Cyberterrorism and Turkey’s Counter-Cyberterrorism Efforts

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<p>Technological innovations leading to the industrial revolution in the 19th century have proceeded in an accelerated manner to lead to an information revolution in the 21st century. In addition to warfare in land, sea and air domains, &ldquo;space&rdquo; has emerged as a new field of operation. Further technological innovations have yet again set up another domain called &ldquo;cyberspace,&rdquo; dominated by information technologies with the capability to change the course of war on land, sea, air and/or space. Besides, organised crime and terrorist organisations, following the progress in cyberspace technologies, have increased their profits and developed new types of crime using new types of weapons. Attacks in the cyber domain evolve so rapidly that legal arrangements cannot cope with meeting security requirements and need to be frequently updated. On the other hand, new threats, such as &ldquo;cyberterrorism,&rdquo; necessitate wide-scope interpretation of the norms in international law. Turkey has taken several counter-cyberterrorism precautions. The establishment of the Cybersecurity Council, the adoption of the National Cybersecurity Strategy and of the 2013-2014 Action Plan are major steps in this regard. The rapid development in communication technologies has removed the national boundaries, increasing and gradually deepening the interaction between countries. Therefore, in order to strengthen cybersecurity efforts, it is necessary to further international cooperation as well as the cooperation between local public authorities and the private sector.</p>