Internet Terrorism Cleaner

On its latest app-of-choice, ISIS is constantly playing "whack-a-mole." When one ISIS-affiliated channel was shut down by the Telegram app on Wednesday, another would pop up. The channels that hadn't yet been suspended started linking to other ISIS-affiliated channels that were still active. This way, followers of blocked channels could easily find new channels to subscribe to. Western officials and counterterrorism experts are becoming increasingly worried about the encrypted communications the terrorist group ISIS (also known as the Islamic State) uses to evade authorities and disseminate its propaganda, including through apps like Telegram. "Terrorists are using encrypted communications and … very solid cryptography standards that haven't been broken yet," said David Kennedy, the CEO of TrustedSec, who has worked with the Marine Corps' cyber-warfare unit and the National Security Agency. "The terrorists are getting very smart on their ...

There is no consensus within IS over which encrypted applications to use, whether it be for migration or coordinating attacks. On July 1, five Islamic State fighters stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, ultimately claiming 28 lives in a 12-hour siege. Before IS (ISIS, or Daesh) officially released the claim, the group's 'Amaq News Agency released ongoing updates from inside the restaurant through its Telegram channel. The first message stated that IS "commandos" attacked the restaurant, which was "frequented by foreigners," and an update minutes later reported that over "20 people of different nationalities [were] killed." 'Amaq then increased the number of casualties to 24 with 40 wounded, and followed up with photos of the bloody scene inside the restaurant. It was clear that this direct, uninterrupted communication the attackers had with 'Amaq was facilitated by a smartphone app. Five days later,  ...