Major hacktivist groups have collaborated in exposing ISIS twitter accounts. Ctrlsec, GhostSec and the famous Anonymous hacktivist groups have conducted a joint campaign to identify, expose and report ISIS twitter accounts. Their efforts paid off when the three hacktivist groups published over 9,200 twitter accounts linked to ISIS, its fighters and its sympathizers.
Members of the Hacktivist groups also reported the accounts to Twitter, and the company responded by suspending most of the accounts. The groups are also calling on the members of the public to report the accounts to Twitter so that they can be suspended.
This cyber operation stands out for its seamless coordination that enabled such a colossal undertaking to be conducted effectively.
Various hactivist groups have declared a cyber-war on the internet-savvy Islamic State and its affiliates. Nonetheless, the present cyber war has significantly dented the online visibility of ISIS besides denying it channels for recruitment and dissemination of takfiri ideology.
The alliance of hacker groups presents a unique challenge to jihadi cyber operations as the collective efforts of such an alliance can disrupt the cyber infrastructure of militant Islamist groups.
Anonymous launched #OpISIS campaign early this year, and the campaign has disabled over a thousand ISIS-affiliated websites, VPN connections and email accounts.
Twitter currently serves as the pillar of the cyber caliphate social media platform, and its ineffective and slow response to reported abuses of its microblogging platform has allowed ISIS to remain visible on social media.
