have boosted efforts against cyber-based
threats, those bent on committing acts of terrorism have also
improved their use of technologies, Brennan said.
Islamic State militants have used social media and other technology
to grow into a global movement that attracts recruits by
romanticizing its narrative in places like Syria and Iraq, he said.
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"This phenomenon now has generated a lot of appeal" Brennan said.
"We see these different franchises ... that are trying to get on the
bandwagon of this phenomenon and so this is a worrisome sort of
global movement" requiring a broad response.
Brennan said a variety of strategies, including monitoring social
media, were needed to help identify threats.
"We need to have a better sense of what's happening in the streets.
And that's why looking at social media and other things you can
maybe have a better sense of the barometric conditions in a country
that are going to be more conducive to the forming of a storm."
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bernadette
Baum)
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