U.K. Case Shows Link Between Online Fraud and Jihadist Networks

Via WashingtonPost (Tip of the hat to my friend Fergie) -

The global jihad landed in Linda Spence's e-mail inbox during the summer of 2003, in the form of a message urging her to verify her eBay account information. The 35-year-old New Jersey resident clicked on the link included in the message, which took her to a counterfeit eBay site where she unwittingly entered in personal financial information.

Ultimately, Spence's information wound up in the hands of a young man in the United Kingdom who investigators said was the brains behind a terrorist cell that sought to facilitate deadly bombing attacks against targets in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

Investigators say Spence's stolen data made its way via the Internet black market for stolen identities to 21-year-old biochemistry student Tariq al-Daour, one of three U.K. residents who pleaded guilty this week to a terrorism charge of using the Internet to incite murder.

Much has been written about radical Islamic groups' use of the Internet to propagandize and recruit new members. The U.K. investigation, however, revealed a significant link between Islamic terrorist groups and cyber crime, and experts say security officials must do more to understand and confront cyber crime as part of any overall strategy for combatting terrorism.

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I have always held the feeling that a connection existed, but the question in my mind always was...how big is the connections? Overall, I think (or perhaps hope) only a small part of global online fraud is linked directly to radical terrorism...but I think this link is set to grow way before it shrink. It just makes too much sense.

As any phisher will tell you, it is easy money with little risk....why wouldn't those that support terror follow in the footprints of organized crime rings? Terrorist groups, both globally organized and franchised, are moving online for support, training, communications....and recruiting.

There is no reason to re-invent the online fund raising wheel...

We will only see more and more examples of this connection in the future, I fear.