Cyberterrorism: its effects on psychological well-being, public confidence and political attitudes

This researcher paper called "Cyberterrorism: its effects on psychological well-being, public confidence and political attitudes" was published on February 15, 2017 in the Journal on Cybersecurity, which publishes accessible articles about researches in the interdisciplinary world of computer systems, and information security. Three professors from the Political Science Department of the University of Haifa participated in the writing of this article: Michael L. Gross, Daphna Canetti and Dana R. Vashdi. Psychological and emotional consequences of cyber terrorist attacks are often neglected by policy makers insofar as there are often no lethal victims to be deplored. Yet, the authors explain that victims of cyber-terrorism attacks tend to develop the same reactions as if they had been the target of lethal conventional terrorist attacks. Signs of anxiety, stress and insecurity are experienced by individuals, thus undermining their feeling of safety. In order to support this thesis, the authors conducted three different experiences on Israelis. Each group of individuals has been subjected to different cyberterrorism cases. Some of the attacks simply caused material damage, such as the loss of data, while other involved lethal injuries. From these different experiences emerge interesting convergences. Without any distinction, every form of cyber terrorism, lethal or non-lethal, increased anxiety and other negative emotions. Consequently, individuals’ threat perception is high. This wave of insecurity underpinning cyberterrorism is encouraging individuals to support more stringent and conservative policies, such as internet surveillance, as well as to encourage military retaliation.