back to article Shock! Hackers for medieval caliphate are terrible coders

An analysis of the hacking groups allying themselves to Daesh/ISIS has shown that about 18 months ago the religious fanatics stopped trying to develop their own secure communications and hacking tools and instead turned to the criminal underground to find software that actually works. Kyle Wilhoit, a senior security researcher …

  1. RichardB

    Where have I heard similar before...

    Oh yes... we are a(n) {insert laughably inaccurate business model here} company not an IT company... we Integrate we don't Develop...

    Sure...

    Let me see you integrate that word document mission statement, after all its just joining a few words together in a tool.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Considering everything else about Daesh

    Mostly their positively medieval attitude toward women, I'm surprised they allow themselves to use computers. And phones.

    P'raps that's just them being all pragmatic and such.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

      Apparently when the first mobile phones were going to be introduced to Iran the Koran had to be read over a test connection to some mumbling bearded halfwit (not sure if the ayatollah or one of his flunkies) so he could be convinced the technology wasn't the work of the devil. The story may well be apocryphal but frankly nothing about this backwards religion surprises me any more.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

        It's technically a more modern religion than Christianity (by about six hundred years), but by and large Christians seem to be happier ignoring parts of their faith that get in the way.

        1. James O'Shea

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          "by and large Christians seem to be happier ignoring parts of their faith that get in the way."

          You've never met a Jehovah's Witless or a Seventh Day Pestilence, have you?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

            He was referring to Christians.

          2. Mark 85

            Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

            You've never met a Jehovah's Witless or a Seventh Day Pestilence, have you?

            Those are newbies on the religious landscape.

        2. katrinab Silver badge

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          "but by and large Christians seem to be happier ignoring parts of their faith that get in the way"

          If you compare Daesh to the Church of England, maybe. If you compare them to similarly extremist Christian Groups, then probably not.

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          "It's technically a more modern religion than Christianity (by about six hundred years)"

          Younger != more modern

        4. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          by and large Christians seem to be happier ignoring parts of their faith that get in the way.

          Well, in Anglicanism, it seems intentionally more flexible- For example, I enjoy being a agnostic churchgoer - I'm just in it for the music and company.

          In the US of A, the extremist religious fundamentalists [and we're not talking about Islam here] are quite happy ignoring most of Jesus' teachings (you know, the stuff about love, tolerance, not killing people, etc), and are still fixating on the smiting thing from the Old Testament. Even the reform and conservative Jews have a more "christian" philosophy.

      2. Loyal Commenter Silver badge

        Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

        frankly nothing about this backwards religion surprises me any more.

        I'm not a Muslim myself, but I know enough to know you are basically talking out of your arse.

        Apart from the fact that Islam encompasses 23% of the human population, you are equating Islam with Daesh, which is about as Islamic as the KKK is Christian. Oh, and as for 'backwards', you might want to learn a little about the history of science if you think this is the case, since Muslim scholars were responsible for the development of, amongst other things, algebra, invented by this guy, and much of astronomy including technical words still in common use, like zenith and nadir...

        1. Manolo
          Mushroom

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          Oh, this severely exaggerated drivel about "Islamic science" again.

          For the largest part, what they did was conserve earlier Indian, Greek and Roman knowledge, with very little expanding of it.

          Consider this: Jews consist of about 0,3% of the world's population. Nobel prizes won by Jews: 197.

          For muslims these figures are 23% and 12.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Muslim scholars

          Don't fall into the trap laid by some followers of many religions; what you mean is: scholars from the Middle East, who may indeed have happened to be Muslim, but, most importantly, were clever human beings.

          The fact that they may have happened to follow, voluntarily or otherwise, a religion (many religions have discriminated against, persecuted, tortured or killed freethinkers), is really quite irrelevant to their genuine scientific achievements and discoveries, and should receive no particular credit.

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          The golden age of Muslim science ended in the 13th century. We are in the 21st century now.

          When Al-Azhar University in Cairo was asked to condemn Daesh as being un-Islamic, the University refused basically saying Daesh is practising what we teach and preach.

          Just compare the punishments in the ISIS penal code and the Saudi Arabian penal code. They are virtually identical.

        4. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          "Apart from the fact that Islam encompasses 23% of the human population"

          And?

          " you are equating Islam with Daesh, which is about as Islamic as the KKK is Christian"

          No, its exactly comparable to where christianity was around the time of the crusades. Islamic militancy is not a small extremist group on the fringe of Islam any longer.

          "since Muslim scholars were responsible for the development of, amongst other things, algebra, invented by this guy, and much of astronomy including technical words still in common use, like zenith and nadir..."

          Their achievements had nothing to do with their religion, they were simply arabic and by default muslim. It wasn't the religion that came up with these discoveries. You might as well say european science was all down to christianity & judaism because most of the scientists were nominally christian or jewish. A ridiculous argument.

      3. Trigonoceps occipitalis

        Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

        As I recall (and if not true it should be) one of the great debates in certain parts of the Muslim world was the use of SMS for divorce. Can you send one SMS text saying "Talaq talaq talaq" or were three separate texts, each saying "Talaq" necessary?

        Still, we (Christians that is) argued about angels and pin heads. Intelligent people went happily to their execution fire because they did not accept that a wafer and wine would really become the body and blood of Christ. But as a sinner I think indulgences are a great idea.

        Is there an app for making a confession, if so is it approved by the Vatican?

        1. Throatwobbler Mangrove

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          It is not true. The so-called "triple talaq" divorce was banned everywhere except India ages ago, and in India was found unconstitutional a couple of months ago.

          There is no true confession app in the Catholic tradition, as confession requires a personal dialogue between the person making the confession and the person receiving it.

          1. Trigonoceps occipitalis

            Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

            Thanks.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

        The story might be 'apocryphal'. Thats not going to stop me making a generalisation that is racist and insulting to literally a billion people.

        Idiot.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

          "The story might be 'apocryphal'."

          I'm fairly sure its not, but I don't have time to trawl through all the returns for variations on that theme on google to find a link it so I added a caveat.

          "Thats not going to stop me making a generalisation that is racist and insulting to literally a billion people."

          Islam is a race now, when did this happen? Tell us, what race are muslims exactly? Take your time sonny.

          "Idiot."

          Its never a good idea to look in the mirror when typing.

      5. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Considering everything else about Daesh

        @boltar

        Similarly when radio broadcasting became a thing in the last century Saudi religious authorities at first weren't sure if it was haram (forbidden) or halal (allowed). They eventually decided on halal.

    2. PNGuinn
      Trollface

      "I'm surprised they allow themselves to use computers. And phones."

      Any fule kno that all computerz are femail.

      At least the ones running Windowz are.

      1. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge
        Paris Hilton

        Re: "I'm surprised they allow themselves to use computers. And phones."

        "Any fule kno that all computerz are femail."

        Explains why they never do what I want.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Isn't Deash's motto

    All your goats are belong to us?

  4. Captain DaFt

    Easy money for black hats then

    If these thugs are as inept dealing with the underworld as they are with everything else, They'll be broke, pwned, and wondering what the hell happened in no time.

  5. J.Smith

    If they fail online, do they still get 72 virgins? Or perhaps a commensurate amount, say, 10.

    Hear the one about the jihadi who went to see a pantomime? He pledged allegiance to Allahdin.

    1. hplasm
      Joke

      If they fail online, do they still get 72 virgins?

      All pudgy, pale, male D&D fans...

      1. James O'Shea

        Re: If they fail online, do they still get 72 virgins?

        "All pudgy, pale, male D&D fans..."

        Take that back. Some of them play World of Warcraft.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: If they fail online, do they still get 72 virgins?

          The government should start an advertising campaign - photo's of 72 spotty fat lads with the tag "Enjoy your virgins".

      2. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge

        Re: If they fail online, do they still get 72 virgins?

        48h virgins.

    2. John Robson Silver badge

      "Hear the one about the jihadi who went to see a pantomime? He pledged allegiance to Allahdin."

      Oh no he didn't...

      Oh yes he did...

      Repeat as desired...

      1. Teiwaz

        "Hear the one about the jihadi who went to see a pantomime? He pledged allegiance to Allahdin."

        Oh no he didn't...

        Oh yes he did...

        Repeat as desired...

        Maybe, but think of the fate of poor Puss, stoned to death the moment she comes on stage and before she manages to say her first line....

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      No, nobody told that it's actually one 72 year old virgin. SSSSHHH, it's a surprise

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That's actually bad news

    The fact that they have realized how badly do they suck is bad news.

    The next logical step after using existing tools frequented by the criminal "underground" is to start ordering hits on a pay to play basis.

    While their main sources of local income are long depleted they still have some money left as well as plenty of sponsors in the Middle East and beyond. As NotPetya and WannaCry showed it does not take a lot to cause some massive damage.

  7. ukgnome

    Don't you caliphate it when that happens

  8. jake Silver badge

    C'mon, ElReg.

    I know the world's ignorant press has been doing it's level best to devalue the word "hacker" for a couple decades now, but could you PLEASE stop calling inept idiots hackers?

    atdhvaannkcse

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: C'mon, ElReg.

      "could you PLEASE stop calling inept idiots hackers?"

      well, Script Kiddies (or s'kiddies if you will) is one name, but that doesn't apply to the Daesh-bags. They're below s'kiddies in the overall ranking of things, I'd imagine. I suppose you could call them something else... so what WOULD be a good name for them?

      Daesh-bags is probably fine.

      Anything beyond that risks poo-slinging and accusations of 'Islama-phobia' from the SJW's [who are really just helping ISIS exist, every damn time they do that crap]

      anyway, joining a radical Islamic cult like ISIS would have a prerequisite of below average intelligence, in my opinion...

      1. Cynical Observer

        Re: C'mon, ElReg.

        @Bombastic Bob

        I believe Cyst-ISIS was the winning term - Irritating Twats.

        (Courtesy of The Last Leg)

      2. Steve the Cynic

        Re: C'mon, ElReg.

        "Daesh-bags is probably fine."

        I prefer "Desh" for the organisation. I play the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, and desh is the crappiest lowest-level metal crafting component you can find, good only for the lowest of the low tier crafted weapons and armour, salvaged from piles of scrap metal in the criminal neighbourhoods of the two capital worlds.

        And the "Islamophobia" accusations are misplaced, at least against me. I oppose Desh mostly because even on the scale of barbaric behaviour they are uncivilised, and it doesn't matter what their motivation is. There have always previously been collections of, if you like, rules of warfare for terrorists. Concentrate more on military targets, try to give at least some warning of bombs since the *terror* aspect is not diminished by there being enough warning to evacuate a place, and so on. The particular sort of barbarism practised by Desh doesn't respect even those rules even if they were often evident more in the breach than the observance.

        Yes, the hard men of Northern Irish terrorism sometimes blew people up with no warning, but it *is* necessary from time to time to demonstrate that they *do* have the will to go through with threats. The hard men of Desh haven't grasped that lesson, whence lorries in crowds and similar.

        And no, low intelligence isn't automatically a requirement. The key characteristic is a high susceptibility to fanaticism. Yes, that probably clusters in lower intelligence groups, but certainly not exclusively. (Translation: don't underestimate your opposition.)

        1. LionelB Silver badge

          Re: C'mon, ElReg.

          The particular sort of barbarism practised by Desh doesn't respect even those rules even if they were often evident more in the breach than the observance.

          This is a an entirely deliberate strategy. You need to appreciate their motives: they are a doomsday sect. They believe that the global Caliphate will arise only after an apocalyptic showdown between Islam and the non-believers. Their avowed intention is to evoke the highest levels of disgust and abhorrence in order to hasten that showdown.

    2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: C'mon, ElReg.

      "world's ignorant press has been doing it's level best to devalue the word "hacker" for a couple decades now"

      Have an upvote for the sentiment but I think we just have to accept that battle as lost.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: C'mon, ElReg.

        "have to", DrS? I find that to be a trifle defeatist.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: C'mon, ElReg.

      Hacker has de facto meant someone who gains unauthorised access to computers since at least the 80s. Its a silly argument, just get over it.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: C'mon, ElReg.

        boltar, that group has a collective noun. They are called "crackers'.

        Computers are, by definition, literal. So are the terms surrounding them.

        The inept idiots described by ElReg are neither hacker, nor cracker.

        HTH, HAND

    4. Richard IV

      Re: C'mon, ElReg.

      On the plus side, it sounds like they're making quantum leaps in their techniques.

      Alternative glosses are fun.

  9. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Meh

    People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

    Who knew?

    1. Just Enough

      Re: People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

      You are confusing the reason with the justification there.

      Like all "religious" conflicts, the actual reasons for the killing are the usual ones; power and resources. Religion is just the tool used to recruit the cannon-fodder.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

        "Religion is just the tool used to recruit the cannon-fodder."

        The point is the dumb cannon fodder believe they're on some religious campaign. If these morons didn't exist then the psychopaths behind it all wouldn't be able to cause chaos and death on a mass scale.

      2. Chris King

        Re: People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

        Jihads, Crusades, Intifadas - they're all the same. Fighting and killing in the name of a deity, usually on the orders of mad old men in dresses.

        1. LionelB Silver badge

          Re: People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

          Jihads, Crusades, Intifadas - they're all the same.

          Not quite: Intifada was, in its original meaning, a political term with connotations of "rebellion against oppression" (the first Intifada was a socialist protest against the monarchy in Iraq). Of course it is now more strongly associated with the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation - which may or may not (depending on who you are talking to, and when) have been hijacked by religious extremists.

          Agreed on the others, though.

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

            The head of your church of sky fairy just asked the sky fairy to bless an aircraft carrier to go and blow up the people of that sky fairy. Ironically they are the same sky fairy

            I hope this doesn't offend the FSM or he will send his pirates to deal with the HMS QE

            1. Chris King

              Re: People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

              "I hope this doesn't offend the FSM or he will send his pirates to deal with the HMS QE".

              Nah, he'll just point and laugh at all the sailors on the flight deck wagging their fingers at him as if to say "naughty naughty". It's not like they've got any planes or weapons worth a damn on it right now.

          2. John Presland

            Re: People who want to kill other people for stupid sky fairy reasons are not clever

            "Intifada" means nothing more than "uprising". Thus the Warsaw Rising against the Germans of

            1944 is referred to in Arabic as the "Warsaw intifada".

  10. h4rm0ny

    As per usual -

    - with people like this, they find it easier to destroy than to create.

    1. Chris King
      Coat

      Re: As per usual -

      "...they find it easier to destroy than to create"

      So they're like half-arsed Mysterons then ?

      (Sorry h4rm0ny, couldn't resist with that handle)

  11. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    "Little wonder four of the groups' IT leaders have been killed in the last two years by drone strikes."

    Clearly too many creationists in the US decision making chain. They haven't heard of the consequences of natural selection.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Supposedly in WWII there was an Afrika Korps radio operator who chose "HIT" "LER" for the random enigma initialization setting every day. He was captured and the army had to stage an escape to try and get him back to his unit

      1. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge

        "chose "HIT" "LER" for the random enigma initialization setting"

        The way I heard it was that Bletchley Park searched messages known to contain obligatory plaintext such as 'Heil Hitler'. Also weather reports, considered to be of lower importance by the Germans so they used repeating formatting and terminology.

        So now, just assume an "Allahu Akbar" in each message.

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Not quite. Enigma had a flaw that it couldn't encrypt a letter to itself so a known plaintext gave you a start.

          But the operating procedure involved chosing a random daily pair of 3 letter groups, encrypt them in the code of the day and send them (encrypted) to the other party ( I forget the details)

  12. TrumpSlurp the Troll
    Unhappy

    Mock while you can.

    Eventually they will improve their skills.

    I am o!d enough to remember the mockery of the ear!y attempts by the Japanese to make motorbikes and cars.

    Sadly, eventually any group that persists at a task will increase skill levels. Sounds like they are already becoming more commercial!y aware and realising you don't have to write all the code yourself.

    1. Omgwtfbbqtime

      "... ear!y attempts by the Japanese to make motorbikes and cars."

      and the repeat 20 years later of China copying Japanese (and everybody else's) motorbikes and cars.

      Though still not up to a Ninja, Triumph or a Ducati the Chinese bikes now are a vast improvement over those 5 years ago - let alone 10.

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: "... ear!y attempts by the Japanese to make motorbikes and cars."

        a Ducati

        You mean that the Chinese bikes down't explode in mysterious ways or suffer complete electrical failure if exposed to a bit of water?

        (I like the look of Ducatti bikes but robust and well engineered they ain't)

        1. Omgwtfbbqtime

          @CrazyOldCatMan

          Fair point.

          Pretty much the same reason I would never (again) touch a car where the electrics had been done by the French.

          Disclosure - I have had Peugeots and Renaults and they have all had severe electrical faults -even to the point where the electric motor for the rear passenger window caught fire (Megane). Never again.

          I'll stick with Ford from now on.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Mock while you can.

      Sadly, eventually any group that persists at a task will increase skill levels.

      Not if there are no survivors (which is the direct result of forgetting to scrub GPS metadata from pictures taken for propaganda purposes).

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Mock while you can.

        Presumably the ones who did scrub the data did survive.

      2. Alumoi Silver badge

        Re: Mock while you can.

        GPS metadata? How dumb can you be to enable it in the first place?

        Oh, wait...

        1. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge

          Re: Mock while you can.

          "GPS metadata?"

          A smart hack would be to spoof another location. The Chinese embassy in Belgrade, for example.

      3. Kiwi
        Joke

        Re: Mock while you can.

        Sadly, eventually any group that persists at a task will increase skill levels.

        Not if there are no survivors (which is the direct result of forgetting to scrub GPS metadata from pictures taken for propaganda purposes

        Given the levels of "military intelligence", I can just see one of these scuzbuckets taking a shot, changing the GPS data to that of the nearest yankee base, and tptb ordering a self-inflicted airstrike... The last words of the drone pilot being "Hey, that 'rab looks just like you!"

    3. Manolo
      Holmes

      Re: Mock while you can.

      Yes, but the Japanese culture and attitude towards study and learning are totally different than Arab / islamic culture, which focuses not on innovation or critical thinking, but on rote memorisation of quran texts.

  13. Deimos

    Japanese motorbikes

    For every story of successful evolution there are many stories of failure, I'm thinking of the glorious Eastern European bikes like the MZ50. Not all newborns survive and that's without their massive death cult (I may have misspelled that) mentality and thousands of drone operating uber nerds that oppose them. Add in all the Russian cyber nutters, Anonymous keyboard killers and western intelligence agency geeks.....

    I hate tp daesh their hopes but I think most will be collecting their virgins fairly soon.

  14. NonSSL-Login
    Meh

    Cars are crap because Robin Reliants are crap

    In any individual group which align to a more central ideology, you are going to have those that have good skills and those that are idiots. Saying all the failures belong to the central ideology is flawed. It's like saying some random kiddy group that identifies with Anonymous being idiots and getting caught means that the core Anonymous group are all shit hackers as well as other successful offshoots such as Lulsec.

    All it takes is for one skill hacker to decide they want to help Daesh and it could change things dramatically.

    Also consider successful undetected hacks will not be known about. Maybe they already exist but we are only aware of their obvious failures, partly because of the propaganda machine wanting people to know to deter them from making contact with the evil ones.

    As much as we detest security by obscurity, not publishing information about where Daesh is failing would be beneficial. Let them keep making the same mistakes...

    1. Martin Summers Silver badge

      Re: Cars are crap because Robin Reliants are crap

      Goddamnit it's Reliant Robin!!! The manufacturer was Reliant, Robin being the model.

      I will read the rest of your post now. Just needed to make that clear :-).

      1. NonSSL-Login

        Re: Cars are crap because Robin Reliants are crap

        I should have gone with Skoda which first popped in to my head. Figured the Skoda owners would come along and tell me how good they are these days, hence the Robin which no one would defend...except its name!

        Those school reports about attention to details might have been right...

  15. James O'Shea

    yes, and?

    "The Sons of the Caliphate Army are another online group who caused a brief stir when they claimed to have plans to kill Mark Zuckerberg."

    Errmm... how does this make them special? Or even particularly notable? I'm sure that there might be one or two (dozen) of the assembled commentariat who might have similar desires.

  16. patrickstar

    Mujahideen's Secrets was basically just a branding operation for their fanclub. Al Qaeda's fanclub by the way, not IS, though this was before the split so part of it presumably went over to IS afterwards.

    The purpose was just to give wannabe jihadis a sense of belonging and signal being part of something, like branded merchandise or collectibles if we are to compare it with rock star or sports fans (or a more conventional political group for that matter).

    It was never actually intended to be used for operations.

    1. hplasm
      Happy

      Silky!

      Mujahideen's Secrets was basically just a branding operation for their slinky underwear emblazoned with wise Daesh sayings and sketchy Powershell scripts in Arabic".

      Better.

  17. JimmyPage Silver badge
    FAIL

    Although, in the final analysis ...

    With the various data breaches, outages, and numpty security cockups it's arguable that "the West" is doing a better job of hurting itself than ISIS or whoever could dream of.

    1. Teiwaz

      Re: Although, in the final analysis ...

      With the various data breaches, outages, and numpty security cockups it's arguable that "the West" is doing a better job of hurting itself than ISIS or whoever could dream of.

      What's that now? They've bought shares in Talk Talk?

  18. Aodhhan

    Oh no...

    They will make it harder for us to own their website so we can turn it over to a government intel agency.

    Yeah---I couldn't hold back laughing either!

  19. Mike Moyle

    "While some of the groups mentioned above have solicited Bitcoin donations to help them buy weapons, scammers have adopted their tactic and Islamic State stylings, diluting the amount of donations that reach extremists."

    The enemy of my enemy... Is still my enemy, actually, but I'm perfectly willing to stand watching from the sidelines saying "Let's you and him fight!"

    ...and laughing.

  20. Stevie

    Bah!

    Maybe if they weren't so preoccupied with denying their women education and work opportunities they could recruit a few decent software designers from that side of the gene pool.

    I occurs to me that we could guard against malicious usage by ISIS by making our next western computer language of fad rife with references to Deities and Prophets. Can't see any Jihadist using a language that calls for $DEITY to throw an error, or testing $PROPHET for existence.

    Yes, I'm joking.

    1. Alistair
      Windows

      Re: Bah!

      @Stevie

      i have a couple of shell scripts written in a fit of pique that include * both * those variables.

      1. Stevie

        Re: Bah!

        Congratulations on your new fatwa.

        Cat Stevens will be along momentarily to enforce it.

  21. Marcus Fil

    Sources and Methods

    If your enemy is dumb enough, e.g., to leave useful meta data on their uploads don't FFS tell him you have noticed. Or that you recognised the location that propaganda video was made by the unique rock formation in the back ground. STFU and get on with using such information to your advantage. Johnny clever is Johnny schtum - unless you a making a play to get your enemy to change to even more revealing procedures.

    1. Cynic_999

      Re: Sources and Methods

      Exactly so. If there's one thing that's more stupid than a terrorist who leaves metadata in his propaganda photos, it's the idiot who informs him of his mistake.

      1. LaeMing

        Re: Sources and Methods

        Is it possible they sat on the info until the terrorists worked it out for themselves? So now are using it to further demoralise them?

  22. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    A perfect enterprise solution

    Once they realise how bad they are, they will outsource the job to Crapita / IBM / HPE and after a few years and umpteen $$Bn they will still not have a working system.

    There will however be a group of heavily armed fantasists further crazed by dealing with Crapita / IBM / HPE and hell bent on revenge ....

    1. LaeMing
      Go

      Re: A perfect enterprise solution

      Yes, people keep getting a hate-on that IBM provided tech to Germany around WW2. But maybe that contributed to their losing!

      The catch phrase was not "No one gets fired /at/ for choosing IBM."

  23. Alistair
    Windows

    History is important when one discusses these events

    Do keep in mind the *real* origins of Al Qeda, the Taliban and others of this ilk.

    What has precipitated over the 30 some years since they were fired up (by western powers) is a downward spiral of rational thought, polarized religious education, misguided logic (thus utter fail). The result is eventually a combination of bad logical processing in a large portion of the population, assumption that what an individual "leader" says is always and must be the most powerful of truths, and an overwhelming fear of anything that does not equate to or parallel the guidance of the "leader".

    It is rather interesting that if one looks at the summary of the 'result' it can be applied to cultures *outside* of Daesh.

    1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: History is important when one discusses these events

      What has precipitated over the 30 some years since they were fired up

      The only difference between the modern groups and older ones is the level of hardware that they have access to. Terrorist groups have existed throughout history and, in that context, the only notable thing about modern ones is that their reach and impact is extended by modern technology.

      Sure - the current crop were happily groomed and funded by the West in their many proxy wars against the Soviets, but groups throughout history have been funded by $BIG_EMPIRE against $OTHER_BIG_EMPIRE.

  24. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Windows

    Meanwhile in meatspace, where things actually count

    US to obscure arms exports after Pentagon ‘pipeline’ to Syria exposed

    Get me Victor Bout on the phone, there is business,,, oh, wait, we locked him up.

  25. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hormones?

      We had Boy Scouts.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Re: Hormones?

        But generally boy scouts don't burn people alive, throw gays out of towers or send letters to the editor complaining about "Sarin Gas Attacks" by evil dictators.

        1. 's water music
          Happy

          Re: Hormones?

          But generally boy scouts don't burn people alive, throw gays out of towers or send letters to the editor complaining about "Sarin Gas Attacks" by evil dictators.

          You went to one of them posh middle class troupes then? Get you

    2. CRConrad

      Re: Hormones?

      Conscription used to be such a rite of passage; "a year in the Army will make men out of boys!"

      Also had the advantages of throwing young people of different socioeconomic strata in with each other, and creating an army of the people in stead of only military professionals, with its concomitant danger of clumping only gung-ho types together to develop into a right-wing society within the larger society. Oh, and giving kids a year off from school, which is developing into an unbroken slog of decades from kindergarten to university, to let them figure out what they want to become.

      Humongous benefits which seem to have been left out of the calculus of countries (yes, western Europe, I'm looking at you) which have abolished conscription in the last few decades.

      1. tiggity Silver badge

        Re: Hormones?

        Huge non benefits of conscription for those who were killed

        e.g. Conscription in UK was in place for (what turned out to be totally pointless) Korean War.

        I know someone who fought in it (conscripted) and lost a great many of their unit (friends) in night time attack on their camp

  26. Pirate Dave Silver badge
    Pirate

    "They will deface a website few people visit and claim a success, or try and launch a DDoS attack using a couple of dozen infected PCs."

    This sounds like a scene from Life of Brian. Definitely seems Pythonesque.

    SPLITTERS!!!

  27. J.G.Harston Silver badge

    but... but... but.... computers are western technology, the spawn of the infidel. Surely ISIS should be chucking off tall buildings any of their followers who contaminate themselves by using them.

    Oh, and tall buildings are also western technology, they should be chucking off tall buildings any ISIS followers who use tall buildings.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Well, actually minarets are pretty halal.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    (Unimportant) Things that Daesh have ruined

    The Isis river in Oxford.

    The Isis mobile wallet system (rapidly renamed softcard before it faded into oblivion)

    The IS-IS routing protocol (although people really say eye-ess eye-ess, it still brings me up short to read it

    What else?

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: (Unimportant) Things that Daesh have ruined

      Can't imagine it's much fun visiting the USA if you are a nuclear physicist working for the ISIS neutron beam thingy near Oxford

    2. Marcus Fil
      Coat

      Re: (Unimportant) Things that Daesh have ruined

      Don't forget the poor dog on "Downtown Abbey".

    3. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: (Unimportant) Things that Daesh have ruined

      What else?

      Well, the people who worship the old Egyptian female deity are a bit annoyed..

    4. Pirate Dave Silver badge

      Re: (Unimportant) Things that Daesh have ruined

      "What else?"

      If you were a kid in the 70's you might remember:

      OH MIGHTY ISIS

      But maybe you Brits weren't subjected to that...

    5. J.G.Harston Silver badge

      Re: (Unimportant) Things that Daesh have ruined

      What else?

      The International Secret Intelligence Service has had to pack its bags. "Seems there was some sort of trademark infringement."

  29. Kiwi
    Trollface

    The Sons of the Caliphate Army are another online group who caused a brief stir when they claimed to have plans to kill Mark Zuckerberg.

    Hmm.. If they were to target Satan's goNads and the rest of the vile scum behind W10 instead (or as well as), they could win a major publicity coup and, if successful, may even see a major boost to their membership levels! They'll certainly get some sympathy from the millions who suffer at the hands of MS.

  30. David Gillies

    I'm glad we're telling them about the flaws in their cryptography. It reminds me of that press conference we had in 1943 when we told the Germans we'd broken Enigma.

    1. GrapeBunch
      Pint

      Bletchworthy

      "I'm glad we're telling them about the flaws in their cryptography. It reminds me of that press conference we had in 1943 when we told the Germans we'd broken Enigma."

      The above lingered for three days without vote or reply.

      Congratulations, @David_Gillies, your post prompted me to click on your name to see how much you were capable of irony, sarcasm, or other archness. For the first time under the sign of the vulture. The breaking of Enigma was a secret so secret that, at least in urban legend, many Coventry souls were sacrificed to preserve it, and Britain's hard-won lead in electronic computers was immolated even after the War. How we didn't quite win the war, department.

      Examination showed you are capable of all manner of intelligent comment.

      So, either it's true, and those six decades of shtumness were the most hubristic ever sacrifices to the god of Twittery (using that work in its archaic sense, equi-impotent to fuckupery) Bureaucracy, and the acts that caused it the most enduring monument of any Twittery Bureaucracy.

      Or it's ironic, like the phrase "It's spelled Joomla, but it's pronounced Yomla, remember who won the War."

      In either case, I'd send you an Ale except I don't know which button to press.

  31. John Savard

    Logo

    After discovering that, presumably to avoid concern over promoting terrorism, your article was illustrated with the Mandarin's logo from the Iron Man comic - or a movie based on it - I was inspired to search online for something it reminded me of: the dial depicting the divisional chiefs of Hydra.

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