True.my initial download was the UK hacked version.well done!

 

B

 

 

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/06/stop-the-presses-spooks-hacked-al-qa
ida-online-mag

 


Stop the Presses! Spooks Hacked al-Qaida Online Mag


*       By Adam Rawnsley
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/author/adamrawnsley/>
<mailto:[email protected]> Email Author
*        <http://www.twitter.com/arawnsley>
http://www.wired.com/about/wp-content/gallery/global/twitter16x16.gif
*       June 1, 2011  |  
*       1:56 pm  |  
*       Categories: Info War
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/category/info-war/>  
*        
*       Follow @arawnsley

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2010/07/cover.pngJust because
you're a paranoid terror wannabe doesn't mean they aren't watching you - and
hacking your jihadi online fanzine. The Washington Post
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/list-of-cyber-weapons-developed-by-p
entagon-to-streamline-computer-warfare/2011/05/31/AGSublFH_story_1.html>
reports that British intelligence vandalized the debut issue of
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/al-qaeda-goes-conde-nast-with-new-l
ifestyle-mag-in-english/> Inspire magazine after the U.S. reportedly turned
down a similar plan.

Inspire billed itself
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-30/al-qaeda-inspire-
anwar-awlakis-new-magazine-for-terrorists/>  as "the first magazine issued
by al-Qaida in the English language" when it first launched in June of last
year. It urged lone wolf terrorists to take up arms with  mixture of new and
recycled al-Qaida propaganda. It's accessibility in English made it a splash
in the Western press. With ludicrous articles like "Make a bomb in the
kitchen of your mom," some thought it was a fake.

But among its target audience, it caused a panic. When downloaded from
online file hosting services, the pdf's first few pages looked just fine.
The rest of it, however, was filled with a continuing stream of gibberish
characters. Online jihadis had a mini-freakout
<http://publicintelligence.net/media-uncritical-of-al-qaeda-magazine-story/>
. Al-Qaida fanboys spread rumors that Inspire contained a virus; jihadi
forum administrators warned users to steer clear.

The Post reports that the Brits were responsible for turning Inspire into a
junior jumble all along. They took up the idea of hacking the magazine while
American officials debated similar action, according to the Post. Cyber
Command chief Lt. General Keith Alexander argued the mag was a danger to
troops and in need of a takedown. The CIA prevailed, arguing that an attack
would expose their tradecraft and cut off a source of intelligence info.

Jihadi forums and media have been the subject of all kinds of cyber trickery
over the years. Some of it can be directly attributed to governments. The
source of other incidents is less clear. American, Saudi
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR201003180
5464.html>  and Dutch <http://www.nisnews.nl/public/100810_2.htm>
authorities have set up honey trap jihadi sites to collect intelligence on
potential terrorists. The Taliban
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/taliban-webmaster-weve-been-hacked/
> 's website has been hacked and defaced with images of the insurgent
group's most brutal crimes. Elite jihadi forums have been attacked
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/09/al-qaedas-once/> . And the password
for a video featuring Osama Bin Laden
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/20/us-qaeda-video-idUSLK129858200809
20>  was tampered with, delaying its release.

As the wrangling among U.S. officials illustrates, messing with jihad media
can be a tricky call. Unless spooks are willing to consistently disrupt the
releases, they risk losing an intelligence source in exchange for only a
temporary strike. Alternatively, occasional mischief
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/this-september-11th-will-terror-sit
es-get-hacked-again/>  against jihadis online  might actually be beneficial.
It could be scaring users just enough to stop them from planning operations,
but not enough to push them completely into hiding.

A corrected first issue of Inspire eventually came out and since then AQAP's
production arm has been able to put out four more issues - in addition to
issues of its Arabic language Sada al-Malahim - without similar disruptions.
Either the Brits have lost interest in messing around with Inspire or
concluded it's too difficult to do on a regular basis.

 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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