Anonymous and Security Agencies: Bedfellows for Good Against ISIS?

For centuries, there has been conflict over the freedom of expression. Sovereigns, tyrants, and governments alike have sought to deny individuals the right to express their thoughts, beliefs and political affiliations. Such rights and their expression continue to be highly contested not least in terms of the current global terrorist threat. Simply put one man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. 

This conflict between the rights of freedom of speech and expression and extremism has resulted in the ‘hacktivist’ group Anonymous declaring an internet-mediated ‘war’ against ISIS for seeking to limit the freedom of expression of others – a belief that sits at the very heart of the on-line community.

This web-enabled conflict has seen Anonymous research and then publish the background and links of the leader of ISIS, to them attacking ISIS web-sites. We have now seen them identify a large number of social media sites operated by ISIS, as part of #OpISIS, no doubt in the expectation that companies such as Twitter would remove them, thereby limiting ISIS’s ability to publicise and promote their terrorist activities.

To see the extent of this on-line conflict is noteworthy not least because of the seeming willingness of Anonymous to seek the support and engagement of agencies and corporations who they have in the past been so willing to expose and embarrass, not least over issues such as their lax cyber-security.

How such corporations and agencies respond to having this new ally in the conflict with ISIS has yet to be fully seen but in the internet war over the freedom of expression we may yet find Anonymous attracting some rather strange bedfellows.

 Dr Martin Wright

Academic Director at Global Institute of Cyber, Intelligence & Security (GICIS)