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Pro-ISIS Hackers release 'Kill List' Of 43 United States Officials

Pro-ISIS Hackers release 'Kill List' Of 43 United States Officials
Apr 26, 2016
In Brief A group of pro-ISIS hackers calling themselves the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) has issued a "Kill List" containing the names of dozens of U.S. government personnel at the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, State Department, and several other federal agencies. Meanwhile, the US military's Cyber Command has announced to launch its first attack against ISIS' digital infrastructure in an effort to disrupt the terrorist's communications and other core functions. The announcement came earlier this week when President Barack Obama discussed the war on ISIS ( Islamic State ) in Hanover, Germany, where he met with world leaders and represented this new cyber initiative, according to the sources from New York Times. On the other side, the Kill List was distributed Monday by the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) hackers over the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging app Telegram through which the ISIS communicate with their followers and spread terro

New Bill targets Anonymous Prepaid 'Burner' phones by requiring Registration

New Bill targets Anonymous Prepaid 'Burner' phones by requiring Registration
Mar 26, 2016
Terrorist organisations are increasingly using high-grade encryption technologies to prevent being caught by the law enforcement. But, that was not in the case of last year's Paris attacks that killed 129 people, as Encryption seems to have played little to no role. So, Who was the Real Culprit Behind the Attacks? The 'Burner' Phones. Burner Phones, or Prepaid mobile phones, are often the quick, easy, and anonymous method of communication. All you need to do is head to your nearest big-box store and pick up a cheap prepaid "burner" phone and a phone card. Now you have an entirely useable phone with no ID that could reveal your identity. It seems that these prepaid "burner" phones are a dream tool for terrorist organisations that bring them in bulk and then disposed of each time they make a communication. The same prepaid phones were utilized in the terrorist attacks in Paris late last year. Therefore, by using different phon

Making Sense of Operational Technology Attacks: The Past, Present, and Future

Making Sense of Operational Technology Attacks: The Past, Present, and Future
Mar 21, 2024Operational Technology / SCADA Security
When you read reports about cyber-attacks affecting operational technology (OT), it's easy to get caught up in the hype and assume every single one is sophisticated. But are OT environments all over the world really besieged by a constant barrage of complex cyber-attacks? Answering that would require breaking down the different types of OT cyber-attacks and then looking back on all the historical attacks to see how those types compare.  The Types of OT Cyber-Attacks Over the past few decades, there has been a growing awareness of the need for improved cybersecurity practices in IT's lesser-known counterpart, OT. In fact, the lines of what constitutes a cyber-attack on OT have never been well defined, and if anything, they have further blurred over time. Therefore, we'd like to begin this post with a discussion around the ways in which cyber-attacks can either target or just simply impact OT, and why it might be important for us to make the distinction going forward. Figure 1 The Pu

Another ISIS Hacker Killed by U.S Drone Strike in Syria

Another ISIS Hacker Killed by U.S Drone Strike in Syria
Jan 04, 2016
A British-educated businessman who later joined Islamic State (ISIS) militant group in Syria has been killed in a US drone strike. Siful Haque Sujan , a Bangladesh-born man, was killed on 10 December 2015 by a US drone strike near Raqqa, Syria. Sujan has been described as one of the ISIS's top computer hackers who also coordinated anti-surveillance technology and weapons development by a senior United States Army official. A statement issued by Army Col. Steve Warren , a spokesman from Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, via CENTCOM (United States Central Command) reads : "Sujan was an external operations planner and a United Kingdom-educated computer systems engineer. Sujan supported ISIS hacking efforts, anti-surveillance technology and weapons development. Now that he is dead, ISIL has lost a key link between networks." The 31-year-old man not just suspected of running a global money-laundering ring for ISIS from his former base i

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Save the Date — 11th December: Anonymous to Celebrate 'ISIS Trolling Day'

Save the Date — 11th December: Anonymous to Celebrate 'ISIS Trolling Day'
Dec 07, 2015
After hacking and taking down social media accounts of ISIS members, the online Hacktivist group Anonymous is back again with its new plan to harass the Islamic State (IS) militant group that was behind the horrific terror attack in Paris. Anonymous declared total war against ISIS after the last month's Paris attacks and supposedly: Took down thousands of Twitter and social media accounts used by the ISIS terrorists Disrupted the terror group's primary communications platform Replaced one of ISIS' websites with a Viagra ad Now, the hacktivist group has declared December 11th to be " ISIS Trolling Day ," planning an organized trolling campaign against ISIS by assaulting their image through Photoshopped images, memes, videos and jokes related to the terrorist organisation. Also Read: ISIS Issues 5 Lame Tips for its Members to Avoid Getting Hacked Vanish ISIS Online Presence This campaign is also part of the group's ongoing effort

France wants to BAN Tor and Free Wi-Fi Services after Paris Terror Attacks

France wants to BAN Tor and Free Wi-Fi Services after Paris Terror Attacks
Dec 07, 2015
Now this was to be done, Sooner or Later – The Government. In the wake of the recent deadly Paris terror attacks, the French government is considering new laws that would Ban access to Free Wi-Fi and the Tor anonymity network, according to a recent report by French newspaper Le Monde. The report cites an internal document from the Ministry of Interior by French Department of Civil Liberties and Legal Affairs (DLPAJ) that lists two proposed bills – one around the State of Emergency and the other on combating counter-terrorism. Last month's Paris attacks started blame games, calling Edward Snowden and end-to-end encrypted services responsible for the ISIS-sponsored massacre. Also Read: Anonymous declares War on ISIS: 'We will Hunt you Down!' Now, the government has started renewing their assault on encryption and reviving their efforts to force tech companies to hand over encryption keys, and the document obtained by Le Monde hints the same. Proposed Pieces of Legis

Hacker Claims He helped FBI Track Down ISIS Hacker (Who was killed in Drone-Strike)

Hacker Claims He helped FBI Track Down ISIS Hacker (Who was killed in Drone-Strike)
Nov 24, 2015
Remember Junaid Hussain ? Junaid Hussain – a hacker turned ISIS cyber mastermind who was killed in a US drone strike in August this year. But something has emerged what we don't know about the death of Hussain. The infamous hacker who in the past hacked the Anonymous pseudo-official Twitter accounts, now claims he served as an FBI informant to help the US government track down Junaid Hussain. The hacker, goes by the online alias Shm00p ( @5hm00p ), is a member of the hacking collective Rustle League and believes he is "99.9% sure" that the information given by him to the FBI agents led to the extrajudicial killing of Hussain. "What the fuck have I done," Shm00p tweeted early Sunday morning. Over 15 hours later after his first tweet, Shm00p made a series of tweets at the FBI Twitter account. "I lost a lot of good friendship and my fucking honor," Shm00p tweeted at the FBI. You can see an archived copy of his now deleted t

Anonymous Hacking Group Takes Down 20,000 ISIS Twitter accounts

Anonymous Hacking Group Takes Down 20,000 ISIS Twitter accounts
Nov 21, 2015
In the wake of horrific terror attacks in Paris, the online Hacktivist group Anonymous last week declared " total war " against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) that claimed responsibility for the attacks. While French, Russian, and US military are bombing ISIS from the sky, Anonymous members from all over the world are carrying out their very own cyber attack campaign, dubbed #OpParis , against the terrorist organization. Anonymous has claimed to have taken down 20,000 ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts in order to take revenge from ISIS for the deadly Paris attacks on November 13. Anonymous Took Down 20,000 ISIS-affiliated Twitter Accounts In a YouTube video posted on Wednesday, the group said: "More than 20,000 Twitter accounts belonging to ISIS were taken down by Anonymous." The group has provided a list of all the Twitter accounts that have been taken down. On Tuesday, the hacktivist group claimed to have successfully taken

Is Telegram Really Secure? — 4 Major Privacy Issues Raised by Researcher

Is Telegram Really Secure? — 4 Major Privacy Issues Raised by Researcher
Nov 19, 2015
The terrorist groups are encouraging its followers to use Telegram to make their propaganda invisible from law enforcement, but some security experts believe that Telegram may not be as secure as jihadi advocates may like to believe. Telegram is an end-to-end encrypted messaging service that has been adopted by a lot more people than ISIS — as of last year, the company claimed more than 50 Million Telegram users sending 1 Billion messages per day. Terrorists love Telegram because it not only provides an encrypted Secret Chat feature that lets its users broadcast messages to unlimited subscribers but also offers self-destructing message allowing users to set their messages to self-destruct itself after a certain period. Is Telegram Really Secure? In a blog post published Wednesday, the security researcher known as " the Grugq " pointed out several issues with Telegram that might obstruct terrorists from using it.  Here's the list of issues with

Telegram — Secret Messaging app — Shuts Down 78 ISIS Channels

Telegram — Secret Messaging app — Shuts Down 78 ISIS Channels
Nov 19, 2015
The terrorist groups affiliated with the Islamic State have an extensive presence not only on social media accounts but also on the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging app Telegram through which they communicate with their followers and spread terror propaganda materials. Telegram has always been terrorist's favorite, but ISIS had been using the app since October, when Telegram introduced an end-to-end encrypted Secret Chat feature that lets users broadcast messages to an unlimited number of subscribers. Moreover, Telegram also provides self-destructing message feature that allows users to set their messages to self-destruct itself after a certain period of time. But, the Good News is: The nonprofit organization that runs Telegram has blocked around 78 ISIS-affiliated channels that the terrorists used to: Communicate with their members Spread propaganda Recruit foreign supporters Plan operations Radicalize young people "We were disturbed to learn that Telegram

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

Hey ISIS! Check Out How 'Idiot' Anonymous Hackers Can Disrupt your Online Propaganda
Nov 18, 2015
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 S

ISIS Calls Anonymous "IDIOTS" and Issues 5 Lame Tips for its Members to Avoid Getting Hacked

ISIS Calls Anonymous "IDIOTS" and Issues 5 Lame Tips for its Members to Avoid Getting Hacked
Nov 17, 2015
The Anonymous Hacking group on Sunday declared Total War against the ISIS , the Islamic State terror organization that claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks on Friday that killed 129 people and hundreds more injured. In a sinister video posted on YouTube, the Cyber Hacktivists said they will launch their " biggest operation ever " with the warning that " Anonymous from all over the world will hunt you down." Also Read:   Would Encryption Backdoor Stop Paris-like Terror Attacks? Now, The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) has released a statement, responding to Anonymous's declaration of total war. They (ISIS) called Anonymous – IDIOTS , … and issued some anti-hacking tips to pro-ISIS supporters to protect against cyber attacks. The message from ISIS to Anonymous came through one of the ISIS-affiliated official channels, dubbed ELITE SECTION of IS , on the messaging app Telegram . The message read: " The #Anonymous hackers threatened in a new video r

Would Encryption Backdoor Stop Paris-like Terror Attacks?

Would Encryption Backdoor Stop Paris-like Terror Attacks?
Nov 17, 2015
With 129 people killed in Paris terror attacks and dozens critically wounded, the law enforcement and intelligence officials are reviving their efforts to force companies to put some backdoors in encryption so that they can access your information. How did the Intelligence agencies fail to Intercept terrorist plans of these attacks? In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, Former CIA Director Michael Morell argued on TV that encrypted communication services may have aided the planning and plotting of the Paris attacks, blaming Edward Snowden and US companies for the attacks. Also Read:  NO, We Can't Blame Edward Snowden and Encryption for Terror Attacks With more Surveillance and Encryption backdoor, Is it possible that Friday's attacks could have been stopped before they began? Morell suggested that recalcitrant US companies should be forced to install government backdoors in their software and hand over encryption keys to the government, thinking that Encryption Backd

Paris Attacks — NO! We Can't Blame Edward Snowden and Encryption for Terror Attacks

Paris Attacks — NO! We Can't Blame Edward Snowden and Encryption for Terror Attacks
Nov 17, 2015
Terrorist groups are increasingly using high-grade, advanced end-to-end encryption technologies so that no law enforcement can catch them. The deadliest terror attacks in Paris that killed 129 people were the latest example of it. How did the Terrorists Communicate and Organize the Plot? The Paris terrorists almost certainly used difficult-to-crack encryption technologies to organize the plot – locking law enforcement out, FBI Director James B. Comey told Congress Wednesday. Also Read:   ISIS Calls Anonymous "IDIOTS" in response to their "Total war" Cyber Threat . The ISIS mastermind behind the Friday's Paris massacre is identified to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud , who is based in Syria. So to transmit his plans to the suicide bombers and gunmen, he would have made use of secure communication to keep law enforcement out. FBI's Comey believes ISIS is making use of popular social media platforms to reach out to potential recruits and smartphone messaging app

Hackers claim ISIS Militants linked to Paris Attacks had a Bitcoin Wallet worth $3 Million

Hackers claim ISIS Militants linked to Paris Attacks had a Bitcoin Wallet worth $3 Million
Nov 16, 2015
The world watched in horror as coordinate attacks in Paris Friday night killed more than 130 people and  left over 352 injured. Over 20 attackers have so far been part of the terrorist cell that planned the deadly Paris attacks, with seven suicide bombers dead, seven attackers under arrest and a total of six people on the run. Also Read:  NO, We Can't Blame Edward Snowden and Encryption for Terror Attacks . The attacks were carried out by Islamic State (ISIS) , who later claimed responsibility for targeting innocent people at 'soft' locations that lack police or military protection, including Bataclan concert venue where at least 89 people lost their lives. Following the bloody terror attacks, the hacktivist collective Anonymous declared war on the Islamic State ( IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL ) saying, " We will launch the biggest operation ever against you. " But the Question here is: From Where did the terrorist cell that planned the brutal terrorist attacks i

#ParisAttacks — Anonymous declares War on ISIS: 'We will Hunt you Down!'

#ParisAttacks — Anonymous declares War on ISIS: 'We will Hunt you Down!'
Nov 16, 2015
Following the bloody terror attacks in Paris where over 130 people were killed, the hacktivist collective Anonymous has declared total war against the Islamic State ( IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL ). Anonymous released a video message, posted in French, on YouTube Sunday announcing the beginning of #OpParis , a coordinated campaign to hunt down ISIS's social media channels and every single supporter of the jihadist group online. Also Read:  NO, We Can't Blame Edward Snowden and Encryption for Terror Attacks . The combat mission #OpParis was announced as revenge for the recent ISIS terror attacks that took place in Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015. Anonymous to ISIS: 'We will Hunt you Down!' Behind its signature Guy Fawkes mask, the group's spokesperson speaking in French said, "Anonymous from all over the world will hunt you down. Expect massive cyber attacks. War is declared. Get prepared." "You should know that we will find you, and we will not let yo

ISIS Hacker who Passed U.S. Military Data to Terrorists Arrested in Malaysia

ISIS Hacker who Passed U.S. Military Data to Terrorists Arrested in Malaysia
Oct 17, 2015
Malaysian authorities have arrested a Kosovo citizen in Kuala Lumpur on Computer hacking charges and allegedly providing personal data about United States military members to the Islamic State Terrorists group ( also known as ISIS or ISIL ). According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI, Kosovo citizen Ardit Ferizi allegedly hacked into the US web hosting company's servers and stole personal data of more than 1,300 US government and military employees. Ferizi didn't use the stolen data for identity theft; instead he allegedly handed the hacked information over to Junaid Hussain ( also known as Abu Hussain Al Britani ), an ISIS member and hacker who was killed in a US drone strike in August. The stolen data includes names, email addresses, passwords, phone numbers and locations of US military service members and government workers. Hacker May Face up to 35 Years in Prison Moreover, Ferizi also accessed customers' information from a
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