US And UK Agree To Take On Islamic State In Cyberspace
The UK and US are planning to work more closely to combat the spread of extreme Islamist ideology in Cyber-space, syas British Prime Minister Theresa May.
May was speaking at a White House news conference, alongside US President Donald Trump, held to outline the results of talks between the two leaders. May is in Washington as the first foreign head of state to meet Trump.
She noted the conventional military fight against ISIS is working and the group is losing territory but noted the two countries "need to redouble our efforts."
"Today we’re discussing how we can do this by deepening intelligence and security cooperation and critically, by stepping up our efforts to counter Daesh in cyberspace," she said, using an alternate name for the terrorist group.
"We know we will not eradicate this threat until we defeat the ideology that lies behind it," she said.
The issue of radicalisation via the Internet has been more strongly felt in Europe than in the US, and there have been several instances of people turning to the group after reading and studying online material. The precise details of the planned cooperation are not immediately unclear.
Prior to The White House in Philadelphia, May told a Republican Party retreat of the danger posed online by radical groups.
"The terrorists are exploiting the Internet and social media to spread this ideology that is preying on vulnerable citizens in our own countries, inspiring them to commit acts of terror in our own cities," she said. She noted that care should be taken to distinguish radical views from the peaceful views of Islam.
May also said the two leaders discussed NATO and its role in Cyber-space. "Today we’ve reaffirmed out unshakable commitment to this alliance," she said. They are reassuring words to European countries that had worried Trump's previous criticisms of NATO meant his support for the alliance was wavering.
"We’re also discussing the importance of NATO continuing to ensure that it is equipped to fight terrorism and cyberwarfare as it is to fight more conventional types of law," she said.
Trump stood alongside her as she delivered her remarks and answered questions from reporters on other issues, but he didn't address the two Cyber issues.
Computworld: ISIS Just Can’t Resist Social Media:
