As well, it purports to include credit card information and addresses of US air force and Department of State employees, and email exchanges between military personnel.
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A New Zealand family is in shock after one of them was named on a “hit list” released by Islamic State following a major hack of US military information.
In March, the monitoring organisation SITE Intelligence reported the same group had claimed to have hacked information about US military personnel, releasing a list purported to contain names, photos and ranks.
Kevin Knierim, a former FBI agent and founder of Cyopsis – an electronic investigative, forensic and security consulting firm – said that the groups can bolster their support by showing their followers how broad their capabilities are.
The list was published via social media overnight by a group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division, which is believed to be led by British man Junaid Hussain, a close associate of Prakash.
“We have not yet been able to authenticate the source”, she said.
“I think you could also come at it from the angle that ISIS could pay or “enlist” hacker groups to do their bidding”, Knierim said.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said in a press conference Wednesday that “this is the second or third time they’ve claimed that and the first two times I’ll tell you, whatever lists they got were not taken by any cyber attack”.
The Washington Examiner confirmed that portions of the private information posted appear to be accurate, while other information is either inaccurate or out-of-date.
Deakin University Professor Greg Barton, an expert in global Islamic politics, said the group had used “amateurish” hacking techniques to target “low-hanging fruit”, but the use of the information was worrying.
“They don’t care if they are involved in the fight against Daish (Islamic State)”. “Exactly how they did this I can’t comment on, but a typical situation today is through a combination of several things and the easiest way to do it is … through the people, not the technology”.
“Our authorities, of course, are very good at protecting us in the online environment”, he said.
Despite this hacking connection, US Military officials were cautious about this most recent attack, in light of claims by Islamic State in the past.
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As to the origin of this hack, she said, “all of the possibilities are still on the table”.
