News Nov 20, 2015 08:44 PM EST

ISIS has a tech savvy group with a 24-hour 'help desk' to recruit and attack

By Staff Writer

The terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) has a digital presence to expand its operations faster and more efficiently. According to reports, the group even has its own 24-hour help desk.

NBC News reported that ISIS uses web-savvy strategies to help its soldiers carry out their missions, recruit new followers, and launch attacks on foreign lands. US Army Counterterrorism analysts affiliate told the news outlet that the ISIS help desk is run by six operatives 24/7 to help jihadists use encrypted and secure communications to avoid being detected by law enforcements and intelligence agencies. Authorities consider the increasing online operations of ISIS alarming, because it makes it easier for the terrorist group to carry out their operations without being detected. Authorities are now homing in on these online movements from ISIS.

Encrypted messaging won't work if ISIS members are not familiar with the tools being used, which is why the group put up the online help desk, according to Mashable. Counterterrorism analyst Aaron F. Brantly said the help desk "answer questions from the technically mundane to the technically savvy to elevate the entire jihadi community to engage in global terror."

The Boston Herald enumerated some of the possible tech tools the ISIS is using. Besides the help desk, according to Belgian authorities, ISIS also uses the very crowded PlayStation chat networks, which are almost impossible to track. The group also has a communications center to spread propaganda. Other than that, they use secure messaging apps to avoid being detected when communicating with each other.

Just last week, messaging app Telegraph took down 78 chat channels that are possibly related to ISIS. The various channels were using 12 different languages. The company said it is disturbed to learn that their app is being used by ISIS to spread propaganda. ISIS is also taking advantage of the social media, where it is very easy to spread propaganda like showing execution videos.


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