November 24, 2014 ·
Egyptian Cyber Army: The Hacker Group Attacking ISIS Propaganda Online
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, has an article this morning (Nov. 24, 2014) on the website — Mashable — noting that “there is a new hacking group in cyber space; and, it’s going after the Islamic State’s online propaganda.” “Last week,” he writes, “less than 24 hours after ISIS social media accounts posted a threatening message from the group’s leader, the audio recording was replaced with a song; and, it’s transcript with a logo resembling that of the Egyptian military — accompanied by a writing in Arabic that read, “Egyptian Cyber Army.”
Mr. Franceschi-Bicchierai asserts that “The Egyptian Cyber Army is clearly inspired by the infamous Syrian hacktivist group; but, a spokesman told Mashable that the group’s members are all Egyptians — some civilians, some with a military, or police background — all sympathizers of the Egyptian government, led by former Commander-In-Chief, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.”
“The goal of the group,” Mr. Franceschi-Bicchierai writes, “is to defend al-Sisi’s government against any opponent, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, or ISIS,” according to the group — “as well as experts who have been tracking the new hacker group.” “With its anti-ISIS stance, the group seems to enjoy a motley crew of hacktivists who are trying to counter the terrorists group’s influence on the Internet.”
Baghdadi “was delivering a message to all extremists…all over the Middle East, and my country that you have to use your weapons in the faces of the government; and, our people — so, we took it down and replaced it with a very popular song,” the spokesman from the Egyptian Cyber Army — who claimed to be a 37yr. old former Cairo police officer named Khaled Abubakr (he declined to provided any identity) told Mashable, “All the people instead of hearing this pig — heard our song and laughed.”
“Experts who have been tracking the group confirmed to Mashable that the group’s actions suggest that they are pro-government; and, anti-ISIS; but, it’s unclear who is really behind the group, and whether they’re sanctioned by the Egyptian government,” or are ‘cyber patriots,’ doing this on their own. “We are an idea, not only a team,” Abubakr said, — explaining that the group is a loose-knit collective. When we started the team, we accepted that all the people can work in screwing the Brotherhood, or ISIS, or any radical Islamic party.”
Mr. Franceschi-Bicchierai notes that “the group claims to have infiltrated top Islamic State web forums,” according to Laith Alkhouri, a researcher with FlashPoint Partners, a company that tracks online jihadists; but, they have also claimed to have hit American pro-democracy websites like the Open Society Foundation, and the U.S. Middle East Peace Partnership Initiative. In March they also claimed to have jammed the signal of a popular Egyptian satirical show, though Abubakr now admits his group was not responsible,” for the hack.
Despite their claims, “there’s no proof, or solid evidence” of their hacks,” according to Remy Raoof, an Egyptian technologist and human rights advocate. “I have never taken them seriously,” he told Mashable. “Not everyone agrees though,” Mr. Franceschi-Bicchierai notes. “The group is focused on disrupting the flow of information from al-Sisi’s opponents; but, also on trying to comprise and expose anonymous online activists — to identify them and facilitate their arrest,” according to Helmi Noman, a researcher at the Berkman Center at Harvard University; and, the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. “They should be taken seriously because of the potential [harm] their attacks can cause, even if they use low level [cyber] skills such as phishing,” he told Mashable.
Let’s hope they succeed. V/R, RCP
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