Anonymous Going After Daesh(ISIS) Recruiters

[umsami]

So, it's not the best source, but if this is true, do you support it?  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/anonymous-publishes-details-isis-recruiters-6848502?ICID=FB_mirror_main

 

Did you feel the same way about the KKK list or is this different?

 

Just curious.

 

(Personally, I support it.  I'm surprised that the FBI/CIA haven't done a similar thing (and their European counterparts.)   Should those organizations do their own due diligence? Yes.)

[regentrude]

  I'm surprised that the FBI/CIA haven't done a similar thing (and their European counterparts.   Should those organizations do their own due diligence? Yes.)

 

I have a hard time imagining these agencies don't. But they won't broadcast their efforts online.

 

ETA: I voted yes and no. Yes, they should use their skills and tools to find these people. No, I do not condone publishing identities online; too much potential to implicate innocents. These informations belong in the hands of law enforcement agencies, not vigilante groups.

[mathnerd]

I did not vote - but I think that the impact of the hacking might be close to zero - these terrorists are not going to be traced that easily (they live in a wild area and move frequently) nor are they going to be ashamed if anonymous reveals their real names or addresses. They might even be praised for their heroism or anti-west stance by their followers!

 

What might have an impact could be if anonymous hacked the name list of donors who fund these terrorists as well as the location of sleeper cells and their western recruiters. 

[Tsuga]

No, because:

 

1. Everybody gets due process. Everybody. And yes I'm opposed to Guantanamo not to mention a bazillion other injustices that violate due process.

 

2. Anonymous is not trained in counter-terrorism, in counter-insurgency, or in cyber-war, no matter whom they fancy themselves. They have no idea what the %&$# they are doing. There may be consequences for what they do.

 

3. I don't support extra-legal revenge or punishment because as bad as it is in the US and even Europe it's still a democracy. Anonymous is a mob. I do NOT support mob justice because they are accountable to nobody.

 

If the FBI or CIA or other governments are looking for information then they may choose to use that information but ultimately there are little bureaucrats like me--except I do my little bureaucratic nonsense in education, not in counter-terrorism, of course--who are crossing "t"s and dotting "i"s to make sure that the rules are followed to protect human rights and also to ensure that in the long run, the effort isn't counter productive.

[Chess Dad]

I voted yes.  The more we disrupt ISIS, the better.

 

ISIS needs to be destroyed.  I would not stop with that.  I would bomb their oil fields attacking their income sources.  France bombed their suspected training camps but the west should attack them until they are wiped out.  imho.

 

:patriot:

[umsami]

Follow up.... do you think that the FBI and CIA is able to attract hackers and others who are as good as those who exist in the for profit sector and who may volunteer for anonymous?  

[regentrude]

Follow up.... do you think that the FBI and CIA is able to attract hackers and others who are as good as those who exist in the for profit sector and who may volunteer for anonymous?  

 

Yes. There are great jobs to be had for computer specialists, and there are bright people who are interested in working for these agencies.

 

[MBM]

The US employs hackers but the general public will not be informed about their work anytime soon.

[idnib]

I like the idea but I think the U.S. government sets up honeypot accounts and web sites to attract ISIS sympathizers and there's no way Anonymous can tell the difference. This link shows the kind of data they have released (scroll down for accounts)  and I don't see how they could tell. OTOH, I would not be surprised if some governments agree with the assistance but cannot say it.

[umsami]

The US employs hackers but the general public will not be informed about their work anytime soon.

 

 

Yes. There are great jobs to be had for computer specialists, and there are bright people who are interested in working for these agencies.

 

I'm sure we employ hackers...without a doubt.  I also would not be surprised if we sometimes pull a House of Cards and give people a choice of help us or go to jail.  But do we pay enough to attract the really talented folks?  Also, do we really have enough? I wonder if there's any effort to establish a volunteer type group or deputize (for lack of a better word) people who would like to help in things like this.... or help prevent cyber  attacks against US interests?

[Tsuga]

Follow up.... do you think that the FBI and CIA is able to attract hackers and others who are as good as those who exist in the for profit sector and who may volunteer for anonymous?  

 

I think the CIA and FBI do not attract hackers like Anonymous because:

 

1. Anonymous is like 1% real and 99% hangers-on bullsh*tting about being Anonymous. And the real one probably has a real job making 3X what government bureaucrats make even at the top. So, no, because there aren't that many effective real hackers and most of them are already making more. And no, people don't remain saints forever. I've given my life to education and the non-profit and government sector and I'm not halfway through and I'm leaving and I'm one of the last to leave. Good luck with that, America. You treat us (me, my ex-H who joined the military, my cousins, aunts, uncles) like crap, well, everyone with self-respect is going to leave.

 

2. Even imagining that the hanger-on people could be turned into real hackers, it's fun if you think you have power. It's not fun if you think someone's making you do it and that they're paying someone else more than you to do less which is how most real government jobs feel. So it sucks the fun right out of it.

 

3. The real reason government is not that flexible is that we don't want government to be that flexible. You know how people don't want tyranny? Well, how can we then give them the power to crush people quickly and nimbly? The CIA gets reamed by human rights activists on a regular basis, and even they have far more limitations than people who are protected by money and lawyers and plausible deniability like Anonymous. They have to follow rules. It's fun when it's no rules. It's not fun when you spend 70% of your day ensuring you are compliant with the Constitution and so on, you know? And a lot of work is doing that, as it should be.

 

Whatever the government can do to the Daesh before they are prosecuted in a court of law, they can do to us before we are prosecuted in a court of law. Think about that.

 

4. That said, yes, there are computer and intelligence agents working online and they actually know quite a bit about what is going on. I'm willing to bet this one went through in France without warning precisely because they were communicating in French, and possibly offline. They may have been operating in cells not at all online. That would be my guess, actually. Most of the other attacks have been predicted because we do have people in online intelligence, though not as many as Anonymous and very possibly not as many at the top.

 

5. Finally... consider this... Anonymous may be in part comprised of people who own the platforms that these people are meeting on. That is a risk only someone in the private sector can take because it's not entrapment for them. If that is the case, offering to out them may look heroic but in fact is incredibly cowardly: they claim they are helping but really, they are not even doing what they need to do to fulfill their minimum civic duty which is to turn over the entire platform.

 

Boom. They don't look so heroic now, do they?

[Forget-Me-Not]

I'm nervous about vigilantism in general.  So while there's a part of me that likes the idea and hopes they stick it to Daesh, I also think it could spiral out of control really fast. 

[Melissa in Australia]

I voted other, because I think it is vigilantism, which isn't a good thing at all for society,  but..... there is always the but.

[Ausmumof3]

Hacking and deleting twitter stuff is ok. It helps minimise recruitment or whatever. I don't know about publishing a list of names though. I also hope they don't get themselves in a messy situation.

 

To me pulling down the twitter accounts is like pulling down posters someone stuck up around town when you don't like the message.

[Slache]

I'm also opposed to vigilantism, and I absolutely despise Anonymous, but terrorists don't have rights. Hacking twitter was wrong, but the media was correct in calling them out on not doing it themselves when they're so quick to suspend accounts that don't line up with their ideology. ISIS gets no protection. They have no rights. I don't care if they hurt, bleed, and die, as long as we're sure it's them. I don't care if it's Anonymous, Donald Trump, or the KKK that takes them down. They just need to be stopped.

[momacacia]

Is Anonymous that same group that busted Ashley Madison? Just curious.

[Slache]

Is Anonymous that same group that busted Ashley Madison? Just curious.

Yes.

[MBM]

I'm sure we employ hackers...without a doubt.  I also would not be surprised if we sometimes pull a House of Cards and give people a choice of help us or go to jail.  But do we pay enough to attract the really talented folks?  Also, do we really have enough? I wonder if there's any effort to establish a volunteer type group or deputize (for lack of a better word) people who would like to help in things like this.... or help prevent cyber  attacks against US interests?

 

The US does hire some hackers who got caught and gives them deals that keep them out of jail. (Hacking into a computer is a felony.)

 

The US probably also makes note of who wins competitions like the USA Computing Olympiads as well as other computing contests throughout the world. For example, the USA Mathematical Talent Search is partly funded by the National Security Agency. They like to know who these kids are. Students at universities known for computer programming are also recruited. Students who apply for SMART or Aspire scholarships might also work in these jobs in exchange for the scholarship.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/01/nsa-recruitment-college-campuses-student-privacy

 

For many, the appeal is not just money but something else, such as feeling like they're contributing something meaningful or a moral obligation. The private sector pays well, too, and that is a problem for government agencies like the NSA.

 

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/31/395829446/after-snowden-the-nsa-faces-recruitment-challenge

 

Also, when government employees work on these kinds of assignments, they often know *just enough* and not more. IOW, they don't always know how their work fits into the bigger picture because they don't always know what the bigger picture is.

 

I'm a bit cynical about this latest announcement from Anonymous. Part of me wonders if they are working with the government already. The government would probably not announce who the recruiters are for legal reasons but if a rogue group did, that might be seen as acceptable. I don't know, though. That is just my tin foil hat theory. :)

[MercyA]

No, because:

 

1. Everybody gets due process. Everybody. And yes I'm opposed to Guantanamo not to mention a bazillion other injustices that violate due process.

 

:iagree:  :iagree:  :iagree:

[Katy]

I'm fine with it.  Also completely fine with hacking Ashley Madison.  People shouldn't do things they are ashamed of.

[mathnerd]

OP, I had to come back and post about an article I read sometime back about "North Korean Watchers" who spend their free time watching what goes on in that closed country and trying to gain intelligence:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/north-korea-watchers-satellites

 

I am pretty sure that there are plenty of people like him watching ISIS too.

 

[idnib]

The US probably also makes note of who wins competitions like the USA Computing Olympiads as well as other computing contests throughout the world. For example, the USA Mathematical Talent Search is partly funded by the National Security Agency. They like to know who these kids are. Students at universities known for computer programming are also recruited. Students who apply for SMART or Aspire scholarships might also work in these jobs in exchange for the scholarship.

 

 

(Language warning)

[Guest]

Many of the best computer specialists are contract, not salary. Yes, they can get the talent. The best I personally know wouldn't touch groups like Anon. with a ten foot pole. They do, however, regularly ban morons who don't read the FAQs off their listservs :D

[GinaPagnato]

I'm fine with it.  Also completely fine with hacking Ashley Madison.  People shouldn't do things they are ashamed of.

 

:iagree:

 

Bust them all wide open, particularly monstrously evil terrorists who get off on gunning down unarmed civilians. Due process for those pigs? Nopes.

[Audrey]

You can go quite far in dismantling armies by eliminating their communication.  I'm for any means of stopping killers that doesn't require other people to become killers.