In this report, Gabriel Weimann (2004) identifies 8 different uses that terrorists make of the Internet:
1- conducting psychological warfare
2- gathering information
3- training
4- fundraising
5- propagandizing
6- recruiting
7- networking
8- planning and coordinating terrorist acts (2).

"By its very nature, the Internet is in many ways an ideal arena for activity by terrorist organizations. Most notably, it offers:

• easy access;
• little or no regulation, censorship, or other forms of government control;
• potentially huge audiences spread throughout the world;
• anonymity of communication;
• fast flow of information;
• inexpensive development and maintenance of a web presence;
• a multimedia environment (the ability to combine text, graphics, audio, and video and to allow users to download films, songs, books, posters, and so forth); and
• the ability to shape coverage in the traditional mass media, ehich increasingly use the Internet as a source for stories.

Who is the target audience of the terrorist organizations' Internet site?

• Current and potential supporters (Weimann 2004, 4)
• International public opinion (Weimann 2004, 4)
• Enemy publics (Weimann 2004, 5)

Publicity and Propaganda

"The fact that many terrorists now have direct control over the content of their message offers further opportunities to shape how they are perceived by different target audiences and to manipulate their own image and the image of their enemies" (Weimann 2004, 6). "Terrorist sites commonly employ 3 rhetorical structures, all used to justify their reliance on violence (Weimann 2004, 6):

• "the claim that the terrorists have no choice other than to turn to violence. Violence is presented as a necessity foisted upon the weak as the only means with which to respond to an oppressive enemy" (Weimann 2004, 6).
• "the demonizing and delegitimization of the enemy. The members of the movement or organization are presented as freedom fighters, forced against their will to use violence because a ruthless enemy is crushing the rights and dignity of their people or group" (Weimann 2004, 6).
• to make extensive use of the language of nonviolence in an attempt to counter the terrorists' violent image. Although these are violent organizations, many of their sites claim that they seek peaceful solutions, that their ultimate aim is a diplomatic settlement achieved through negotiation and international pressure on a repressive government" (Weimann 2004, 6).

Data Mining

"The Internet may be viewed as a vast digital library" (Weimann 2004, 6).

"Terrorists, for instance, can learn from the Internet a wide variety of details about targets such as transportation facilities, nuclear power plants, public buildings, airports, and ports, and even about counterterrorism measures" (Weimann 2004, 6-7).

Fundraising

"Like many other political organizations, terrorist groups use the Internet to raise funds. Al Qaeda, for instance, has always depended heavily on donations, and its global fundraising network is built upon a foundation of charities, nongovernmental organizations, and other financial institutions that use websites and Internet-based chat rooms and forums" (Weimann 2004, 7).

"Internet user demographics (culled, for instance, from personal information entered in online questionnaires and order forms) allow terrorists to identify users with sympathy for a particular cause or issue. These individuals are then asked to make donations, typically through e-mails sent by a front group (i.e., an organization broadly supportive of the terrorists' aims but operating publicly and legally and usually having no direct ties to the terrorist organization) (Weimann 2004, 7-8).

Recruitment and Mobilization

"The Internet can be used not only to solicit donations from sympathizers but also to recruit and mobilize supporters to play a more active role in support of terrorist activities or causes. In addition to seeking converts by using the full panoply of website technologies (audio, digital video, etc.) to enhance the presentation of their message, terrorist organizations capture information about the users who browse their websites. Users who seem most interested in the organization's cause or well suited to carrying out its work are then contacted. Recruiters may also use more interactive Internet technology to roam online chat rooms and cybercafes, looking for receptive members of the public, particularly young people. Electronic bulletin boards and user nets (issue-specific chat rooms and bulletins) can also serve as vehicles for reaching out to potential recruits" (Weimann 2004, 8).

"More typically, however, terrorist organizations go looking for recruits rather than waiting for them to present themselves" (Weimann 2004, 8).

Networking

"Many terrorist groups, among them Hamas and al Qaeda, have undergone a transformation from strictly hierarchical organizations with designated leaders to affiliations of semi-independent cells that have no single commanding hierarchy. Through the use of the Internet, these loosely interconnected groups are able to maintain contact with one another - and with members of the other terrorist groups. In the future, terrorists are increasingly likely to be organized in a more decentralized manner, with arrays of transnational groups linked by the Internet and communicating and coordinating horizontally rather than vertically" (Weimann 2004, 9).

"Several reasons explain why modern communication technologies, especially computer-mediated communications, are so useful for terrorists in establishing and maintaining networks:

• new technologies have greatly reduced transmission time, enabling disperesed organizational actors to communicate swiftly and to coordinate effectively
• new technologies have significantly reduced the cost of communication
• by integrating computing with communications, they have substantially increased the variety and complexity of the information that can be shared" (Weimann 2004, 9).

Sharing Information

"The World Wide Web is home to dozens of sites that provide information on how to build chemical and explosive weapons" (Weimann 2004, 9).

Planning nd Coordination

"Terrorists use the Internet not only to learn how to build bombs but also to plan and coordinate specific attacks" (Weimann 2004, 10).