Terror threat

Terrorists find new ways to recruit online, DHS chief says

As major tech companies get better at ridding their platforms of gory videos and calls to commit violence, terrorists are finding new ways to post their messages, Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said Tuesday.

"They've continued to demonstrate their will," Nielsen said, noting that blogs, chat rooms and encrypted chat apps can serve as ways for terrorist groups to radicalize and recruit new members.

Nielsen spoke at an the 2018 Digital Forum on Terrorism Prevention in Silicon Valley focused on counterterrorism efforts on the internet. The event took place at Palantir, a data analysis firm that contracts with government agencies in counterterrorism operations. 

Nielsen's remarks hinted at the tangle of challenges faced by the tech world and the government alike when it comes to terrorists on the internet. Tech companies have had to learn how to keep ISIS, for example, from running Twitter accounts, or from sharing graphic videos involving beheadings or other forms of executions on YouTube. Meanwhile, DHS says it has developed a strategy of supporting people within communities where recruitment is taking place who want to spread a counterterrorism message, rather than trying to put out its own "terrorism doesn't pay" style communications.