An ISIS-related hacking group recently posted an online “hit list” containing the names and personal information of thousands of America citizens. Experts feel this latest move is a fear-mongering tactic, as the names appear to have been chosen randomly from old lists.
The FBI is still contacting anyone whose name or personal information was posted just to be on the safe side. An FBI spokesperson told Gothamist that “the agency is making contact with everyone listed, but there’s no way for people to preemptively look up whether their names are on the list.”
The names of those targeted individuals was posted last week to Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, by the pro-ISIS group United Cyber Caliphate. The list was only up for a short period of time before being removed.
Among the names were 3,000 located in NYC. One of the people on the list is an 88-year-old man named Art. He told NBC news that “the FBI warned him to be cautious when going out in public and to call 911 if he feels threatened.” Art says he’s not too worried.
“It sounds like psychological warfare,” he said. “Make 3,000 people in this city very upset…I’m not going to even do what they’re saying, be cautious in the street, because it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense.”
The U.S. is in the middle of cyberattacks of its own on ISIS, dropping “cyberbombs” on intended targets.
[via Gothamist]