- Islamic State boasting of its plans to create a sophisticated cyber army
- Plans to use 'cyber caliphate' to launch attacks on banks and governments
- British hacker once jailed for cyber attack on PM thought to be involved
- Comes as President Obama announces air strikes will extend into Syria
Published:
10:41 GMT, 11 September 2014
|
Updated:
19:59 GMT, 11 September 2014
Islamic
State militants are planning the creation of a 'cyber caliphate'
protected by their own encryption software - from behind which they will
launch massive hacking attacks on the U.S. and the West.
Both
Islamic State and Al Qaeda claim to be actively recruiting skilled
hackers in a bid to create a team of jihadist computer experts capable
of causing devastating cyber disruptions to Western institutions.
They are now boasting it is only a matter of time before their plan becomes a reality.
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ISIS militants marching through the streets of Syria. The group now claim to be creating an army of hackers
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The group boasts of its plans to create a 'cyber caliphate'. Pictured are ISIS forces preparing for battle in Iraq
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Junaid Hussain, who was jailed two
years' ago for hacking personal information from Tony Blair, is thought
to be spearheading the ISIS cyber team's activities from Syria where he
fled to last year
Fox News reported the terror groups were using social media to attract more computer-savvy young recruits.
Thought
to be among those working within the organisation's cyber team is
British jihadist Junaid Hussain, who escaped to Syria while on police
bail last year.
Hussain,
20, was jailed in 2012 for hacking into former Prime Minister Tony
Blair's gmail account and posting the details online.
Steve
Stalinsky, an executive director of the Middle East Media Research
Institute, told Fox News: 'They are forward thinking and are
experimenting with hacking. In the future, the jihadists' cyber army's
activities will become a daily reality.'
It
was reported the possible targets of the jihadists' cyber attacks will
be the websites of U.S. government organisations, energy companies,
transport systems and banks.
Islamic State is noted for its use of advanced technology and social media on a scale unprecedented for such rebel groups.
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Tweets posted by British cyber jihadist Junaid Hussain from the Middle East, using an alias
Large
numbers of Islamic State fighters are young, highly educated Westerners
who are fighting the holy war with sophisticated backgrounds and
training with digital technology.
Militants'
use of Twitter and Facebook allows them to target an entire new
generation of young possible recruits, while the beheading videos of
James Foley and Steven Sotloff were created using skilled video and
audio editing techniques.
Meanwhile, president Barack Obama has announced U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State targets will extend into Syria.
In
a four-point plan laid out last night the U.S. leader announced coming
airstrikes in both countries, additional support for Iraqi army units,
counter-terrorism activities to hamstring ISIS, and renewed humanitarian
aid for victims of ISIS militants.
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President Barack Obama pictured during yesterday's announcement U.S. airstrikes will extend into Syria
'This
counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless
effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist,' Obama vowed, referring to
ISIS by its alternate name, 'using our air power and our support for
partner forces on the ground.'
A senior Pentagon official confirmed that 'the U.S. military is ready to conduct direct action against ISIL targets in Syria.'
Britain
has already drawn-up extensive plans to support the US that includes
airstrikes and UK Special Forces forming ‘advisory’ training teams to
instruct Kurdish fighters how to use heavy machine guns ‘gifted’ by
Britain this week.
Foreign
Secretary Philip Hammond said the advance of Islamic State poses a
‘clear and immediate’ threat to British national security.
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