The online hacker collective Anonymous dealt a huge blow to the terror group ISIS, whose attacks in Paris had left 129 dead and dozens more injured. Following the attacks, the Anonymous group had declared cyber-war on ISIS members last weekend. It also asked hackers around the world to join its #OpParis operation. In its declaration of cyber-war, they had vowed to hunt down the social media accounts Daesh members used to coordinate attacks, promote Jihadism, or recruit new members. As of Thursday morning, a reported 20,000 Islamic State-linked Twitter accounts were taken down claimed to be associated with or operated by members of ISIS. They have also released the names of the accounts, in moves they call part of a “total war” against the terrorist association. In a new video released by them on YouTube begins with a no-nonsense speech by the spokesperson, all dressed in black and wearing Anonymous’ signature Guy Fawkes mask, delivering a statement: “Hello, citizens of the world. We are Anonymous. It is time to realize that social media is a solid platform for ISIS’s communication as well as neutering their ideas of terror amongst youth. But at the same time, social media has proved it is an advanced weapon. We must all work together and use social media to eliminate the accounts used by terrorists. More than 20,000 Twitter Accounts belonging to ISIS were just taken down by Anonymous. You can find a list of all the Twitter Accounts in the description. This is only the beginning. ISIS: We will hunt you, Take down your sites, Accounts, Emails, and expose you…From now on, no safe place for you online…You will be treated like a virus, and we are the cure. We are anonymous.?We are legion.?We do not forgive.?We do not forget.?ISIS…it is too late to Expect Us.”
Shortly after this victory, Anonymous published a ‘Guide to Fighting ISIS Online.’ The release of this guide enlisted the talents of amateur hackers worldwide, and the results have been nothing short of phenomenal. The guide was published in an IRC (internet relay chat) channel by a member of the hacker group along with the following message: “Instead of sitting idle in the [chat] channel or lurking around and doing nothing, you can benefit greatly from the different tools and guides that have been provided to you,” he wrote.
— Joshua Clark (@JoshuaClark69) November 19, 2015 “Your contribution means a lot and we encourage you to partake in all of the Op’s activities if you can, the more the merrier.” In response, an ISIS-related social media account released a statement about the Anonymous operation. A supporter of the group a channel on the messaging app Telegram, says so-called IS are the “owners of the virtual world” and says members should “unite profile pictures on Twitter” with a black shoe print on the French flag. The account also promised further action online. Telegram Messenger says it’s blocked 164 public channels “used to spread terrorist propaganda” and shut more down earlier this week. Telegram founder Pavel Durov wrote on Twitter: “To media covering us this week – Telegram channels are public broadcasts. They are the opposite of private chats. Please don’t mix the two. “Our policy is simple: privacy is paramount. Public channels, however, have nothing to do with privacy. ISIS public channels will be blocked.”
