The online combat against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has taken a brand new turn over the weekend when a new group calling themselves the “Islamic State Hacking Division” has released a “hit list” which it declares to list the personal information of 100 members of the U.S. military.
The authenticity of the post of the personal information released could not be confirmed as of yet. A U.S. Defense Department official has informed the Reuters that they are still looking into the matter.
A U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson has released a statement which mentioned the NCIS is notifying the Navy and Marine personnel who have been affected by the post and added, “It is recommended that Marines and family members check their online/social footprint, ensuring privacy settings are adjusted to limit the amount of available personnel information.”
The information which has been posted online was inclusive of names, photographs and alleged addresses of military personnel who had been a part of in the battle against the terrorist group as per the reports of New York Times. The alleged ISIS group has said that they were posting the information “so that our brothers in America can deal with you.”
The Western Officials have been able to recognize the digital savvy of ISIS which has employed the social media, especially Facebook to recruit extensively in the West and also to spread propaganda in support of its vicious campaign to institute what they call an “Islamic caliphate” in the Mideast.
This personal information regarding the U.S. military seems to be deriving from information that could be found in public records, basic online searches, news reports and on social media as reported by The New York Times.
The officials have not said or indicated that the information was hacked from government servers.
