WASHINGTON: US cyber experts have hacked into websites being used by al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen and substituted material that bragged about killing Americans with information about civilians killed in terrorist strikes, Hillary Clinton has confirmed.
In a rare public admission of the covert cyber war against extremists, the US Secretary of State says experts based at the US State Department hacked Yemeni tribal websites.
When al-Qaeda recruitment propaganda appeared on tribal sites in Yemen, Mrs Clinton said, ''within 48 hours, our team plastered the same sites with altered versions … that showed the toll al-Qaeda attacks have taken on the Yemeni people''.
The revelation provided an unusual window into low-level cyber-warfare activities that the US government rarely discusses.
In a speech to the Special Operations Command in Florida, Mrs Clinton cited the hacking operation as an example of growing counterterrorism co-operation between the State Department, intelligence agencies and the military. She said State Department experts were also working with Special Operations Forces on the ground in central Africa, helping to encourage defections in the Lord's Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony.
As the US military has expanded into areas formerly reserved for diplomats, Mrs Clinton has been an advocate for increasing her department's reach, with civilian-military operations she calls ''smart power''. ''We need Special Operations Forces who are as comfortable drinking tea with tribal leaders as raiding a terrorist compound,'' she said. ''We also need diplomats and development experts who are up to the job of being your partners.
''We can tell our efforts are starting to have an impact'' in Yemen, where the group al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula is based, ''because extremists are publicly venting their frustration and asking supporters not to believe everything they read on the internet''.
Mrs Clinton said the hacking was conducted by the Centre for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, based at the State Department, with expertise drawn from the military and the intelligence community. The State Department's activities are part of online efforts to stem the spread of radical Islamist ideology that stretch back at least a decade.
The US Central Command had a team that monitors blogs and forums, targeting those that are moderate in tone and engaging with users, said Major David Nevers, former chief of the team. ''We try to concentrate our energy and efforts … [on] those who haven't been radicalised. The idea is to go where the conversation is taking place, using … extremist commentary or propaganda as a jumping-off point to people who are listening in.''
Evan Kohlmann, a terrorism consultant who tracks jihadist websites, said the tactic could harm al-Qaeda's image among potential recruits but questioned its effectiveness on the ground.
''If you're already living in Yemen and in a tribal area, you probably don't need to go to a website to join al-Qaeda,'' he said.
[source]
In a rare public admission of the covert cyber war against extremists, the US Secretary of State says experts based at the US State Department hacked Yemeni tribal websites.
When al-Qaeda recruitment propaganda appeared on tribal sites in Yemen, Mrs Clinton said, ''within 48 hours, our team plastered the same sites with altered versions … that showed the toll al-Qaeda attacks have taken on the Yemeni people''.
The revelation provided an unusual window into low-level cyber-warfare activities that the US government rarely discusses.
In a speech to the Special Operations Command in Florida, Mrs Clinton cited the hacking operation as an example of growing counterterrorism co-operation between the State Department, intelligence agencies and the military. She said State Department experts were also working with Special Operations Forces on the ground in central Africa, helping to encourage defections in the Lord's Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony.
As the US military has expanded into areas formerly reserved for diplomats, Mrs Clinton has been an advocate for increasing her department's reach, with civilian-military operations she calls ''smart power''. ''We need Special Operations Forces who are as comfortable drinking tea with tribal leaders as raiding a terrorist compound,'' she said. ''We also need diplomats and development experts who are up to the job of being your partners.
''We can tell our efforts are starting to have an impact'' in Yemen, where the group al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula is based, ''because extremists are publicly venting their frustration and asking supporters not to believe everything they read on the internet''.
Mrs Clinton said the hacking was conducted by the Centre for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, based at the State Department, with expertise drawn from the military and the intelligence community. The State Department's activities are part of online efforts to stem the spread of radical Islamist ideology that stretch back at least a decade.
The US Central Command had a team that monitors blogs and forums, targeting those that are moderate in tone and engaging with users, said Major David Nevers, former chief of the team. ''We try to concentrate our energy and efforts … [on] those who haven't been radicalised. The idea is to go where the conversation is taking place, using … extremist commentary or propaganda as a jumping-off point to people who are listening in.''
Evan Kohlmann, a terrorism consultant who tracks jihadist websites, said the tactic could harm al-Qaeda's image among potential recruits but questioned its effectiveness on the ground.
''If you're already living in Yemen and in a tribal area, you probably don't need to go to a website to join al-Qaeda,'' he said.
[source]