How Dangerous Is The Cyber Caliphate?

What Would An ISIS Caliphate Look Like?

In August this year a British-born computer-hacker was killed by a US drone attack in Syria.

Junaid Hussain, 21, was said to have been involved in directing and encouraging online conspiracies against the West.

He was a member of the Islamic State"s "cyber caliphate" - and was also alleged to have obtained passwords of the YouTube accounts of the United States Central Command and used them to transmit pro-IS messages.

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Hussain started out as a disruptive teenage hacker from Birmingham who once gained access to Prime Minister Tony Blair"s address book, but he turned into a poisonous communicator and IS recruiter in Syria, clearly seen as a significant enough target to be worthy of an intelligence operation to track him down and take him out.

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The extremists hope that more hackers like Hussain can help their cyber caliphate evolve from using the internet as an effective propaganda tool to using it as a weapon that can kill people.

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George Osborne thinks this is a possibility, and has announced a doubling of funding for cyber security, with an extra 1bn set aside for developing a new centre and strategy for combating digital warfare.

This was due to be in next week"s spending review, but off the back of the attacks in Paris, it has been announced early and the extra spending linked to protection against IS.

The Chancellor fears IS could use the internet to kill people by targeting "our electricity supply, or our air traffic control, or our hospitals".

He adds: "They have not been able to use it to kill people yet by attacking our infrastructure through cyber-attack.

"They do not yet have that capability. But we know they want it, and are doing their best to build it."

While online attacks against UK businesses are more likely to come from technically adept criminals or digitally advanced countries such as China in the battle for information and state secrets, the malevolence of intention attributed to IS makes the need of cyber security more urgent in the eyes of the general public.

This is, however, more than just a sales pitch from MrOsborne.

The IS cyber caliphate does indeed go beyond sending out messages to radicalise young minds.

In October this year it was reported by the FBI"s cyber division that IS was trying to hack US power companies.

FBI"s John Riggi was quoted as saying IS has "strong intent. Thankfully, low capability But the concern is that they"ll buy that capability."

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Also in October a hacker from Kosovo, Ardit Ferizi, was arrested in Malaysia for allegedly passing on details about US military and government personnel to IS.

These incidents seem to show not just intent, but clear steps being taken by IS to develop, or just buy in, a threatening cyber warfare capability.

The Chancellor believes "an on-line market-place has developed, which means all the elements of an attack can now be bought and assembled from the computer of anyone with the money to pay for it".

He adds: "The barriers to entry are coming right down, and so the task of the defenders is becoming harder."

As in the real world, terrorists are likely to choose soft targets.

If teenagers can hack into Talk Talk and damage their business then so can jihadists.

Companies and individuals are encouraged to check their own online security.

Mr Osborne believes we will be fighting a "hybrid war" against IS - both online and on the battlefield.

So when budgets are being squeezed elsewhere, Mr Osborne has made arrangements to boost GCHQ and the other security services with money that will come from the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office - and that means less money for normal soldiers and police.

This is the pay-off for doubling cyber security and boosting the number of spies and intelligence networks.

But while the hypothetical catastrophic examples Mr Osborne uses of IS gaining control of air traffic control are still well out of the terrorists reach - it"s not beyond imagination and certainly not beyond theirs.

Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1589292/how-dangerous-is-the-cyber-caliphate