A group of hackers has decided to wage its own private war against ISIS. They are mercenaries without pay. According to a report in Epoch Times they have worked out how to take control of ISIS twitter accounts, which they then exploit to their own ends. The group claims they also see a trove of material which would be very interesting to intelligence agencies.
We are not sure about the ethics of all this--being a private unofficial group and all, but presumably it is something which those nations presently engaged in undeclared war against ISIS should be doing in spades. Maybe they are. Who knows?
The goal is not just to disrupt the ISIS network operating via the Twitter platform, but also to engage in a bit of psyops.
A new operation against ISIS, started by a small group of hackers, is bringing the online propaganda arm of the terrorist group to its virtual knees. The plan unfolded in late March, when around five hackers from the groups Anonymous and BinarySec started hijacking Twitter accounts used by ISIS propagandists who spread violent images and promote jihadist ideologies.
After gaining control of the accounts, the hackers get an inside look at the direct messages between the ISIS recruiters and other jihadis, and information on their locations. They also gain temporary control over the mouthpieces used to spread the terrorist organization’s messages. Some of the accounts contain virtual treasure troves of data linking ISIS supporters. The accounts also contain access history, which displays the locations of many of the ISIS propagandists. Others contain chat histories and even lists of phone numbers. One of the hackers, BinarySec admin “JustAnotherNode,” said in an interview on Twitter that by taking over the accounts “we are able to see the complexity of their inner structure and organization.”
Sometimes they’ll use the accounts to contact other jihadists to make them question their ideologies.
Nice contact list @isislion1221 It's FULL of phone #'s. Gave U a new look ;) #OpISIS #Anonymous #GhostOfNoNation
He said these operations cause confusion in the ranks of ISIS propagandists, and make them turn on each other. “We don’t plan on changing the account names or images,” WauchulaGhost said. “We will take them and use them against themselves.”They also mock ISIS Twitterers.
The hackers don’t always take a discreet approach with breached accounts, however. Sometimes they’ll take the hacked accounts and turn them into jokes, with images making fun of ISIS and other posts mocking the group.Interesting hobby.
Sometimes they’ll also leak information from the accounts publicly—including information on the locations of the former account holders. The operations don’t come without a degree of risk. WauchulaGhost shared some of the threats he receives, which have included gory images of ISIS fighters beheading people.
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