The cyberspace is increasingly used as a medium to illegally fund, recruit, train, and incite individuals against European social and democratic ideals. Online behavioural radicalisation, desensitisation and demoralisation are to be considered as the driving force in the genesis of online criminal attitudes, belief systems, and psychological attributes that move towards accepting, supporting and instigating terrorism.
The core aim of the PROPHETS project is to examine the process of online behavioural radicalisation and how it leads to hate speech, terrorist financing, terrorist-generated content, terrorist recruitment and training.
PROPHETS strives to develop new methods to analyse, investigate and fight the emerging threats of radicalisation, cybercrime and cyberterrorism by addressing the very factors causing them. The project is working to develop and create real-world impact by realising the following objectives:
- Understanding Online Material;
- Identifying Underlying Psychological Traits;
- Recognising Ethical, Moral and Legal Concerns;
- Exploring Cybercrime as a Service;
- Policy Shaping, Training and Public Engagement;
- Online Awareness, Capacity and Resilience Building;
- Tools to Enhance Capabilities and Counter Radical Behaviours.
The PROPHETS project is coordinated by BayHföD, a police university located near Munich. The consortium is made up of 15 partners from 10 EU-countries with different profiles and expertise in several domains, including law enforcement agencies, academia, and research and technological organisations.
