By Andrew Blake – The Washington Times – Thursday, June 9, 2016
Hackers sympathetic to the Islamic State have reportedly begun circulating a “kill list” once again, this time containing the personal details of more than 8,000 individuals identified as targets of the terror group.
Names, home addresses and email information for 8,318 people were shared Monday through the Telegram messaging app by members of the United Cyber Caliphate, a group of pro-Islamic State hacktivists, Vocativ reported Wednesday.
The details were contained in a message written in both English and Arabic in which readers were instructed to “follow” those on the list and “kill them strongly to take revenge for Muslims,” according to Vocativ.
Among those singled out on the purported kill list include 7,848 Americans, 312 Canadians, 39 Britons and 69 Australians, the website reported.
“You are gathered against us,” reads a message contained in an image obtained by Vocativ that accompanied the list. “We will kill you all (together).”
Hacktivists who sympathize with the group also known as ISIS have previously taken credit for cyber campaigns waged against targets the world over, and several hacking collectives attributed with these attacks announced in April that they had joined forces to form a “United Cyber Caliphate.”
“The unification of these groups also means that the scope of the united team has expanded,” cyber experts with security firm FlashPoint said in a report released that month.
“Because today’s groups that engage in cyber attacks on behalf of ISIS are neither acknowledged nor claimed by ISIS itself, a poorly organized landscape of these actors exists which has often led to conflicting messaging among the many actors,” the report continued.
Hackers operating under the United Cyber Caliphate umbrella have shared similar lists in the past, including shortly after its formation this year when the identities of dozens of U.S government employees was circulated among Telegram users with a statement saying they were “wanted to be killed.”
In January, the U.S Department of Justice successfully extradited a Kosovo man, Ardit Ferizi, after accusing him of providing pro-ISIS hackers with details pertaining to more than 1,000 American service members and federal employees. Prosecutors said Mr. Ferizi had supplied the list to Junaid Hussain, a British-born hacktivist who allegedly ran cyber operations on behalf of the terror group and shared that list “for the purpose of encouraging terrorist attacks against those individuals.” Hussain was killed by a U.S. airstrike last summer.
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