OBL’s Cyber Jihadis & their Virtual Virgins (Updated)
[Guest post by DRJ]
Osama bin Laden may be soliciting online jihadists:
“In a special Internet announcement in Arabic, picked up DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources, Osama bin Laden’s followers announced Monday, Oct. 29, the launching of Electronic Jihad. On Sunday, Nov. 11, al Qaeda’s electronic experts will start attacking Western, Jewish, Israeli, Muslim apostate and Shiite Web sites. On Day One, they will test their skills against 15 targeted sites expand the operation from day to day thereafter until hundreds of thousands of Islamist hackers are in action against untold numbers of anti-Muslim sites.
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that, shortly after the first announcement, some of al Qaeda’s own Web sites went blank, apparently crashed by the American intelligence computer experts tracking them. The next day, Oct. 30, they were up again, claiming their Islamic fire walls were proof against infidel assault. They also boasted an impenetrable e-mail network for volunteers wishing to join up with the cyber jihad to contact and receive instructions undetected by the security agencies in their respective countries.
Our sources say the instructions come in simple language and are organized in sections according to target. They offer would-be martyrs, who for one reason or another are unable to fight in the field, to fulfill their jihad obligations on the Net. These virtual martyrs are assured of the same thrill and sense of elation as a jihadi on the “battlefield.”
In effect, say DEBKAfile’s counter-terror experts, al Qaeda is retaliating against Western intelligence agencies’ tactics, which detect new terrorist sites and zap them as soon as they appear. Until now, the jihadists kept dodging the assault by throwing up dozens of new sites simultaneously. This kept the trackers busy and ensured that some of the sites survived, while empty pages were promptly replaced. But as al Qaeda’s cyber wizards got better at keeping its presence on the Net for longer periods, so too did Western counter-attackers at knocking them down. Now Bin Laden’s cyber legions are fighting back. The electronic war they have declared could cause considerable trouble on the world’s Internet.”
Unfortunately for OBL’s cyber jihadis, their 72 virgins are probably online, too.
— DRJ
Update: No wonder al Qaeda is looking for cyber jihadis. Via the Instapundit, Michael Yon reports that influential Iraqis are saying Al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated:
“Sheik Omar said that al Qaeda had been “defeated mentally, and therefore is defeated physically,” referring to how clear it has become that the terrorist group’s tactics have backfired. Operatives who could once disappear back into the crowd after committing an increasingly atrocious attack no longer find safe haven among the Iraqis who live in the southern part of Baghdad. They are being hunted down and killed. Or, if they are lucky, captured by Americans.“
But don’t they know we waterboard?
— DRJ
Hey, why not spam OBL’s people with the porn spam we already get plagued with. Aren’t OBL’s followers so strict that if they see a naked woman that isn’t their wife that they are supposed to kill themselves?
DRJ, do you get these “tips” from a fellow that goes by “GD”?
PCD (b47ba5) — 11/1/2007 @ 11:43 amI don’t care how ‘leet the hacker is, if you drop a 250-lb bomb on his server, he’s goin’ down.
mojo (8096f2) — 11/1/2007 @ 11:46 amIt may sound a little simplistic but one of the best ways we can help deter them is to keep our own systems loaded with up to date antivirus and anti-spyware programs. Sixty bucks or so a year to protect one’s computer is a pretty low cost. We have been diligent about this and in the 10 years we’ve had computers we’ve not had any crash due to viruses or malware.
So many computers are infected now that massive “botnets” are available for use by hackers. With these they are able to conduct large scale denial of service attacks at specific targets. People whose computer is part of the botnet have no idea their system is being used. This also deters the many criminal enterprises that have stolen billions to date through identity theft and extortion.
Voice of Reason (10af7e) — 11/1/2007 @ 11:46 amIt doesn’t sound simplistic to me, VOR. You think we’ll ever see Norton & McAfee selling “I support the war” bumper stickers?
DRJ (5c60fb) — 11/1/2007 @ 11:54 amDRJ,
Voice of Reason (10af7e) — 11/1/2007 @ 12:06 pmLOL! Probably not.
The ultimate ‘Denial Of Service’ attack… 🙂
Scott Jacobs (425810) — 11/1/2007 @ 12:49 pmScott,
Voice of Reason (10af7e) — 11/1/2007 @ 12:59 pmThat is true but the problem is how to accurately trace them and what to do if the server is in the country of an ally.
gimme a joystick and a login, and I’ll use the preditor myself. total deniablity… 🙂
Scott Jacobs (425810) — 11/1/2007 @ 1:10 pmFrom what I’ve seen of computer geeks, there are a lot more than 72 virgins online, and they’re all male.
Steverino (db5c07) — 11/1/2007 @ 1:34 pmHundreds of thousands of cyber-jihadis, right. I’d imagine less than 2% of Al-Quaeda symps even know what LINUX is.
Michael Yon reports that influential Iraqis are saying Al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated
Sweet. Time to withdraw, then, no?
Moops (444e9b) — 11/1/2007 @ 1:34 pmDefining down martyrdom, Osama? I’m sure that’s sacrilegious or something.
Why?
chaos (9c54c6) — 11/1/2007 @ 3:20 pmAny news on what methods they plan to employ?
(Calling the boyfriend about my site’s backup system now!)
Amy Alkon (262cdf) — 11/1/2007 @ 3:28 pmVOR #7…
Another Drew (8018ee) — 11/2/2007 @ 7:46 pm“…if the server is in the country of an ally.”
You know of course, that those pesky “natural gas” explosions happen at the darndest times and places.
Another Drew,
Sorry. I’m not into the Tom Clancy plots. The problem with the computers is that a skilled hacker can use YOUR computer to broadcast out of.
voiceofreason (86ae15) — 11/2/2007 @ 7:57 pmStill want the natural gas explosion?