The US will utilize tools normally reserved for attacks on states like Iran and North Korea
According to The New York Times, the military’s Cyber Command is working to disrupt the Islamic State’s ability to communicate with one another and potential recruits online. In doing so, it will utilize tools normally reserved for attacks on states like Iran and North Korea.
“We are dropping cyber bombs,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work told the Times. “We have never done that before.”
At a briefing last month, top military brass revealed that the US Cyber Command is hard at work disrupting ISIS’s communications networks. It’s an emerging war strategy in the Middle East, and it comes from a relatively new agency—Cyber Command was established in 2009.
General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in March said the most critical part of hacking ISIS networks is remaining undetected. “Most importantly, we don’t want the enemy to know when, where, and how we’re conducting cyber operations,” he said.
That’s the purpose of this operation, details of which remain scant. According to the Times, the government secured a series of “implants” in the militants’ networks. “Now, the plan is to imitate them or to alter their messages, with the aim of redirecting militants to areas more vulnerable to attack by American drones or local ground forces,” the Times said.
The report also suggested American operations could help officials disrupt electronic money transfers.
pcmag.com
