Hey ISIS! Check Out How 'Idiot' Anonymous Hackers Can Disrupt your Online Propaganda

Wednesday, November 18, 2015 Swati Khandelwal

 

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The online Hacktivist group Anonymous declared War against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) that claimed responsibility for the horrific terrorist attacks that rocked Paris last week.

In response to the Anonymous’ warning of launching their "biggest operation ever" against the terrorist group, ISIS militants called Anonymous – "IDIOTS".

It seems like Anonymous has taken ISIS response very seriously and the group has started carrying out their attacks against the terror organisation.

Anonymous First 'Cyber Attack' on ISIS

Soon after its war declaration, Anonymous claimed to have taken down more than 5,500 pro-ISIS Twitter accounts in #OpParis (Operation Paris).

In the past, hackers and organizations associated with Anonymous brought down websites allegedly connected with ISIS and claimed to have taken down thousands of ISIS accounts, disrupting their social media recruitment efforts.

Also Read: Would Encryption Backdoor Stop Paris-like Terror Attacks?

Anonymous' most famous targets include the white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan (KKK), the Vatican, the Westboro Baptist Church (known for its hate speech against the Jews, LGBT community, and liberal politicians), the governments, and even the CIA.

So, calling Anonymous idiots doesn’t make them idiots, because the hacktivist group has proved itself to be fully capable of launching successful attacks – and ISIS knows it.

That's why the terror organisation is spreading lame instructions through its affiliated official channels on Telegram on how to prevent getting hacked by Anonymous.

ISIS Online Propaganda: How They Manipulate Social Media

ISIS is a terrorist organisation whose most interesting aspect is how it leverages the huge power of Twitter and Facebook to radicalize young people, spread its message around the globe, recruit foreign supporters to its fight and shock people into taking notice of its actions.

Also Read: ISIS Issues 5 Lame Tips for its Members to Avoid Getting Hacked

Many ISIS militants maintain extremely active accounts on the popular social media platforms. They also have a strong presence on the most popular encrypted messaging app Telegram with more than 100,000 followers.

According to The Atlantic, there were more than 46,000 ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts with an average of 1,000 followers each.

The group has also established a 24-hour Jihadi Help Desk to help its foot soldiers spread their message around the world, recruit followers and launch more terror attacks on foreign soil, NBC reports.

So How Anonymous can Defeat ISIS?

When taking into consideration ISIS's extensive presence on Twitter, taking down its social media presence is the actual key to defeating the terror group, and it does make an impact at worst.

So, taking down the group's 5,500 Twitter accounts could be the first step towards disrupting ISIS online propaganda.

No doubt, we doesn't have any silver bullet solution to this problem, neither cyber attacks can vanish ISIS from its roots, but at least hackers can disrupt their online propaganda that may disable them to plan or plot Paris-like terrorist attacks.