0:00:01 > 0:00:03Hello ? I'm Sean Fletcher.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05Welcome to a new series of Inside Out London.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07Over the coming weeks we'll be bringing you surprising
0:00:07 > 0:00:17stories from the capital.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Westminster, London Bridge, Manchester and the recent attacks
0:00:25 > 0:00:30in Barcelona have brought condemnation and sympathy
0:00:30 > 0:00:33from around the world.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35In a survey conducted exclusively for Inside Out by YouGov,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38nine out of ten people said further attacks in Britain are likely.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41While the current threat level for international terrorism
0:00:41 > 0:00:44in the UK remains at severe.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to shut down
0:00:47 > 0:00:50the extremists operating online.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52And it seems many of us are behind her.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Our survey revealed that 44% of people questioned in London think
0:00:56 > 0:00:58more should be done to help the security services
0:00:58 > 0:01:03tackle terrorism - even if individual privacy suffers.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07So what are the terrorists doing online?
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Over the past two years Inside Out London has been
0:01:10 > 0:01:13undercover, tracking the online operations of the so-called
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Islamic State.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18What we've discovered from encrypted messages and the dark web
0:01:18 > 0:01:21was shocking evidence of how the attacks on Westminster
0:01:21 > 0:01:24and London Bridge were organised.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29Terrorist expert Raffaello Pantucci has this special report.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Westminster at a stand-still.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42London Bridge in a state of emergency.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Were these isolated terror attacks by individuals
0:01:46 > 0:01:50working independently, so-called lone wolves or part
0:01:50 > 0:01:52of a master plan, remotely engineered by jihadists in Syria?
0:01:52 > 0:01:56It's inconceivable that there wasn't the use of social media apps
0:01:56 > 0:02:00to connect these individuals who have carried out these attacks
0:02:00 > 0:02:04with terrorists from Islamic State.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08The result of a two-year undercover investigation,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12we reveal new evidence linking Isis' online operations with
0:02:12 > 0:02:16the recent atrocities.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19He said it was a good target because it was crowded
0:02:19 > 0:02:22with disbelievers and civilians.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And he said if I was successful with this operation it would be very
0:02:25 > 0:02:28damaging for the UK.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31And we expose how the terrorist group use the dark web to coerce
0:02:31 > 0:02:35young British Muslims into carrying out attacks.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39The internet is a sort dream tool for terrorist group like Isis.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44It's opened up brand new ways of recruiting,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47of preparing and planning acts of terror in a way that is very,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52very difficult indeed for the authorities to stop.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10I've spent much of my career studying Islamist terrorist cells
0:03:10 > 0:03:13operating in the UK and how they have persuaded hundreds
0:03:13 > 0:03:17of young men to travel far away from home and take up arms or launch
0:03:17 > 0:03:21attacks against the very societies in which they were born.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24As the battles rage in Iraq and Syria, much is being made
0:03:24 > 0:03:27of Isis' recent retreat.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30The caliphate might be crumbling and the jihadists losing
0:03:30 > 0:03:33ground, but in cyberspace, they are advancing.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37We're now in a new era of warfare where a string of tweets has
0:03:37 > 0:03:42the power to trigger a deadly attack at the very heart of our democracy.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Barely six months ago, Parliament was forced into lockdown
0:03:51 > 0:03:55by a man initially described as a lone wolf terrorist.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Armed with just a knife and a rented car, 52-year-old Muslim
0:03:59 > 0:04:03convert Khalid Masood, killed five people and injured 50
0:04:03 > 0:04:09before he was finally shot dead by the police.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Precisely what compelled Masood to launch one of the UK's worst
0:04:14 > 0:04:17terrorist atrocities is still unknown -
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Investigations by the security services are ongoing.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22But we have uncovered evidence that agents of the so-called
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Islamic State were plotting a near-identical terrorist attack
0:04:25 > 0:04:30using secret messaging services.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36For over two years, our undercover journalists have been posing
0:04:36 > 0:04:39as fictional characters committed to jihad.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Via social media and secretive messaging sites, they have been
0:04:42 > 0:04:47in near constant communication with senior players in Isis.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51In July 2016, we discovered that the terrorist organisation
0:04:51 > 0:04:56was touting on Twitter and Facebook for British Muslims to stage attacks
0:04:56 > 0:04:59at specific London locations.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02We began conversing with one of their recruiters,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05who then invited us to chat privately on a secret
0:05:05 > 0:05:08messaging site.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10The authorities were fully aware of our contact
0:05:10 > 0:05:12with the terrorist organisation.
0:05:12 > 0:05:18I managed to track down an IS recruiter online.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20His name and was "Manager", and we always spoke on encrypted
0:05:20 > 0:05:23messaging services.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28I told him I was 17-years-old and living with my parents.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44After a few weeks speaking to Manager, it became clear
0:05:44 > 0:05:49that he was trying to groom me into doing an attack on UK soil.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54And one day he just started talking about targets.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58As the conversation developed the IS agent revealed an exact
0:05:58 > 0:06:02location he wanted to attack - Westminster.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16He said it was a good target because it was crowded
0:06:16 > 0:06:19with disbelievers and civilians.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22And he said if I was successful with this operation it would be
0:06:22 > 0:06:25very damaging to the UK.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Later in July 2016, a second IS agent outlined how such an attack
0:06:28 > 0:06:32could be carried out.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35He told me to just kill ordinary people ? and that it wouldn't
0:06:35 > 0:06:40require a very complicated plan.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56The agent also directed our undercover journalist to a terrorist
0:06:56 > 0:06:59manual on the dark web.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02In gory detail it advises lone wolf jihadists on how to deploy a vehicle
0:07:02 > 0:07:06as a lethal weapon and how to target specific vulnerable parts
0:07:06 > 0:07:12of the body with a knife.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The instructions relayed to our undercover journalist
0:07:16 > 0:07:19register like the blueprint to the Westminster attack.
0:07:19 > 0:07:25Masood used a car to mow down pedestrians on the bridge
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and a knife to fatally stab a policeman.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Could the same IS operatives who were trying to groom our
0:07:31 > 0:07:34undercover reporter have also been inciting Masood to violent action?
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Well, it's inconceivable that Khalid Masood was not, in some way,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42either viewing or connected to other individuals who were viewing
0:07:42 > 0:07:46extremist material.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49You know, there is, arguably, no such thing as a lone actor
0:07:49 > 0:07:52or lone wolf as is often described.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57You know, these individuals are radicalised online,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00they have connectivity online, they use social media apps often
0:08:00 > 0:08:03in an encrypted fashion, and that is the methodology,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05if you like, the medium through which radicalisation occurs
0:08:05 > 0:08:10in the modern world.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17I thought maybe coming back would feel, maybe
0:08:17 > 0:08:20give a sense of closure.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Um, no.
0:08:23 > 0:08:30I think I'm kind reliving sort of the, um, the emotions.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Orlando was last here on London Bridge on the evening
0:08:35 > 0:08:39of Saturday June 3rd.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Just before 10 o'clock, as he and his friends
0:08:42 > 0:08:45were enjoying drinks, a white van appeared
0:08:45 > 0:08:49and shortly after, began running over pedestrians.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52In the distance you can make out a van and after that we started
0:08:52 > 0:08:55hearing a few screams.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Then down the road we see people running and there was a gentleman
0:08:58 > 0:09:02just across the street running and he kept on looking back
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and he kept screaming, "I have been stabbed,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08"I've been stabbed."
0:09:08 > 0:09:12So I came up to the gentleman, there was another gentleman
0:09:12 > 0:09:15there and we got the man to lie on his front and we just started
0:09:15 > 0:09:19applying pressure to his back and calling an ambulance.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22The man was losing consciousness but as Orlando desperately
0:09:22 > 0:09:25tried to keep him awake, he realised his own
0:09:25 > 0:09:28life was in danger. Armed with a knife, the attacker
0:09:28 > 0:09:31was in close proximity and claiming more victims.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36He was very precise and I remember like he went into one man
0:09:36 > 0:09:39in particular who was furthest to the street and then I just
0:09:39 > 0:09:44remember the woman in the red dress.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47She jumped on to him and she was doing her most
0:09:47 > 0:09:52to protect this person and then the group - it was like people
0:09:52 > 0:09:56started intervening.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00There was now like a police presence, a police presence.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03I remember like a bus was there and stuff and we got close
0:10:03 > 0:10:06enough until we heard the gun shots and then I just thought to myself
0:10:06 > 0:10:13we don't know what is happening, who is shooting and we just, we ran.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18What I felt in the aftermath was a sense of guilt
0:10:18 > 0:10:23and yeah, like fear.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Eight people were killed in the attack and 48 suffered
0:10:34 > 0:10:38injuries ? others like Orlando have been inflicted with emotional scars
0:10:38 > 0:10:43that may never fade.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46On the night of the London Bridge terror attack, many of us
0:10:46 > 0:10:49clung to our phones, checking for updates,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51hoping loved ones were safe.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55At the same time, members of IS in Syria were also
0:10:55 > 0:10:58busy on social media, celebrating and posting messages
0:10:58 > 0:11:01in honour of the attackers.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Our investigation reveals that IS agents were busy plotting
0:11:04 > 0:11:08a similar attack in this exact location for over a year.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12In the summer of 2016, one year before the London Bridge
0:11:12 > 0:11:16attack took place, our undercover reporter spent several weeks
0:11:16 > 0:11:19on an encrypted site in conversation with an Isis handler.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23He repeatedly stated that London Bridge was an iconic landmark
0:11:23 > 0:11:28they wanted to claim, a key target they wanted to hit.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55He was trying to persuade me to carry out the attack and he also
0:11:55 > 0:12:00gave me the option of doing it alone or along with a team.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06In December last year the same Isis recruiter directed our undercover
0:12:06 > 0:12:10journalist to view some explicit terrorist tutorials on the dark web.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14One of them showed how to use a vehicle to kill people.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18The other showed how to use knives and home-made bombs
0:12:18 > 0:12:22for maximum impact on people.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25And finally there was a description of how to create a fake suicide vest
0:12:25 > 0:12:30? and how it can be used to stop the police from attacking you, if
0:12:30 > 0:12:37you are standing next to civilians.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42The recruiter's instructions bear all the hallmarks of the carnage
0:12:42 > 0:12:46that was eventually wreaked on London Bridge.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Before they were killed by police, Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane
0:12:50 > 0:12:53and Youssef Zaghba rammed a hired van into a crowd of people.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58They attacked others with knives.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02They wore fake suicide belts and had a stash of home-made bombs.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07Do you think encrypted applications were used in the terrorist
0:13:07 > 0:13:10atrocities at the beginning of the year?
0:13:10 > 0:13:13There was definitely usage of encrypted communications
0:13:13 > 0:13:16between planners and terrorists and people that carried out some
0:13:16 > 0:13:20of those dreadful attacks.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22That I am afraid is common throughout every one of these
0:13:22 > 0:13:25incidents and there is also a role of watching videos online
0:13:25 > 0:13:28to either prepare themselves or train themselves.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I think that they are both, I am afraid, current occurrences
0:13:32 > 0:13:35in these terrorist attacks.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38In the London Bridge case you've got a combination of face-to-face
0:13:38 > 0:13:42radicalisation through well-known extremist groups alongside digital
0:13:42 > 0:13:45online radicalisation. And it's the combination of the two
0:13:45 > 0:13:51that leads to individuals plotting terrorist attacks.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56The police have yet to uncover any personal ties between the June
0:13:56 > 0:13:593rd attackers and Isis, but a pattern is emerging
0:13:59 > 0:14:04from our investigation, where the group's online directives
0:14:04 > 0:14:10are being mirrored in actual terror attacks.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13It's a pattern that is being reflected both here and abroad.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16There has been evidence I think since late 2014,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19early 2015 that terrorists often based in conflict zones,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22whether it's Libya, Syria or Iraq have been trying to instruct people
0:14:22 > 0:14:24in real time.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27First of all convincing them to carry out terrorist plots
0:14:27 > 0:14:31but then giving them exact instructions on what to do.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35One of the best examples was last year in the summer of 2016.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Both of the plots that happened in Germany,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42both in Wolfsburg and Adler, both of these plots are now often
0:14:42 > 0:14:45described as perhaps some of the most prominent early plots
0:14:45 > 0:14:49in which you have evidence of direction, directly form Isis
0:14:49 > 0:14:55in Syria to people who were sitting in Europe, basically
0:14:55 > 0:15:01telling them what to do, who to attack and how to attack.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Isis' use of social media marks a seismic change in the way
0:15:04 > 0:15:09terrorist organisations operate.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Their ideology that they're pushing through, the means of 21st century
0:15:12 > 0:15:16technology is a very potent one and it's been - it's
0:15:16 > 0:15:19become very effective.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23And we need to look at how and why it's become so effective.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Hanif Qadir runs an anti-radicalisation charity
0:15:26 > 0:15:32in East London but 15 years ago, he was fighting for the other side.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Many would have considered him a jihadist after he was persuaded
0:15:36 > 0:15:39by British-based extremists to work alongside the terrorist
0:15:39 > 0:15:42group Al-Qaeda.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45You could say I was radicalised, yeah.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50Early February 2002, I was on a plane to Afghanistan.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53And my journey into Afghanistan led me to see lots of things.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I won't go into details of what the processes
0:15:56 > 0:16:00were and why and what I did but, thankfully, I came back to the UK
0:16:00 > 0:16:02with a different understanding of the reality of what Al-Qaeda
0:16:02 > 0:16:06and people like them are about.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Do you think the web has been a game-changer in terms
0:16:08 > 0:16:11of the radicalisation process?
0:16:11 > 0:16:14In 2002 it still took me six to seven months,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17if they'd have had this kind of technology I would -
0:16:17 > 0:16:20I would put my hand on my heart and I would say guaranteed
0:16:20 > 0:16:24within a few weeks, you could have somebody so enraged with revenge -
0:16:24 > 0:16:26that's how they see it - that they would become a suicide
0:16:26 > 0:16:29bomber or a terrorist.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Isis have got a complete different model to Al-Qaeda, because they're
0:16:32 > 0:16:36using the advancement of technology to their benefit and you can look
0:16:36 > 0:16:40at what some of the guys have done here, the Westminster attacker,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44the London Bridge attacker, the Manchester attacker,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47and now I can sort of realise how driven they have become and why
0:16:47 > 0:16:50they've become so driven because of the potency
0:16:50 > 0:16:53of the imagery and the accessibility through modern day social
0:16:53 > 0:16:56media and technology.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59From its start, Isis has realised the power of the web.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Its online recruiters worked hard to romanticise the idea that
0:17:03 > 0:17:08going to Syria and taking up arms is a hijrah - a spiritual necessity.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11But recently the numbers of young Muslim men and women making
0:17:11 > 0:17:16the crusade have dwindled.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Three, four years ago - simple, hop on a flight to Turkey,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23go over what was essentially an unmanned border,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26walk straight in.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Now there's a system in place at the border,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32there's different controls at ports, at airports, they kind of know
0:17:32 > 0:17:35what they should be looking out for, some tell-tale signs
0:17:35 > 0:17:38of an individual looking to travel.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40So simply it's just far more difficult.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Lacking foot soldiers in Syria, the terror group now has
0:17:43 > 0:17:46a new proclamation announced via Twitter - if you cannot
0:17:46 > 0:17:48reach the caliphate, start waging war in your home
0:17:48 > 0:17:51country and what's more, we will help you.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54One of the first men to tweet this ominous sentiment
0:17:54 > 0:17:56was Birmingham-born jihadist and supreme Isis recruiter,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Junaid Hussain.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03He developed something of a cult following on social media by weaving
0:18:03 > 0:18:06posts of his favourite music with sermons that glorified
0:18:06 > 0:18:08violent terrorism.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11In June 2015, our undercover reporter began
0:18:11 > 0:18:13a conversation with him.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17We exchanged some tweets then he suggested we talk privately
0:18:17 > 0:18:20on an encrypted messaging site.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Almost immediately, he asked me if I wanted
0:18:22 > 0:18:26to do something over here, in London.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29As I was leading him on I said, "Yeah, but I needed guidance."
0:18:29 > 0:18:32And his response to that was that he could help
0:18:32 > 0:18:38and he could train me on how to make bombs from home.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52In further exchanges Hussain described London as the heart
0:18:52 > 0:18:57of the crusader army and vowed to organise an attack.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10But his personal ambition to hit the capital was never realised.
0:19:10 > 0:19:16He stopped messaging us and we later discovered Hussain had been
0:19:16 > 0:19:21killed by a US army drone.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27This wasn't an accident and he wasn't eliminated for any
0:19:27 > 0:19:30physical acts of violence.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33What made Hussain particularly dangerous to the American
0:19:33 > 0:19:36authorities was his ability to use social media as a lethal weapon,
0:19:36 > 0:19:42a recruiting and directing tool for wannabe jihadists.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Yet, his execution failed to extinguish the threat.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Hussain's legacy lives on.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51There are now hundreds of clone-like Isis recruiters perpetuating
0:19:51 > 0:19:56the methods of radicalisation he helped pioneer.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59After Hussain's death, another recruiter contacted us
0:19:59 > 0:20:02on Twitter and directed us to a secret messaging site
0:20:02 > 0:20:05to continue the conversation.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Straight off, he told me that he had a test for me and this
0:20:09 > 0:20:13was all on basic knowledge of Islam. And what made this difficult was,
0:20:13 > 0:20:18I was only given three seconds to answer each question.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Our reporter was also asked to provide photo ID
0:20:42 > 0:20:45and pictures of his home.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48He spent weeks, cross-referencing the information I had provided
0:20:48 > 0:20:51to see if it all matched and at the end of each stage
0:20:51 > 0:20:54he would refer me to another secret messaging site.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58And then eventually the operation he had planned for me was revealed.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01First off he wanted me to assassinate a police officer.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04He had devised a detailed plot including how to obtain
0:21:04 > 0:21:08firearms and bullets.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33In April this year, nine months after the recruiter mapped
0:21:33 > 0:21:38out his plan of attack, a Parisian police officer was killed
0:21:38 > 0:21:41in an incident of marked similarity. Isis claimed responsibility.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46The police are still investigating.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54The Met police are aware of the so-called Islamic State's
0:21:54 > 0:21:57online offensive against London but it is a tough task for them
0:21:57 > 0:22:00to sift out every genuine red alert.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04Most extremists and most terrorists are well known to the intelligence
0:22:04 > 0:22:07agencies and to the police who are monitoring them.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11But of course, there's an issue of volume, of numbers of people,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14numbers of individuals who have become radicalised or who are now
0:22:14 > 0:22:18starting to show an interest in radicalised material.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21All the power and information is all with the terrorists
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and extremists who have at their disposal now encrypted apps
0:22:24 > 0:22:30that allow them to talk amongst each other around the world with very
0:22:30 > 0:22:35little coverage by the intelligence agencies whatsoever.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38This proliferation of terrorist activity on social media has
0:22:38 > 0:22:41forced the Government to step-up its anti-radicalisation
0:22:41 > 0:22:44campaign, Prevent.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47But how much can it achieve when jihadists and their followers
0:22:47 > 0:22:50hide on the dark web and use encrypted messages
0:22:50 > 0:22:53to plot their attacks?
0:22:53 > 0:22:57We have been able to take down a quarter of a million pieces
0:22:57 > 0:23:00of data or videos and information that are in the online space that
0:23:00 > 0:23:03have been used to radicalise people.
0:23:03 > 0:23:09We try and effectively suffocate out messages from people
0:23:09 > 0:23:12like IS and Al-Qaeda to make sure that they are not penetrating
0:23:12 > 0:23:16people's bedrooms and houses and turning normal people
0:23:16 > 0:23:20into terrorists and we have to keep investing in our people
0:23:20 > 0:23:24and intelligence services but also in working with industry to produce
0:23:24 > 0:23:28solutions that keep us just that step ahead of the bad guys.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33But the reality we might all have to accept is the danger posed
0:23:33 > 0:23:37by terrorists online is the new normal.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I think the authorities have an unbelievably
0:23:40 > 0:23:43difficult task now.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Encrypted apps or anonymous web browsers or the dark net,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50these places online that are very, very difficult to properly monitor
0:23:50 > 0:23:53are proliferating very quickly.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56And one of the reasons they're proliferating quickly,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01is because they are actually valuable to everyone.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05They are very important channels for journalists and there is no way
0:24:05 > 0:24:09for the authorities to crack down on these places without also
0:24:09 > 0:24:14potentially endangering ordinary people's privacy and the privacy
0:24:14 > 0:24:20of journalists and political activists with whom they agree.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26From this bleak perspective, Isis are winning the war online.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Yet as authorities grapple with the problem, at a grassroots
0:24:29 > 0:24:32level, Muslim communities in parts of London are using
0:24:32 > 0:24:36the web to fight back.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Hanif's charity - the Active Change Foundation -
0:24:39 > 0:24:42is designed to stop vulnerable people from being preyed
0:24:42 > 0:24:45on by extremists.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48We know that there are other people out -
0:24:48 > 0:24:51out there that are reaching out to our communities, that are tapping
0:24:51 > 0:24:54into the human resource, that creates groups like Al-Qaeda,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57groups like Isis, so we do exactly the same thing,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00we tap into the same human resource, we occupy the same space -
0:25:00 > 0:25:03online and offline - to change lives for the better.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06The Active Change Foundation claims to have stopped hundreds of children
0:25:06 > 0:25:09from becoming radicalised and as a result has
0:25:09 > 0:25:12received help from an unexpected quarter -
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Twitter.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18In the UK we've trained more than 500 charities on how to reach
0:25:18 > 0:25:21people using our platform and get the message out that says we are not
0:25:21 > 0:25:24going to be divided.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27The one thing that is important to remember is that when government
0:25:27 > 0:25:30technology companies and communities work together, and we each
0:25:30 > 0:25:33play our part, actually you can do a huge amount to keep the public
0:25:33 > 0:25:36safe, to challenge extremism and to make sure that those people
0:25:36 > 0:25:39who seek to do us harm are brought to justice and challenged,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42because although we can delete content on the internet we can't
0:25:42 > 0:25:45delete the ideology.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Threatened with more stringent regulation by Government,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Tech companies like Twitter are keen to promote their work
0:25:52 > 0:25:54in deprived communities.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58But could they be doing more to prevent terrorist plotting online?
0:25:58 > 0:26:01They do not want to take responsibility for the content
0:26:01 > 0:26:04that is shared on their site, because if they were legally
0:26:04 > 0:26:06responsible for everything shared on their site,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10they would have to check it before it was published -
0:26:10 > 0:26:13like a journalist or a newspaper does.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Given that there are billions of pieces of content being uploaded
0:26:16 > 0:26:18onto these platforms every single day, that is not possible.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Which means that they are in some ways stuck because, inevitably,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25their platform is going to be used by terrorists.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29One other thing, a lot of the big companies are now building
0:26:29 > 0:26:34in encryption into their services so they cannot decrypt
0:26:34 > 0:26:38it themselves.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43So when, for example, the Government goes to WhatsApp
0:26:43 > 0:26:53and says can you give us the messages between person y
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and person x, they can't even do it.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I think they have to ask themselves some quite big moral questions that
0:27:00 > 0:27:03you know these guys are often the biggest proponents
0:27:03 > 0:27:06of surveillance than any government.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09They survey my details and your details every minute
0:27:09 > 0:27:12of the day and many of them sell these details to third parties
0:27:12 > 0:27:16to make profit and so they can't have it both ways and say you know,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19we are anti-surveillance, we are companies that
0:27:19 > 0:27:22don't believe in that, yet at the same time that is how
0:27:22 > 0:27:25they make their money.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28As our investigation was concluding we received one final
0:27:28 > 0:27:31warning from the web.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34It was through a secret messaging site, where an IS agent
0:27:34 > 0:27:37was trying to recruit me.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41He told me that I must be prepared to say goodbye to my loved ones
0:27:41 > 0:27:46and ready to carry out an attack soon.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I think governments around the world have been slow
0:28:02 > 0:28:06to act on this problem.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09I would make exception to the British government which has
0:28:09 > 0:28:12led the way in terms of, you know, raising
0:28:12 > 0:28:15awareness of this issue.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19And we may have seen a surge and a blip, if you like,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22in attacks this year, I've got total confidence
0:28:22 > 0:28:24in the British intelligence agencies and police in thwarting
0:28:24 > 0:28:28and disrupting attacks in the future.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35That's all from Inside Out.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Don't forget the programme will be available on the iPlayer ? just head
0:28:38 > 0:28:41to bbc.co.uk/insideout and click on London.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Thanks very much for watching ? see you again soon.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90 second update.