The Anonymous hacktivist group cracked down on the Islamic State's recruiting efforts by launching an array of cyber-attacks on Twitter accounts used by the terrorist group to mobilize militants, sources said.
Praise☩God, these #ISIS sites are down (pic) #OpISIS #OpIceISIS #OpAntiISIS #OpCharlieHebdo Tick.. Tock..Tick..Tock.. pic.twitter.com/hqSQxFmiS4
— Tick.. Tock.. (@OpAntiISIS) 7 февраля 2015
"We will hunt you, take down your sites, accounts, emails and expose you… You will be treated like a virus, and we are the cure. We own the internet," Anonymous said in a video statement.
Anonymous described its members as “hackers, crackers, Hacktivists, phishers, agents, spies, or just the guy next door."
Do not kill in God's name. #OpISIS #Anonymous pic.twitter.com/lMcb1a6meO
— Anonymous (@FamiliAnonymous) 6 февраля 2015
The group said that it delivered on its promise by staging a series of disabling cyber-attacks against various Twitter and Facebook accounts that were used by ISIL for recruiting purposes.
Using the Twitter hashtag #OpISIS, Anonymous released a list of what it claimed were ISIS accounts crippled by the cyberattack.
#OpISIS LIST OF ACCOUNTS FROM IS RECRUITERS http://t.co/oS8jhmxFza And D0X and FB Acc http://t.co/ptJb46bWXF @DigitaShadow @GhostSecurity_
— † Ⓡ➌➍ℵ † (@TehR34X) 7 февраля 2015
The Anonymous attack comes shortly after Jordan intensified its aerial attacks on ISIL positions in Syria, in retaliation for the killing of a Jordanian pilot, who was earlier seized by Islamic State militants.
In November 2014, Anonymous managed to hijack the Ku Klux Klan's Twitter account after threats by the Ku Klux Klan against Ferguson protesters.