The role of computer forensics in the fight against terrorism

Abstract

In this paper, the authors examine the adequacy of the counter-terrorism concept, which does not envisage institutional responsibility for collecting, processing, and fixing traces of cyber-related terrorist activities. The starting point is the fact that today numerous human activities and communication take place in the cyberspace. Firstly, the focus is on the aspects of terrorism that present a generator of challenges to social stability and, in this context, the elements of the approach adopted by the current National Security Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. In this analysis, adequacy is evaluated from the point of view of functionality. In this sense, it is an attempt to present elements that influence the effectiveness of counter-terrorism in the information age. Related to this is the specification of the role that digital forensics can play in this area. The conclusion is that an effective counter-terrorism strategy must necessarily encompass the institutional incorporation of digital forensics since it alone can contribute to the timely detection or assertion of responsibility for terrorism in a networked computing environment.