An offshoot of the Anonymous group, known as GhostSec or Ghost Security, are targeting and attacking the online network of supporters and suspected websites of the IS (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) group.

Thousands of publicity websites and social media accounts operated by the ISIS group are the target of the Ghost Security attacks.

The hackers have identified a list of potential Twitter accounts that are being used by the jihadists. So far, they have managed to remove more than 60,000 accounts connected to the IS members. They are using a variety of attack methods such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, brute force attacks, and SL injection – resulting in a halt of their communication network.

In addition to the attacks, the Anonymous group has intercepted messages between IS members and sent those messages to the international law enforcement agency.

One of the intercepted messages indicates the jihadists are planning on transferring their websites to US hosting providers in a bid to protect their web-based operations against hacking attempts using the shield of strict US anti-hacking laws.

Ghost Security published their intentions with the release of this statement: “Our mission is to eliminate the online presence of Islamic extremist groups such as Islamic State (IS), Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab in an effort to stymie their recruitment and limit their ability to organise international terrorist efforts.”

Source: SCMagazine