This book includes the main lectures given in the framework of the NATO-sponsored Advanced Research Workshop on Hypermedia Seduction for Terrorist Recruiting, held 17–21 September 2006 in Eilat, Israel. The workshop brought together researchers from diverse disciplines for five days of intensive discussions. Participants included experts on security, Islamic studies, design and marketing, and psychology from different countries including Israel, USA, England, Russia, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, India and Ukraine.

The workshop's primary objective was to understand the efficacy of terrorists' use of the Internet and the scope of this activity, and to analyze the content, graphics and source code. Topics covered included the use of the Internet for psychological warfare in general and for terrorist “narrow-casting” to specific audiences. The discussion focused in particular on the Global Jihad. Terrorist websites were analyzed in terms of common graphical and linguistic motifs. Different methodologies for targeting different audiences were discussed, including the increasing outreach on the part of extremist groups to young children in both Muslim countries and the West. Participants learned how online communities evolve, and how membership in an online community can promote isolation and radicalization, particularly among immigrant societies. The psychological side of these communities was also dealt with, including extremists' manipulation of the younger members of immigrant communities.

The ultimate goal of this workshop was not only to evaluate the effectiveness of terrorist propaganda on the web and its influence on the target audience, but to recommend practical steps that can be taken to counter this effectiveness. This included the exploitation of vulnerabilities resulting from jihadists' behavior online, and the analysis of jihadist forums and websites for intelligence gathering.

The meeting concluded with an outline of a working plan for countering online recruitment by terrorist organizations. Participants agreed that in order to do this, it is important to target the not-yet-persuaded potential recruits—in particular the younger generation, who are the primary targets of extremist online recruitment. There are phases in the radicalization process when people are most susceptible to manipulation; we need to aim our own counter-radicalization message at those who are at this phase. The psychology of this is very important: extremists exploit the need for belonging, the need for roots and authenticity, the “angry young man” syndrome.

We learned that there is a whole “science of seduction” that we can use to our advantage to counter the extremists' messages. To put this to good use, we need to understand our audience and learn to identify with them enough to know what messages are effective. Branding is an effective way of marketing alternative viewpoints, but first we need to arrive at a common lexicon and a common sense of our own identity, in order to know what it is we're selling.

At the same time, the extremists themselves, in their discussions in the public space of the Internet, give us some hints of their own vulnerabilities. There are plenty of things that we can do in cyberspace to hamper their operations. Some of these possibilities are discussed in the lectures that follow.

To counter the extremists' message, we will have to understand that we are competing for the same audience that they are. We need to learn to operate in the same spheres in which the extremists themselves operate. At the same time, this must be carried out in a sensitive and well thought-out manner, in order to avoid alienating the very audience that we would like to affect. For this and other reasons, it was decided that the best agents for countering extremists on the web are not governments but private individuals, in particular, those in the communities most at risk of extremist propaganda.

Overall, the workshop provided a lively and stimulating venue for discussing one of today's most pressing issues. Moreover, the discussions helped to lay the foundation for future work in this important area.

The Editors