Islamic State social network 5elafabook crashes hours after launch in suspected Anonymous attack
A site professing to be a social network for Isis supporters has been taken down just a day after it launched as the world governments and under-the-radar Anonymous hackers clamp down on the militants’ online supporters.
As a result of social media firms cracking down on professed supporters of Isis by closing down accounts spreading footage of the group's executions and propaganda - a Facebook clone called 5elafabook was launched on Sunday. It was designed for supporters of Isis ostracised by social media for their commitment to the group.
5elafabook, supposed to sound like ‘Caliphate book’ when read aloud, is reported to have ran with a similar user interface to Facebook. It was however taken down a single day after its launch, with the site’s moderators instead posting a message of support for the terror group, according to Reuters.
It reads: "5elafabook is an independent site and not sponsored by the Islamic State. We reiterate that the purpose of launching the site was to clarify to the whole world that we do not only carry guns and live in caves as they imagine ... we advance with our world and we want advancement to become Islamic.
“We will rule the whole world by Allah’s permission… we love to die as much as you love to live and we promise to fight until the last one of us, if we are to die then martyrdom is our path.”
IS has expressed a capability to posture online with hackers purporting to represent it taking control of US Central Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts in January.
Following the hack and the wave of monstrosities being perpetrated by the group in the Middle East, hacker collective Anonymous in February declared war on the group promising to eradicate those with affiliations to IS from the net.
A Twitter account linked with Anonymous has taken responsibility for the downing of the website. Although the claim is unverified it does fit with the group’s campaign of action against IS-related sites in recent weeks.
#Anonymous take down #ISIS social media website http://t.co/jWRnv1DP4H #OpISIS #RedCult @hkmjrm @DigitaShadow @V3rist pic.twitter.com/nx0sK4uJ3q
— ̶̲̅͠м̶̲̅͠ª͕̲͗̅͠ĵ͕͗ (@CyberRog) March 8, 2015