Anonymous vs ISIS
Like something out of a science fiction novel, the cyberwar field has just ramped up as the cyberhacking activist group Anonymous has sworn revenge against the criminal terrorist group ISIS.
This declaration of war by the hactivists, as they’re called, brings a new level of warfare to the theater of combat. ISIS relies heavily on the internet and cellular technology to orchestrate its actions in anonymity. Their cyber teams are good, very good, they have applied the traditional tactic of ‘hit and retreat’ to their digital communications by using apps, applications, that allow for quick and precise communications, yet self destruct after use thus thwarting attempts of detection and tracking.
Anonymous’ teams, a group of hactivists from all corners of the world, are the best at breaking into secured servers and databases. Some of the tactics and technologies ISIS is using came from Anonymous and like groups. The governments of the world can use any help they can to put ISIS down, and if Anonymous can help, all the better. Anonymous would have to coordinate its efforts with the allied forces however, and those forces would have to act fast. Anonymous might be risking their own anonymity to do so, but the world will have to see if Anonymous can pull this offensive off.
It’s come to light that the ISIS teams may be using a variety of benign tools to communicate including video gaming sites where players can communicate globally in real time, encode messages, use icons and avatars as messages. The Pentagon has specialists in this area but the assault on Paris shows that whatever the authorities have, didn’t work.
It may be that the security industry is so cautious and government so hampered by laws and regulations as well as political agendas, that their cyber teams aren’t able to do their jobs to the best they know they can. These cyber detectives are very good and thwart menaces on an hourly basis, most of their efforts go unsung, but now they’re up against a global terrorist group that is well funded and are hiding behind every shadow, every email, every social media post. The stress on these cyber cops must be extreme.
Now it’s up to Anonymous to show the world what they can do. Perhaps this ragtag group of cybernauts can achieve what government can’t. If they do, it will be the stuff of legend and what movies are made of.
