Pierluigi Paganini
June 16, 2016
ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al Adnani recently called for attacks on the West during Ramadan. Omar Mateen, the terrorist who killed 50 people and injured dozens more at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida reportedly called 911 to pledge allegiance to ISIS just prior to the attack.
In addition to the warning from Adnani and a few media organizations regarding attacks during Ramadan, the FBI also had reason to believe Matten posed a risk.
“In 2013, Mateen was the subject of an FBI investigation after co-workers reported him for possible ties to terrorism. Due to a lack of evidence after investigation and two interviews, the case was closed”, Townhall reports. “In 2014, Mateen was interviewed again for suspected ties to American suicide bomber Moner Mohammad Abusalha, who left the U.S. for Syria, came back, and then returned to the region where he detonated a truck full of explosives.”
Following the first day of Ramadan, and a few days later the beginning of the European Cup tournament, the Internet, including social media, has been flooded with threats against the West, including military installations, EURO 2016 and gay pride events.
Some of the threats have been issued by members of ISIS or the group’s supporters. But, many have been posted on social media by pro-ISIS hackers such as the Cyber Caliphate Army (CCA), Ghost Caliphate and United Cyber Caliphate (UCC).
Ghost Caliphate is rumored to have been started by infamous AnonGhost founder, the Mauritania Attacker. Last year, some members of AnonGhost announced their support for ISIS. Then, in early 2016 the CCA announced the partnership of the pro-ISIS members of AnonGhost and the CCA, calling the group Ghost Caliphate. It is also believed that the Mauritania Attacker is the impetus behind the surge in activity from the CCA.
A few days ago, Lion Back (formerly Lion Caliphate) posted, on his Facebook page, a link to a list of Israeli websites the UCC claims to have hacked. The list of site take downs were posted on JustPaste.It. The communication began with a warning to Israeli ally, the United States:
“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious and Most Merciful
A Message to America
We know all your movements
Your foundations
Your financial information
Your employees information
Your strong systems that u brag about turned out to be “fragile”
And what’s coming will prove which systems are standing, the Islamic State or your clumsy systems.
#SOON”
The CCA recently issued:
Additionally, a JustPaste.It link found on Lion Back’s Facebook page claims that, “thousands of [Twitter] accounts have been infiltrated” by various pro-ISIS hackers.
Sources – The Express
One of the more startling recent posts, found on Twitter by an #OpISIS member and reported to MI5 by Ghost Security, originated from @beastgame1233 on Twitter. This account, which has been suspended, repeatedly warned of attacks the user indicated will take place during EURO 2016. On June 4, he tweeted: “Brothers individual wolves do not forget the European Cup equipped chemical blow Eemiaoa decimate thousands of crusaders and heal our hearts and deter the rest of the brown crosses.” This tweet was linked to the actual bomb-making instructions published on a Google site. It begins with:
“Learn how to make a serious, severe packets blast
In the name of God the Merciful
(and developed the principles them all you can of power , including steeds) ratified the Almighty God is
important to let us in seriously
how to make a mine or an explosive device
how to make an explosive device very strong and effectiveness of the required material”
Later in the document, it is explained that in terms of capability, the bomb can destroy an armored personnel carrier, a convoy of military jeeps and could do a lot of damage to an infantry unit–crudely emphasizing that it would blow the soldiers to pieces.
There has also been a lot of chatter in terror supporting circles on Twitter regarding Alaska. In February 2015, a Restoring Liberty article authored by Joe Miller made the following statement:
“FBI Director James Comey said the agency has current investigations into homegrown radicals in every state.
‘Those people exist in every state… Until a few weeks ago there was 49 states. Alaska had none, which I couldn’t quite figure out. But Alaska has now joined the group so we have investigations of people in various stages of radicalizing in all 50 states,’ Comey said.”
In May 2016, GhostSec noticed an increase in jihadists and their followers talking about Alaska. In particular, Anchorage is discussed but spoken using a type of cryptic code language.
Other suspicious findings, found by GhostSec include tweets threatening an Ottoman-like takeover of France, a YouTube video which simulates an attack on a military base with US & ISIS flags shown in the background and a message to Berlin, warning the German city that it will be next.
So, what’s being done in the midst of all these threats?
UK’s Home Office has issued an alert warning of a “high threat from terrorism” at the EURO 2016. Moreover, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for all of Europe late last month. And, close to 100,000 French security officials will be monitoring stadiums and other areas during the tournament. The French government also published an English-language guide on how to protect oneself during a terror attack. The French government also launched a smartphone app that will alert users to possible terror attacks and provide them with information on how to stay safe:
“The app, called SAIP (Système d’alerte et d’information des populations), was developed as part of a pilot project following the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, according to the AFP. It will use geolocation to deliver information tailored to each user’s location, with alerts appearing less than 15 minutes after an incident is confirmed. Users will also be able to view alerts for up to eight different geographical areas, in case they want to check up on friends or family during an attack, and can share alerts directly to social media. The app will be available in French and English, and will be free to download on iOS and Android.”
It is important to remember that there is almost always threatening behavior online that precedes a terror attack. There are often threats right out in the open on social media. So, it is important for Internet users to report suspicious behavior that may be linked to terrorism. Any terror-related suspicious behavior can be reported at this link.
Written by: Sneacker
Author Bio: Sneacker is a writer who works in the information technology field. She is a member of GhostSec, a counterterrorism unit within the Anonymous collective, and participant in #OpISIS.
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(Security Affairs – ISIS, Terrorism, EURO 2016)
