An anti-terrorist hacker has publicly revealed 97 websites used by the terrorist organization ISIS for recruitment and for spreading propaganda through articles, photos, and videos.
After ISIS terrorists killed 130 people and wounded roughly 350 more in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, hackers were spurred into action.
Soon after, the hacker collective Anonymous openly declared war on the online efforts of ISIS.
According to WauchulaGhost, the hacker who released the ISIS website list, “It will give everyone that is fighting Islamic State not only a chance to see what they (ISIS) really are, but a chance to attack and shut these sites down on their own.”
“There are many many individuals and groups waiting for this list,” WauchulaGhost said in an interview over Twitter.
“This is for all the innocent lives lost in the Paris Attacks,” he said, noting the #Prayers4Paris hashtag on Twitter.
Among the sites are 80 used for propaganda, 12 discussion forums, and 5 for technical services.
A note on the online post states, “The sites listed below are in one way or another affiliated with the Islamic State Terrorists Group,” and notes that if any of the sites remove “all ISIS content,” the site will be taken off the public list.
It also lists which of the sites are using services from the Silicon Valley-based tech firm CloudFlare, which protects websites from cyberattacks.
Of the websites exposed by WauchulaGhost, 36 of the 97 are using CloudFlare. While CloudFlare has a policy not to review content of websites using its service, a representative told the Epoch Times in a previous interview that it will cooperate with government take-down requests.
WauchulaGhost is part of Anonymous, and is a former member of the anti-terrorist hacker group GhostSec, which earlier this year helped stop a planned ISIS terrorist attack in Tunisia, and may have prevented an attack in New York City.
Doing this work isn’t easy either. WauchulaGhost has received two death threats since the Paris attacks, yet said, “Threats won’t stop me.”
He also explained why he and other hackers don’t just rely on the authorities to fight ISIS. Many agencies, he said, like to do things by the book—which often means monitoring discussions for data and intel, and making the occasional arrest.
The problem with ISIS members is that they aren’t normal criminals, he said. “We are dealing with terrorists that have proven they will do anything and kill anyone.”
He added, “There is no time to monitor, It’s time to act.”
