Terrorist Exploitation Of VPNs – OpEd
As one considers the digital plane where the predecessor of the information distribution and discussion systems constitutes the primary form of discourse of the people and defines the tendencies of behavior, the abuse of the use of unregistered Virtual Private Networks (VPN) by terrorist organizations is turning to be one of the most menacing issues of security in Pakistan.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) have been fast in adapting to the evolving technologies by illegally using VPNs to control the social media, spread the extremist propaganda, and find willing citizens. It is not a marginal cyber problem anymore, it is a national security concern, a social glue concern, and it is a security concern to the average Pakistanis and nothing but a policy must be adopted and the internet must be censored.
The recent study which was made after introducing a new functionality of the platform X named the location reveal has revealed a worrying tendency: most of the accounts sharing terrorist propaganda use VPNs that are forbidden by the law to hide the actual geographical location. Such secrecy has horribly made the law enforcement agencies unable to follow the digital footprints, locate the operatives, and counter the actions of the operatives online. This loophole by terrorists has made VPNs a mantle of online cloak that has allowed them to escape the crime. As a result, extremist media propagate at a lethal pace, and no one can delete them and interfere with the Internet resources millions of Pakistani accesses to receive information.
Hacking into the online communities is a simple task terrorists engage in by concealing their location in real time by posing as legitimate users and dropping divisive rhetoric and flame war messages. This anonymity provides them with the ability to shape the discourse, regulate the perceptions of others, and develop unrealistic narratives that can and should polarize them further. They also have their time to establish online forums that, most probably, would attract people who are tired of political instability, financial hardship or even social outcasts in a well-constructed campaign of disinformation, recruitment drive or both. The VPN technology protects these extremists; they remain invisible, can never be blamed, and can hardly be approached.
The unauthorized VPNs have also assisted the terrorist groups by providing immunity against advanced detection algorithms used by companies in social media. Geo-tagging, regional edges of moderation, and anomaly-detection systems leave their systems without the capability to define the location or identity of bad actors. This gives the extremists free will to post, share and distribute violent contents without the worry of being immediately suspended and arrested. VPNs are able to make them re-emerge several minutes later and restore networks, and promote propaganda with virtually no delay by merely removing accounts.
The consequences of this Internet anonymity go well beyond propaganda propagation. This has aided the terrorist groups to radicalize and indoctrinate the young Pakistanis radically by taking advantage of frustrations and grievances in a systematic way. With the anonymous lines of communication and the anonymity of the identity, social media that is already a powerful psychological weapon becomes more threatening. Recruiters approach people privately with the ideological argument, emotional support, and belonging to a person, who feels alienated or oppressed with VPN-guarded accounts. This backdoor grooming has rocked societies, families have been broken and young people who are easily swayed headed the extremist recruitment lines.
Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and X are the social networks that were designed to unite people but turned out to be recruitment grounds, propaganda offices, and mobilizing laboratories. VPNs form part of an invisible ecosystem armor that gives continuity of operation. The authorities block some of the accounts or online groupings, however, the terrorist organizations simply re-emerge under the new veil of VPN. It has entered this vicious circle and hence has made it very difficult to cripple the digital apparatus that supports extremist factions by counterterrorism organizations.
Geo-restrictions may also be bypassed by the terrorists through the illegal use of VPN and can access foreign terror networks. They shared ideological contents, modal of operation, fund rules and coded messages with their counterparts across the borders. This cross-border connectivity is enhancing the reach and influence of their campaigns that transform the regionalized militant groups into global extremist systems players. A single covert VPN connection would provide a gateway into international organization, funding and operational planning and such an investment would boost the security of Pakistan in-country.
Absence of an effective system of registration and monitoring of the VPNs use has created gigantic loopholes in the digital intelligence network of Pakistan. The black holes also allow the terrorist camps to take advantage of the cyberspace without significant setbacks, undermining the powers of the country to counter the extremist discourses and eliminate the virtual recruitment platforms. The various advantages of having licensed VPNs registered as mandatory are not just a matter of choice when it comes to regulation, but a crisis of national security. The government will be able to close the most crucial holes, reduce the anonymity of terrorists, and strengthen the digital surveillance processes by designing a controlled sphere in which only trusted VPNs should be allowed to operate.
Manipulation of social media through the use of VPNs is not a technical aspect: this is a factual and emergent threat to the sovereignty of Pakistan. The terrorist fiction that in previous times used to be shrouded in the remote hideouts are now permeating the general mind at an unprecedented scale and level. All these uncontrolled VPNs represent a potential source of brainwash, organization and violent extremism. Not being bold, such cyber threats will be able to run out of control, hence posing a threat to the physical security of the citizens and stability of the state.
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