The hacker group Anonymous released the biggest list of social media accounts affiliated with the Islamic State, in an unprecedented collaborative effort with two other hacking groups, GhostSec and Ctrlsec.
The groups released 9,200 Twitter account names online in an attempt to persuade Twitter to take the accounts down and to raise awareness of the terrorist organization’s growing social media presence, the International Business Times reported Tuesday.
One user associated with the movement told The International Business Times that the team effort was unprecedented.
“This is historic amongst the digital world as it’s the first time these groups have come together for something this large,” the user said.
“Usually they are very closed off and not willing to work outside of their circles but this has become so large of a problem they’re willing to form an alliance for what is seen as a greater good.
“The outcome of hundreds of hackers across all three major groups is the largest compiled and verified list ever to be released to the public.”
The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS and ISIL, is considered one of the most tech- and social media-savvy terrorist organizations in history, relying heavily on Twitter to distribute propaganda and recruit new followers.
Some of the accounts listed by the hacking groups have already been taken down, The Hill reported.
The dump is the latest in a series of attacks by Anonymous in an ongoing Twitter war between the two sides.
Earlier last month, the group took credit for shutting down nearly 800 Twitter accounts, 12 Facebook pages, and over 50 email addresses linked to the Islamic State.
Anonymous declared a cyberwar against the digital jihadis in January following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Paris, including killing of 12 people at the offices of the French Satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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