Marines urge vigilance over IS hacker ‘hitlist’
Print Edition
The US Marine Corps yesterday urged “vigilance” after a group claiming to be Islamic State hackers published what they said were the names and addresses of 100 military personnel and urged supporters to kill them.
The warning came after a group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division posted information about members of the air force, army and navy, including photos and ranks, on the Internet, according to monitoring group SITE Intelligence.
The US Marine Corps said it was visiting all affected staff, and urged caution online.
“Vigilance and force protection considerations remain a priority for commanders and their personnel,” US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel John Caldwell said, adding that the threat remained “unverified.”
“It is recommended Marines and family members check their online/social footprint, ensuring privacy settings are adjusted to limit the amount of available personal information.”
The self-proclaimed IS Hacking Division claimed it took the information from government servers, databases and e-mails and called on its followers to mount attacks.
A defense source told The New York Times that most of the information was in fact available in public records and did not appear to have been hacked from government servers.
The IS Hacking Division said the 100 military staff had targeted the Islamic State group in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
“With the huge amount of data we have from various different servers and databases, we have decided to leak 100 addresses so that our brothers residing in America can deal with you,” the group wrote.
“Now we have made it easy for you by giving you addresses, all you need to do is take the final step, so what are you waiting for?”
NATO commander Philip Breedlove called the publication an attempt by IS to divert attention from military setbacks.
“What we have seen across the last several months is that every time they take a defeat on the battlefield, or every time they are under great pressure on the battlefield, they come out with kind of some big splash like this,” he said at a conference in Brussels.
“This caliphate, I think, is under great pressure and so they try to divert attention from what is happening on the battlefield,” he added.
A defense department official said they were investigating the posting.
“I can’t confirm the validity of the information, but we are looking into it,” the official said.
“The safety of our service members is always a concern.”
The United States is leading an international coalition targeting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, where the Islamist militants have taken over swaths of territory.
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