Tens of thousands of Twitter accounts that support ISIS (now called the Islamic State) went down thanks to a rogue hacker organization called the Ghost Security Group. The accounts would have probably gone unnoticed without the hacktivists' efforts.
Ghost Security Group consists of counterintelligence authorities and computer specialists. It's a volunteer organization that has been sending info to the FBI and other agencies through Michael Smith II, a Congressional terrorism adviser.
In June, the hacktivists sent screenshots to Smith about the Islamic State's plans to carry out an attack in Tunisia, and then in July, a Twitter account that hinted at the attack at a beach resort in the said location was spotted.
The group has been monitoring the Twitter account for some time, which only had a few followers. Most of its followers, however, were high-profile members of the Islamic State.
"Without a doubt, this group has saved lives. At least into the dozens. There are people working in the national security community in the United States, Europe, the Middle East ... who will never be credited with that," Smith tells CNNMoney.
Since Ghost Security started, it has taken down over 110,000 social media accounts along with 149 Islamic State propaganda websites and 6,000 propaganda videos.
Smith recounts how the group was able to trace two brothers in Saudi Arabia who were filming an execution in support of the Islamic State. The group was then able to hack the Twitter account that uploaded the footage and collect information of the device used, allowing U.S. authorities to pinpoint the brothers' location.
In a bid to take down more social media accounts, Ghost Security Group is broadcasting lists of Twitter accounts that are believed to be related to the Islamic State to let other users report them as well so that these will be suspended earlier.
"More accounts are being taken down. I do think the majority of the reporting is being done by groups like Anonymous and Ghost Security. But there are other initiatives, including the Counter Extremism Project and the Sawab Center, which are contributing to reporting efforts," J.M. Berger, an expert on the Islamic State at Brookings Institution, says.
Islamic State militants have moved to Telegram because of the pressure on Twitter, but the hacktivist group is already garnering data on the messaging app.
Photo: Jeff Turner | Flickr
