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Twitter a Potential Terrorist Tool?

by Terrence O'Brien on October 27, 2008 at 06:29 PM

Twitter a Potential Terrorist Tool?
A new report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion identifies several technological tools that terrorists and extremist organizations could use to help organize, communicate, and target. The 11-page presentation (Warning: PDF) names GPS-enabled cell phones, video and camera phones, voice changing software and Twitter.

...Wait... Twitter?

Apparently the U.S. Army thinks that Twitter is a terrorist threat just waiting to happen. We know that liberal activists used Twitter to stay organized at the Republican National Convention this year, and that a journalism student Twittered his way out of jail, but the idea that the microblogging service is a deadly tool to be feared seems like a bit of a stretch.

The report features a number of hypothetical scenarios in which terrorists use Twitter to set an ambush for U.S. soldiers, detonate an explosive device, or gather information for identity theft. Steven Aftergood, an intelligence analyst with Federation of the American Scientists (who posted the report), was quick to downplay the importance of the threat. Aftergood told Wired's Danger Room, "If we have time to worry about 'Twitter threats' then we're in good shape. I mean, it's important to keep some sense of proportion." [From: Yahoo! News, Danger Room]

Tags: gps, intelligence, safety, security, social-networking, terrorism, twitter

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