Anonymous renegade hacktivists frustrate intelligence services as much as ISIS (vid)

Anonymous, in a series of messages on Twitter and YouTube feature warnings of cyberattacks against ISIS in retaliation for the November 13 terrorist attacks. By Wednesday, Anonymous gave a battle list of its victory with 20,000 Twitter accounts and more taken offline. While Anonymous was happily counting its win, bearing in mind that Twitter is used as a recruitment tool by ISIS, intelligence services were warning that caution should be exercised.

On Wednesday, US intelligence officials stressed the need for greater cooperation between the governemnt and tech companies which allow undetected communication.

Anonymous may wreak havoc to recruitment efforts, however the renegade hacktivist collective could end up scutting months of undercover investigative police work. If Anonymous shut down a terrorist web site that the government has already infiltrated, then it could put a block to valuable information being gathered.

So far in the Anonymous hacking wars –

Tweets claim to have taken down thousands of ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts in an international operation dubbed #OpParis.

ISIS responded by calling them “idiots” and issuing guidelines for ISIS followers to adhere to e.g. don’t talk to strangers online. Anonymous scoffed with calls for the world at large to join in the global hackathon where ISIS accounts are fair game. Until this moment, tens of thousands of ISIS online activities have been attacked.