Counter-terrorism agencies have issued a fresh warning amid revelations children as young as 11 are being recruited online to carry out attacks on home soil.
Rogue states, including Russia and Iran, are allegedly recruiting children online in what is being dubbed “gig economy terrorism,” with at least one Australian teenager currently under investigation over an alleged terror plot linked to an overseas country.
On Sunrise on Thursday, terror and extremism expert Dr Josh Roose said the practice is not new but its emergence in Australia is.
“We know that overseas there’s been many instances of Iran and Russia targeting young people online and then paying them to either carry out surveillance or target acquisition or, ultimately, also to, for example, throw grenades at embassies,” Roose said.
“This has been an ongoing issue overseas but it’s relatively new here.”
With children increasingly spending time online on gaming forums and social media platforms, the age of those being recruited is seemingly dropping.
“It used to be people in their late teens, early 20s, but with the online world and children in particular spending so much time online, on the internet, on social media and, critically here, in gaming forums and other locations that they’re being identified,” Roose explained.
Roose warned these operators are far more sophisticated than many people realise, noting many are capable of speaking English at native level and understanding youth subcultures to effectively groom and recruit children.
“We talk about stranger danger, we worry about our children going into the street, but we don’t pay enough attention to the online world,” he said.
The warning comes amid concern locally that organised crime groups are increasingly relying on younger recruits and online communication networks to carry out attacks.
Australian agencies face significant challenges in shutting down these operations, as many forums are difficult to access and require invitations to join, such as Discord and other gaming platforms.
Roose said more needs to be done to equip young Australians with digital literacy skills at school so they can recognise when they’re being targeted.
