More on this story. "Al-Qaeda websites 'hit by Western cyber attacks,'" from the Telegraph, October 22:
Three al-Qaeda propaganda websites have closed down after reportedly coming under cyber-attack from Western intelligence agencies.And you know, al-Fajr is always open and honest, especially with infidels.
The al-Ekhlas, al-Buraq and al-Firdaws websites, all linked to al-Fajr the propaganda wing of al-Qaeda, have been out of action since September this year, but al-Fajr denied the sites had "fallen into the hands of the enemy".
The websites were due to broadcast videos celebrating the September 11 attacks, but have blamed technical problems for their silence, the Guardian reports.The sites, which users access with a password, are closely monitored by intelligence agencies and academics studying al-Qaeda movements.
Suspicions of a deliberate campaign of disruption have been fuelled by the fact that a fourth website, al-Hesbah, continues to operate.
Several experts suggest al-Hesbah may be being used by Saudi intelligence to monitor and entrap jihadi militants.
The sites routinely post video clips of "martyrdom operations", such as suicide bombings in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, plus statements purportedly from Osama bin Laden and his Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Joint Anglo-US cyber-attacks have been rumoured but neither government will confirm involvement. UK security officials have spoken of an "aggressive" new effort to counter al-Qaida internet propaganda.
William McCants, a consultant at West Point military academy, New York, who runs the Jihadica.com website said: "I think it's probably being orchestrated by several governments and it would have to be on the black operations [illegal but deniable] side," McCants said.
"Whoever is doing this knows what they are doing. They are being surgically precise."
"I think the Americans are behind this," said Egyptian security analyst Dia Rashwan. "I believe there has been a decision by the US to close down these internet forums as part of their strategy of defeating al-Qaida and to stop it getting attention in the Arab world."
"I think the Americans are behind this," said Egyptian security analyst Dia Rashwan. "I believe there has been a decision by the US to close down these internet forums as part of their strategy of defeating al-Qaida and to stop it getting attention in the Arab world."
I certainly hope so.
Huzzah! Good news!
Take that, you "superior" people. Too bad Allah is computer illiterate!
While I do believe the sites are down from deliberate cyber-attacks, I don't think it is from U.S., or any other Western, intelligence agencies. These sites are valuable sources of intelligence.
I think the perpetrator is a private citizen with a lot of computer savvy, and a major dislike for the jihadis.
"...closed down after reportedly coming under cyber-attack from Western intelligence agencies."
Whether it's our guys doing their thing or a private citizen, either way it's gratifying to see these guys being harassed. He who lives by the sword, etc...
i think whoever did this, ought to empty the bank accounts of a few saudi billionaires..
"Three al-Qaeda propaganda websites have closed down after reportedly coming under cyber-attack"
Excellent news - and I would love to pin a medal on the men/women responsible for this achievement. Cyber-warriors deserve some recognition too, but without blowing their cover, of course. Go team!
Heck ya, what Champ said!
I'd even make out an ad on the big gaming/hacking sites offering rewards for all those teenagers out there wanting to make a little extra scratch for the all the "latest & greatest."
I don't care who's doing this cyber-terrorism, but I will say this to allah's 'superior' people:
The internet is ours, Bi-otch!"
The Jawa's are always at work.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/cat_online_terrorism.php
Jihadists, how about showing some love for the lesser satans? China, Russia, Bulgaria? If you are going to get with the hope and change program/rhetoric in the US you are going to have to learn to give blue ribbons to everybody.
Lan astalem,
GoingThere
Well, as a result of this hacking, I'd certainly like to see some of them get a mass email spamming of advertisements for penis enlargement products, 25% off at Frederick's of Hollywood, colon cleansers that 'clear the body of 5-15 pounds of fecal material, which is trapped in the walls of the colon like paste or spackle', and offers to 'MEET BIG BLACK GIRLS!!!' (caps in original).
(I'm still not entirely sure what website I visited to get on any one of THOSE mailing lists...)
No sniggering. I'm not kidding.
It would be poetic justice, though ... just so they can suffer along with the rest of us. LOL
Lori B., you just described my Inbox when I check it each morning! (But you forgot the Viagra ads.)
Is it possible that the ones who built the sites in the first place are no longer alive to rebuild new ones?
That would be sweet-as the saying goes.
Rock n Roll ain't noise pollution mo foes.
remember who invented the internet. It was al-Gore, not al-Qaeda.
Suspicions of a deliberate campaign of disruption have been fuelled by the fact that a fourth website, al-Hesbah, continues to operate.
give me doughnuts,
Maybe al-Hesbah is giving them all the intelligence they need. If you divert all the traffic to one site, it becomes easier to trace.
What makes al-Hesbah different?
/sarc on
Then again, maybe al-Hesbah shut the others down for purely commercial interests!
/sarc off
Oh no, the infidels are fighting back.
boneshack says,
Many on this planet tend to think the Internet is somehow a "global achievement" and always forget that it is the USA's invention and one that the USA fortunately still controls.
If the UN had its way though...
So, resistance isn't futile -- it is IMPERATIVE.
Maybe they spent too much time on the kiddie porn sites. I read somewhere that those are "booby-trapped" to help catch perps.
"I think the Americans are behind this,
Me too...
God bless America and Americans...Without Americans, where would America be today...?
From where on earth do they get their broadband - which they'd need to pull off any web hosting. And don't tell me that web hosting companies in the West would agree to host sites for them.
Pwned.
"All your Internet are belong to us."
LOL
I need some help. A few days ago I became involved in a discussion about the DVD "Obsession" that was sent out and this site seems to be overwhelmingly populated by the politically correct people over whelmed by Islamophilia, the site is: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/10/08/global-obsession-propaganda-film-incites-anger-toward-republicans/#comments
Drewbenstein - hysterical.
And the lesson is, "pull the plug". Literally.