US Cyber Command Hacked ISIS

The US military claims to have "successfully" disrupted the online propaganda efforts of the Islamic State in a hacking operation dating back at least to 2016, according to declassified national security documents released on Jan 21st. Operation Inherent Resolve began in 2016 and it was aimed to combat ISIS and was physically lead by US military forces. 

But what was not publicised at the time was the cyberattacks on ISIS by the US military, Australia and other allies who launched what's been described as the largest offensive cyber operation in US military history. US government documents that have been made public recently show that while a US Cyber Command operation that disrupted ISIS computer networks was largely successful. However, there were significant shortcomings 

Documents obtained through FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests and made public recently reveal that while successful, the US Cyber Command's campaign to hack ISIS faced some issues, such as lacking the storage space to store all the information stolen from ISIS accounts. According to the recently released documents, Cyber Command was simply not prepared to handle the amount of data it had collected. Operators were found to be having trouble collecting data, interagency deconfliction issues, difficulty vetting targets, and, in at least one case, a close call with the operation being discovered by the adversary. 

The six heavily-redacted documents published by the National Security Archive at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, reveal the conclusions of a 120-day assessment US Cyber Command conducted after the completion of Operation Glowing Symphony.

The command did not have the capability to handle the terabytes of data that it collected, despite the fact that operation had planned to pull data once it had infiltrated ISIS-used servers and use it to further the mission.The newly released documents offer the most detailed assessment of the moves against ISIS by a joint task force created in 2016 by president Barack Obama. Carried out in November 2016, Operation Glowing Symphony was a classified offensive cyber operation executed by Joint Task Force Ares (JTF-Ares).

The operation's primary task was to disrupt ISIS' online presence and propaganda efforts, by hacking or hijacking online social media accounts, and taking down websites and servers used by the terrorist group to spread propaganda materials and recruit new members.

According to a 120-day post-mortem assessment of Operation Glowing Symphony, US Cyber Command did not anticipate the magnitude of the data they would eventually end up exfiltrating from compromised ISIS infrastructure. "The assessment reveals that a key challenge to exploitation was storage of the data itself, an indication of the operation's scope relative to USCYBERCOM's capacity at the time," said Michael Martelle, analyst for the National Security Archive. 

A recommendation included in the 120-day post-mortem assessment was that US Cyber Command's Capabilities Development Group (CDG) develop new data storage solutions for future operations. But data storage was just one of the technical and bureaucratic issues that JTF-Ares faced at the time. Other issues mentioned in the assessment include challenges in coordination with other coalition members and US government agencies, and a lengthy and overly complex process for vetting suspects, which made it difficult to engage time-sensitive targets.

National Security Archive:       ZDNet:       CyberScoop:       Channel News Asia:      Dark Net Diaries:     ABC News:

You Might Also Read:

European Police Launch Global Attack On Islamic State:

Islamic State Likely To Switch To Cyber Warfare:

UK 'biggest audience' In EU For Jihadist Web Content:

 

« Protecting Children In The Digital Age
Electric Grids Targeted For Cyber Attacks »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

TÜV SÜD Academy UK

TÜV SÜD Academy UK

TÜV SÜD offers expert-led cybersecurity training to help organisations safeguard their operations and data.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

Crest International

Crest International

Crest is focused on professionalizing the technical cyber security market whilst driving quality and standards of organizations that operate within it.

Cybertech

Cybertech

Cybertech Conference & Exhibition presents commercial problem solving strategies and solutions for the global cyber threat that meet the diverse challenges for a wide range of sectors.

Styra

Styra

Styra allows companies to secure cloud environments and applications, including those built on the popular Kubernetes open-source cloud platform.

PatrOwl

PatrOwl

Automate your SecOps with PatrOwl, and start defending your assets efficiently.

VariQ

VariQ

VariQ is a premier provider of Cybersecurity, Software Development and Cloud services to federal, state, and local government.

Dynics

Dynics

The Dynics ICS-Defender is an Industrial Control System Security Appliance for OT or OT/IT convergent environments.

iSPIRAL IT Solutions

iSPIRAL IT Solutions

iSPIRAL is a leading regulatory technology software provider delivering state-of-art AML, KYC, Risk and Compliance solutions.

ClearShark

ClearShark

Since 2001, ClearShark has been a go-to adviser in the U.S. Public Sector for creating customized and integrated solutions for the most secure of networks.

Serbus

Serbus

Serbus Secure is a fully managed suite of secure communication, enterprise mobility and mobile device security tools.

Cyber Proud

Cyber Proud

Cyber proud is leading a talent revolution to promote and create an inclusive skilled cyber workforce.

Mobb

Mobb

Mobb's AI-powered technology automates vulnerability remediations to significantly reduce security backlogs and free developers to focus on innovation.

Kivera

Kivera

Kivera enforces your organisation governance and security policies across cloud deployments preventing misconfigurations turning into attack vectors.

Neosoft

Neosoft

Néosoft is an independent digital transformation consulting group with expertise in Consulting & Agility, Cybersecurity, Data, DevOps, Infrastructure & Cloud and Software Engineering.

Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3)

Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3)

HC3 was created by the US Department of Health and Human Services to aid in the protection of vital, controlled, healthcare-related information.

PrimeSSL

PrimeSSL

PrimeSSL, a leading Certificate Authority (CA) backed by the trusted Sectigo Root, delivers affordable and user-friendly SSL/TLS certificate solutions.

Aryon Security

Aryon Security

Aryon Security is redefining cloud security with the ability to enforce cloud strategy with confidence, enabling organizations to prevent risks before they emerge.