Anonymous has begun another campaign to purge the internet of what it deems “pro-Islamic State” websites and social media accounts, according to the news outlet RT. The group responsible for carrying out the campaign, dubbed “#OpISIS”, is called GhostSec. According to the group’s post, targeted websites include those that are frequently used by the Islamic State to transmit propaganda for recruitment purposes, and those that are used as a means of communications and intelligence gathering. RT reported that the group claims to have “destroyed” 85 websites, “terminated” 25,000 Twitter accounts, and attacked 233 websites. SC Magazine also reported that the group is planning to launch attacks against hundreds of ISIS sites in the coming days, mainly using DDoS attacks.
In addition to revealing and shutting down thousands of these websites, the group has also published a list of web hosts that house these websites, reported the International Business Times ( “IBT”). Google, Yahoo!, GoDaddy and CloudFlare were all included in the list, but the group claims that CloudFlare is “by far the largest offender,” IBT reported. Unlike the others, however, CloudFlare made the conscious decision to continue to allow these types of websites to operate, asserting that blocking the sites under the instruction of Anonymous would mean submitting to “mob rule,” the article continued. According to IBT, CloudFlare does not actually host websites, instead it provides services that protect websites from malicious attacks making it more difficult for groups like Anonymous to take down sites, although not impossible. Speaking with IBT, CloudFlare’s CEO, Matthew Prince, explained that if companies began censoring websites it would result in a system mirroring China’s internet control.
Mr. Prince’s argument is sound, especially because the identities and motives of those who make these determinations are unknown. Although the group announced that it targets websites that are used by the Islamic State to transmit propaganda, and those used for communications and intelligence gathering purposes, the actual standards used to make these determinations are relatively unknown. GhostSec accused CloudFlare of failing to eliminate such sites, claiming that the company is protecting these sites for profit, according to SC Magazine. In addition to placing financial a burden on these companies, however, censorship in this manner may have a chilling effect on speech online.
CloudFlare is not alone in criticizing Anonymous’s latest anti-terror campaign. According to RT, security professionals have bashed the group, claiming that taking down these websites prevent them from gathering important intelligence on the Islamic State’s activities. Anonymous, on the other hand, believe these sites are being used merely for propaganda and recruitment purposes, added RT. The group assert that the Islamic State does not use public websites to relay information concerning military and strategic activities, the article continued, so there really are no important intelligence uses for these sites.
The Islamic State and its followers are also not big fans of OpISIS. According to RT, Twitters co-founder has received death threats from IS sympathizers. Additionally, Jihadist groups linked to IS has threatened an attack similar to the 9/11 attacks against Twitter and the United States as a whole. The hashtag “#WeWillBurnUSAgain” was used on at least 15,000 Twitter accounts, reports RT.
In contrast, some companies, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, have chosen to act, diactivating websites that spread pro-Islamic State propaganda. For example, Twitter has taken down thousands of accounts found to have links to the Islamic State. In fact, according to RT, Twitter has taken down about 2,000 IS-linked account every week for the past several months. It looks like Twitter will have to continue patrolling its site though, as thousands of new accounts are registered to replace those taken down.
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