Anonymous claim to have struck the first blow in what has been referred to as a “cyber war” against ISIS, taking down more than 5500 Twitter accounts that they say were affiliated with the extremist group.
The group made a statement earlier today via the official #OpParis account:
We report that more than 5500 Twitter account of #ISIS are now #down! #OpParis #Anonymous #ExpectUs
— #OpParis (@opparisofficial) November 17, 2015
In the wake of the deadly Paris terror attacks on Friday night, Anonymous released a video declaring “total war” on ISIS, and announcing that a “global alliance” of activists would begin working towards a major hack.
ISIS scoffed in response, calling the group “idiots”, but it appears that Anonymous, which operates outside the constraints of international law, under its own set of guiding principles, is not fucking around.
In an interview with Russia Today, a representative of Anonymous, Alex Poucher, boasted about the group’s hacking capability, saying that it exceeds that of the Islamic State:
“Our capability to take down ISIS is a direct result of our collective’s sophisticated hackers, data miners, and spies that we have all around the world. We have people very, very close to ISIS on the ground, which makes gathering intel about ISIS and related activities very easy for us … They picked a fight with Anonymous when they attacked Paris, and now they should expect us. [We] will not sit by an watch these terror attacks unfold around the world.”
While world governments monitor extremist groups on social media, and a hack of this size could theoretically disrupt law enforcement, Anonymous maintain that their strategy and capability “might be better than any world government’s tools to combat ISIS online.”
In addition to hacking Twitter accounts, Anonymous have begun releasing what they claim to be the personal information of those involved in extremist activities, specifically recruitment for ISIS.
While the information has not been verified, the group have released the physical address of at least one person they claim to be a recruiter in Europe.
Earlier this month, Anonymous released phone numbers and email addresses listed on Ku Klux Klan databases, potentially exposing more than 1000 of the organisation’s members.
via The Independent
Photo: Adam Berry via Getty Images
