ISIS' New 'Help Desk' Offers Advice On Encryption And How To Hide From Governments

ISIS' Helpdesk Now Assists Evildoers Hiding From Governments

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has published a new report which details the worrying ease with which ISIS fighters are able to get support on hiding themselves online.

Revealed exclusively to US Political site The Hill, the MEMRI report revealed that ISIS' 'helpdesk', which offers technical advice on social media use and encryption, had been escalated in its efficiency by an 'alarming' amount.

“Jihadis have long sought technical information, which has been confined in the past to various password-protected jihadi forums,” says the report. “However, the freedom and ease by which they can now obtain that information is alarming, especially when such information is shared over private and secure channels.”

According to MEMRI the 'helpdesk' known as the Electronic Horizon Foundation (EHF) now uses a mixture of social media and encrypted messaging services like Telegram to impart information to its followers.

The encrypted messaging app Telegram allows people to message one another with complete secrecy.

This can include something as simple as best practices for social media use to actually avoiding detection by government agencies online.

To try and combat the increasingly tech-savvy ISIS, hacker collective Anonymous has already started publishing tutorials on how to offensively attack the organisation online.

The group even published a 'How To' guide on launching attacks against websites, Twitter accounts and more.

According to the International Business Times, their instructions included a "NoobGuide" for those who want to learn how to hack, a "Reporter" guide explaining the process of setting up bot accounts as well as a Searcher" to find ISIS websites.

"Instead of sitting idle in the [chat] channel or lurking around and doing nothing, you can benefit greatly from the different tools and guides that have been provided to you," a member of Anonymous reportedly wrote.

"Your contribution means a lot and we encourage you to partake in all of the Op's activities if you can, the more the merrier."

Militants have however, rubbished Anonymous' threats calling them "idiots" via an encrypted messenger app called Telegram.

Close

What's Hot