Boko Haram Attacks: Minister Reveals How Terrorists Use Social Media

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, Tuesday revealed that Boko Haram use social media as a medium to recruit followers.

The minister made this known during a lecture on leadership in counter-terrorism and counter violent extremism in Abuja.

Pantami said, “It is evident that terrorists are exploiting social media, encrypted communications, and the dark web to spread propaganda, recruit new followers and coordinate attacks.”

He also said that this rapidly evolving phenomenon requires the use of innovative approaches to both “counter” and “prevent” terrorism and extremism.

The development of new and emerging technologies such as, “Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI),” will help counter and prevent the terrorists’ latest ploys, according to the minister.

Pantami cited an example of a project by the Qatar Computing Research Institute, in which big data was used to scrutinize and analyze Facebook and Twitter in order to locate the origins of supporters of ISIS.

The minister advised security agencies in Nigeria to take advantage of the resources availed by technology.