Electronic Jihad 2.0 software for home terrorists

According to press reports, Al Qaeda is planning a major denial-of-service attack against websites on November 11. But instead of using a bot network as one would expect for such purposes, the attack is to be based on the "Electronic Jihad 2.0" program, which is being distributed to "virtual martyrs." The security software vendor Secure Computing says it has seen a screenshot of the DoS program and believes that the software is professional enough and has a user-friendly interface. But no one seems to know exactly how it works. Word has it that the program is available in Arabic and English, and the Israeli website DEBKAfile believes it is being distributed via an e-mail list. DEBKAfile publishes analyses and comments on terrorism, the military, and politics in the Middle East.

According to DEBKAfile, the US Secret Service attacked and destroyed the Web servers where would-be cyber jihadists can sign up shortly after the websites went online. DEBKAfile does not say whether the recently created Cyber Command is behind the attacks, but the websites are apparently online again. It seems that a digital battle is already underway, with Al Qaeda attempting to put as many terrorist websites online as possible and keep them online while the US and other countries search for such sites, attack them, and try to take them offline. According to DEBKAfile, Al Qaeda's success rate has been increasing.

See also:

• Al Qaeda declares Cyber Jihad on the West, report at DEBKAfile

(mba)