Home Secretary Theresa May has announced the terrorist groups including Al Qaeda are increasingly using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to plan terrorist attacks. The Home Secretary has said that terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda are now using technology to plan and disguise attacks on the U.S and European states. Mrs May stated: 'advances in technology mean our response must improve to keep pace. 'Terrorists are increasingly using online technology, including Google Earth and Street View, for attack planning.'

The Governments new counter-terrorism strategy stated: 'There have been a number of attempts by terrorist and extremist groups to "invade" Facebook,' said the government's new counter-terrorism strategy. 'Twitter will be used to re-post media or forum articles enabling extremist content to be shared more quickly, widely and amongst people who would not normally search for extremist content.'

There have also been warnings that countries harbouring foreign fugitives who are known to the intelligence services are hampered by human rights legislation. Security services are now discovering far more people are engaged in terrorist related activities in this country that Britain can successfully prosecute and convict according to the governments new counter-terrorism strategy. Increased usages of surveillance to collect evidence and further consideration of the use of intercept evidence in court have been of great benefit to the security services.

It has been reported that there is no evidence of 'systematic cyber terrorism' according to the report but the first recorded incident of a terrorist cyber-attack on corporate computer systems took place last year when a virus called 'here you have' was released by a group using the name' Tariq bin Ziyad Brigades for Electronic Jihad.'

Although the virus was unsophisticated it is said to be a likely indicator for a growing trend of cyber-attacks on corporate computer systems over the coming years. The government plans to introduce a programme to establish a new legal framework for intercepting communications and obtaining data.

The Home Secretary stated that Al Qaeda is weaker than at any time since 9/11 and that they have been 'forced to rely on other terrorist groups in the region for support and for basic supplies.' The Home Secretary continued: 'Al-Qaeda as a centralised command and control organisation may not survive the fall of bin Laden and the rise of democracy in the Arab and Muslim majority world,' she added.

But the Home Secretary warned that 'change for the better is not inevitable' in the Middle East and added that the Arab Spring represents 'a risk as well as an opportunity.'

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