UK launched cyber war against Islamic State

The UK has carried out a cyber offensive against Islamic State, the director of intelligence agency GCHQ said today.

Former MI5 agent Jeremy Fleming said in a speech today that the UK has conducted a “major offensive cyber-campaign” against the terrorist group.

The BBC reported that Fleming had confirmed the cyber offensive in a speech to the Cyber UK conference in Manchester.

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“In 2017 there were times when Daesh [Islamic State] found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels to spread their rhetoric, or trust their publications,” he said.

He said that the UK operation had targeted Islamic State’s online propaganda and had even destroyed networks and equipment.

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Fleming said that much of the operation was “too-sensitive to talk about” but confirmed that the “outcomes of these operations are wide-ranging”.

“This campaign shows how targeted and effective offensive cyber can be,” he said.