United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) Publishes Guide on Internet Encryption

A hacker from the pro-Islamic State (IS) “Kalachnikv E-security Team,” part of the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC), posted a guide about the benefits of using virtual private network (VPN) services to encrypt Internet usage and recommended particular services over others. A report from Flashpoint called Hacking for ISIS: The Emergent Cyber Threat Landscape, initially seen by ArsTechnica,  says that ISIS in April merged four independent pro-ISIS cyber teams into a single group called the United Cyber Caliphate. The group is made of the Sons Caliphate Army, the Caliphate Cyber Army, the Ghost Caliphate Section and Kalashnikov E-Security Team. These sound like rather scary organizations, but Flashpoint says they can’t do that much harm as they lack the expertise to conduct sophisticated digital assaults. “Until recently, our analysis of the group’s overall capabilities indicated that they were neither advanced nor did they demonstrate sophisticated targeting,” Flashpoint co-founder and Director of Research & Analysis for the Middle East and North Africa Laith Alkhouri said. “With the latest unification of multiple pro-ISIS cyber groups under one umbrella, there now appears to be a higher interest and willingness amongst ISIS supporters in coordinating and elevating cyber attacks against governments and companies.” The report reveals that British citizen Junaid Hussain was the leader of ISIS’s former Cyber Caliphate Army. Known as TriCK and part of a well-known black hat hackers group called TeaMp0isoN, Hussain joined ISIS in the summer of 2014. Since then, he has tried to recruit other colleagues into his team, but he hasn’t been very successful. What are the potential risks of this hacking threat to western high value targets? Share your comments with the Cloud and Cyber Security Center: http://cloudandcybersecurity.blogspot.com/