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Anonymous Takes Down Thousands of ISIS-Related Twitter Accounts In a Day (softpedia.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the plucking-the-low-hanging-fruit dept.

BarbaraHudson writes: Softpedia is reporting that Anonymous, along with social media users, have identified several thousand Twitter accounts allegedly linked to ISIS members. "Besides scanning for ISIS Twitter accounts themselves, the hacking group has also opened access to the [takedown operation] site to those interested. Anyone who comes across ISIS social media accounts can easily search the database and report any new terrorists and supporters. The website is called #opIceISIS [slow right now, but it does load] and will index ISIS members based on their real name, location, picture, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts." Anonymous crowdsourcing their operations... welcome to the brave new world, ISIS. An article at The Independent reminds everyone that this information has not been independently confirmed, and that Anonymous is certainly capable of misidentifying people. It's also worth exploring the question of why Twitter hasn't already disabled these accounts, and why intelligence agencies haven't done anything about them, if they're so easy to find.

6 of 320 comments (clear)

  1. Why they haven't taken them down by chuckymonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's pretty easy actually, better to keep tabs on the enemy by letting them continue to use accounts that we know about rather than drive them to ones that we don't.

    --
    "Some books contain the machinery required to create and sustain universes."-Tycho
  2. Re:what good will this do ? by Grishnakh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It makes it much harder for them to conduct their recruitment and other operations which depend on an online presence.

  3. Great Work Kids! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    There is literally nothing in the world harder than creating a Twitter account. I know, I tried. Couldn't read the damn CAPTCHA without my spectacles.

    Anonymous has completely ruined the infrastructure of terror. It will take centuries to rebuild.

    Great work kids. I hope you all get medals for you bravery.

  4. Re:quite likely "intelligence" is monitoring by khasim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So at what point does the "smart cop" decide to stop them? After they've killed 129 people?

    That makes a good movie plot but it doesn't work in real life.

    The problem is that our "intelligence" agencies are more focused on electronics than on intelligence. It's easier. It's cheaper. It can cover a lot more "suspects". And it can be easily abused.

    Stopping an attack makes you look good for one day.

    Having a fearsome enemy that can attack any where, any time means you have funding for life.

  5. Re:teh reaperening by Anonymous+Cow+Ward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It could be - but some of them wouldn't be (quite as) stupid fuckups if they had better options available. The more refugees we take in, and the more we treat them like normal people, the less they're going to want to attack us. We absolutely cannot afford to make it a "West vs. Islam" fight, because that's how they get more recruits. It's playing right into their hands.

    --
    Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.
  6. Well, the prophecy came true.... by shocking · · Score: 5, Funny

    Daesh is about to get screwed by 72 virgins...