Anonymous Launches Cyber War on ISIS

ISIS' response: 'Idiots'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 17, 2015 10:57 AM CST
Anonymous Launches Cyber War on ISIS
The cyber war has officially begun.   (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Anonymous is following through with its promise to target ISIS in a cyber war after the Paris terror attacks. Operating under the hashtags #opISIS and #opParis, the group has begun leaking the personal details of alleged ISIS recruiters, reports the Independent. Anonymous also has compiled lists of social media accounts linked to extremists in an attempt to have them removed, and at least one post reveals the physical address of a suspected recruiter in Europe. Another list, spotted by Tech Insider, includes more than 80 names, though the site notes that Anonymous has wrongly identified extremists before. The group is also working to take down ISIS-affiliated websites using denial-of-service attacks to overload servers.

ISIS, however, seems unperturbed. "All they can do is hacking (sic) Twitter accounts, emails etc.," the terrorist group said in a statement Monday, calling Anonymous a bunch of "idiots." Still, ISIS shared tips with supporters about how to avoid cyberattacks, including altering email addresses, changing a computer's shared location, and ignoring suspicious links, per Newsweek. While Anonymous' attacks could hinder communications between ISIS supporters, analysts tell the Christian Science Monitor that they're unlikely to do much good. "What they are doing is more of simple harassment," one says. "In the end it is not going to help law enforcement to prevent an actual physical attack like what happened in Paris." (ISIS has a 24-hour help desk for jihadis having tech trouble.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X