Threat Construction and Framing of Cyberterrorism in the U.S. News Media

This research aims to explore the influence of news media on the fear of cyberterrorism and how cyberterrorism is framed in the media. Using a mixed-method approach as a research strategy, this paper reports on two studies that explore the influence of news reading on the fear of cyberterrorism. The first study analyzed survey responses from 1,190 participants and found that increased exposure to reading news media was associated with increased fear of cyberterrorism. The second study, built on the first, sought to investigate how cyberterrorism is framed and constructed as a threat by the US local and national newspapers. The framing and portrayal of cyberterrorism in US newspapers are discussed

A Prevention and a Traction System for Ransomware Attacks

Over the past three years, especially following WannaCry malware, ransomware has become one of the biggest concerns for private businesses, state, and local government agencies. According to Homeland Security statistics, 1.5 million ransomware attacks have occurred per year since 2016. Cybercriminals often use creative methods to inject their malware into the target machines and use sophisticated cryptographic techniques to hold hostage victims' files and programs unless a certain amount of equivalent Bitcoin is paid. The return to the cybercriminals is so high (estimated \$1 billion in 2019) without any cost because of the advanced anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin \cite{Paquet-Clouston2019}. Given this context, this study first discusses the current state of ransomware, detection, and prevention systems. Second, we propose a global ransomware center to better manage our concerted efforts against cybercriminals. The policy implications of the proposed study are discussed in the conclusion section

Individual Disengagement and Deradicalization Pilot Program in Turkey: Methods and Outcomes

Counterterrorism strategies that mainly rely on hard power have long been used to defeat terrorism. In recent years, governments have begun incorporating soft power approaches not as a substitute, but as a complementary strategy to be applied alongside hard power approaches. Disengagement and deradicalization programs are important components of soft power approaches, and are regarded as significant contributors to traditional counterterrorism methods. In this paper, we analyze a locally developed counterterrorism program in Turkey, which resulted in the disengagement and deradicalization of hundreds of militants. In this paper we present an examination of a pilot program that focused on applying individual disengagement and deradicalization counterterrorism measures that was conducted by the Adana Police Department in Turkey between 2009 and 2015. This program was designed to reach out to the members of extremist groups and their families for the purpose of persuading them to disengage from their groups, change their radical mindsets, and help them reintegrate into society. We also discuss how the change in the government’s counterterrorism strategy from one which prioritizes the use of soft power approaches to another, which mostly utilizes the hard power approach, and almost completely discards the soft power method, influenced the implementation of the program