An Israeli company has hacked into ISIS secret online messaging group “telegram”, and has revealed lists of potential targets for attacks planned by the terror group, Channel 10 News reported on Wednesday.
Only 500 people worldwide are members of the secret group, and new members are only accepted by recommendation by one of the existing ones. Potential targets for terror attacks are frequently posted on the group, with the intention of moving one of the members to plan an attack in these locations.
An Israeli company named “Insights” managed to gain access to the Telegram group. Staffed entirely by former military intelligence personnel, Insights hackers are well versed in the ways of the “dark web”, the realm of terror and crime groups.
“Telegram is completely encrypted, and they have no fear of their messages being intercepted,” explained Allon Arbatz, Deputy CEO of Insights, “in this group in particular, it only works on a ‘friend-brings-a-friend’ format, you need to know someone there to get in.”
According to Arbatz, one of the potential target locations that had been posted on the group was the church in Normandy, where priest Jacques Hamel was murdered by ISIS terrorists. The target was posted several months ago.
Insights published a list of potential targets that they had gotten from the ISIS group on Monday. Among these targets are ones that should worry all US allies. “[ISIS] published a list of airfields used by the American army worldwide, with extremely accurate coordinates,” Arbatz says, “the idea is to attack airfields that can serve the American military, including air force bases in Israel.”
When asked what will happen after the information is publicized by the media, Arbatz said, “presumably the ISIS group will be closed.”