The Use of Governance to Identify Cyber Threats Through Social Media

Identifying which website, Facebook page or Linked-in connection could lead to an engagement with a terrorist group is beyond the capabilities of ordinary people. Differentiation of one website from another in terms of cyber threat is a complex problem in terms of separating those that encourage and sponsor radicalization and those that do not. These claims usually exist without evidence, and almost always without the opportunity to know where social justice and human-rights support ends, and reaction, dissidence and subversion begins. By overlaying the new modes of governance (NMG) framework against sites and connections that may be subject to ongoing and persistent threats, sites can be divided into two areas. The first aligns closely with governance, whilst the second looks decidedly more threatening. This paper gives an outline for future developments in recognizing simple markers for differentiating hard core extremism from genuine community engagement. The notion that participatory governance need not imply democracy is an important element in future determinations between radically driven cyber threats and moderate media interactions.