OSINT SUMMARY
Monday 8th February 2016, China says it will pay rewards to anyone who will provide tip-offs on online terrorist activities.
China will pay up to 100,000 Yuan ($15,200) to anyone who reports online terrorist activities and content.
Last year (2015), China handed out two million Yuan worth of rewards to individuals who contributed vital intelligence tip-offs for online terrorists.
Security experts have warned that online platform has become a channel where terrorists spread their extremist ideologues, provoke ethnic conflicts and advocate separatism.
Cyberspace in the recent years has offered terrorists a platform where they can spread their extremist religious ideas thus becoming a modern platform for conducting radicalization and recruitment.
To curb the cyberspace threat, China is encouraging public to provide tip-offs through telephone hotline. Online resources such as Twitter handles, Facebook, instant messaging services such as WeChat are among tools terrorists are employing to brainwash young women, men and even children into jihadist outfits.
CURBING ONLINE THREAT
According to a report by Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) over 20,000 reports on online terrorists activities were given out in 2015 and in turn gave out two million Yuan worth of rewards in total. This year (2016), valuable tip-offs could receive up to 100,000 Yuan each, CAC revealed.
Beijing in December of 2015 called for a crackdown on online audio and video recordings used by terrorists, after the Middle East based Daesh/ISIS/ISIL/ Islamic State terrorist group purportedly released a Chinese-language song woo and recruit militants.
The Chinese government says it faces a serious threat from militants and separatists in the mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang.
The Chinese government also claims that the Turkic ethnic group in the region is separatist, and that some groups are already attempting to establish an independent state especially in the resource-rich Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
