Dear Bin Laden, All Your Websites Are Belong To Us

Dear OBL,

We know your followers have a multitude of websites they use to keep in contact, pass on intel, recruit, etc. We also know you like to use these sites to release your videos and spread your propaganda.

However, few people are aware that on September 11 you were put on notice. From now on all your websites are belong to us. *See Below*

Dateline - September 9th, 2008

Anonymous posting on terrorist website announces the pending release of a new Osama Bin Laden video, to discuss the anniversary of 9-11. Release date set for September 11, 2008.

Dateline - September 11, 2008

Shortly after 8 AM more than 30 of the highest level, longest standing, most notorious international terror sites mysteriously begin to "go offline".

Dateline - October 08, 2008

In 30 days more than 1000 terrorist websites have been "disappeared" from the net. Although historically the sites sometimes come and go, this quantity of high level sites going offline is unprecedented.

Effects -

The new OBL video release was delayed more than a week. There was very little media coverage once the video did manage to get released. It never really made it to the mainstream web.

The members of the sites were confused at the sudden loss.

The lack of video release appeared to frustrate them quite a bit.

As each day passes a type of funnel effect is created where more and more terror supporters, (and trackers), are forced to visit a steadily declining number of available websites.

Notes -

Nobody is discussing it, (except members of the sites asking whats happening).

Limited news coverage.

No claims of responsibility.

It has been suggested that a couple of blogging groups, or the U.S. Military is doing it.

Question -

Who's doing it?
Why now?

OOOHHHHH! I am telling the President of the USA!

Star and Flag for you!!!

Only one question I have...Why didn't I think of that?

Time for the Whois.

Lets blow this **SNIP** wide open!

Admin Edit: removed T&C violation

[edit on 12-10-2008 by Crakeur]

Very interesting information there.

I never understood why somebody couldn't set Bin Laden up the hacker?

From what I understand it's relatively easy to back-track where an Internet posting is made--this would at least give them an idea of where specifically the terrorists are opperating.

More proof they are really not serious about the war on terror IMO.

More proof perhaps that Bin Laden and co were simply the "hired hands" to carry out 9/11--the government's purchased Emmanuel Goldstein.

BTW--some of the videos have been debunked--for example some are "reissues" of earlier posts, then another one were OBL apeared to have a dyed beard which he never would have done, with his religious beleifs.

[edit on 8-10-2008 by asmeone2]

And then of course there was the original thing that made me dubious about the web site postings:

I can't speak for OBL but why the internet?

Isn't he supposed to want to destroy the Western world--why use one of its hallmarks to spread that message?

May we get some linkage up in this....

...shiznit?

When you say anonymous posting do you mean the group "Anonymous?"

Because that is who I would think is doing it. First thing that popped into my head.

Let's hope that their disappearance is due to one of the reasons you mention. When something that has remained the same (their 'online network' or whatever) suddenly changes... well just saying that I hope it's not a signal of something 'big' about to happen and they've covering their tracks. The quiet before the storm?

Originally posted by 12.21.12
May we get some linkage up in this....

...shiznit?

I didn't put any links because I doubt it would be within the TOS to link most of the several hundred sites that I er, uh, happen accross. In addition, there is no one news source running all the info I posted.

However, there are some public sites that noticed the announcement, and a couple that noticed the big sites beginning to go down.

This is one of Casey Brittons public forums. Casey is well known in the field.
Replica of video announcement

This is Dr. Rusty Shackelfords forum. His group is one of those accused of responsibility.
AQ releases video 8 days late

This is a public group of non-proffesional trackers. The last post references the information.
31 sites down

This is Geralds blog. He does a lot of tracking. Note the comments section.
1000 terror sites down

There is a great deal more, but this should give you the indication that I'm not pulling this out of thin air.

Perhaps some will say that these are not reputible souces. I don't have to take their word for it, because I have my own list and am watching the sites as they go down. Its quite interesting.

Just passing on info...



No, not "the" anonymous.




[edit on 10/9/08 by makeitso]

I see. Well, since you said that these are sites, you, uh, happen across I will take your word for it. I am a little uneasy about visiting them now.

reply to post by makeitso


Nice job sir! This sort of thing definitely deserves attention. This is a fascinating aspect of the "war on terrorism" that I had not considered. These are guerrilla tactics. This is a type of vigilanteism that is many times more effective than any kind of military operation on the ground. This situation reminds me of the power of "Anonymous". The war on terrorism is a paradox and a farce. It is a war that is not winnable. Counter intelligence is the key.

We are assuming that it is the US GOV or allies doing this.

Anonymous seems to do things just for the heck of...

But is it possible that OBL himself, or whoever succeed him if he died, took it down for some reason?

Originally posted by Rotoplooker
reply to post by makeitso

 

Nice job sir!

This is a type of vigilanteism that is many times more effective than any kind of military operation on the ground. This situation reminds me of the power of "Anonymous". Counter intelligence is the key.

Thank you.

Thats the funny thing though.
At first I assumed it was the gov, but you would thing they would be standing up patting themselves on the back and making big news announcements. Expecially during an election period.

If it was vigilante's, how did they manage to corrupt so many databases, infiltrate "by invitation only" top level sites, and how are they able to permanantly "take down" so many so quickly?

I considered that the terrorists are taking them down in preparation for an upcoming op, but that doesn't seem likely since they screwed up OBL's video release, and none of their top tier members seem to know whats going on.

Strange days indeed.
Perhaps I'm overlooking something.
Its a big "whodunit", and nobody's talking.

[edit on 10/9/08 by makeitso]

More sites down today.

Large, popular sites.

Still no real word about whats going on.

Here's a fair info-burst about it.

The Noose Tightens: Second-Tier Forums Down, Call for Information Ops on U.S. Forums

There are a number of "internet vigilantes" on the watch for Jihad websites
One of the better known is Rita Katz, an Iraqi Jew, who fled Iraq when
her father was arrested and executed by Saddam on trumped up charges

There is an another woman in the Midwest (cant remeber her name)
who trapped several wanna be Jihadists including sailor in US Navy
(convert to Islam) volunteering to join up with Bin Laden.

They often tip off police and intelligence agencies as to what they
find.

Intelligence agencies will often "sit" on a site for a while and watch it -
logging names, IP addresses and looking for any interesting info.

Most of what passes is "chatter" is bravado and BS by wanna be types
On occasion something important will turn up - in days before 9/11
NSA overheard things like "The match will soon begin" and Ramzi Bin
Al Shib (planned 20 th hijacker denied a visa) talking about "two
sticks straight up, a dash and cake with stick down - illusuion to
date 11-9 (date format outside US). At that time nobody knew
significane of what was discussed. Now any tidbit is carefully (we hope_
sifted ....

Sites continue to go dark. Confusion reigns.

Aaron provides a good analogy and some insight.

Ship after ship in the harbor has been scuttled, and the surviving rats are gathered aboard the few vessels that remain afloat.

The explanations provided heretofore regarding the disappearance of one site after the other are either mostly, or entirely, without foundation in fact. That goes for the mainstream media reports of hacking, the intelligence leaks of a covert operation to shut down sites, and the lame excuses offered up in official communiqués by the likes of al-Fajr (the latter evidently being too embarrassed to let the truth be known).

Despite not knowing what actually happened, the jihadis are starting to discuss countermeasures.

Still trying to track down more references / confirmation / information.

The below posts are a few days old, but they serve to confirm that the major sites are down and staying down.

Google groups mention

CBSnews -more jihad websites going down

al qaeda unplugged

the breadth of this effort points to a coordinated attack on a major nerve center of al-Qaida's information warfare effort

AQ media depending on secondary sites

Closure of forums breeds paranoia

Still no info on who's doing it.



[edit on 10/11/08 by makeitso]

Fact or Farce?

Al-Fajr Center Announces Shuttering of Three Top Jihad Web Forums PDF

the official online logistical network responsible for disseminating messages from various Al-Qaida military factions—announcing the sudden closure of three of the top Internet discussion forums currently used by Al-Qaida: Al-Ekhlaas, Al-Firdaws, and Al-Boraq. According to the Al-Fajr Center, the chat forums were shuttered “for technical reasons”

Add this to the mix I guess.

Al Arabiya hunts for hackers in US courts

A tit-for-tat cyber war that began in September has disabled more than 1,000 websites, belonging to both sects, as Shiite and Sunni hackers infiltrated primarily religious websites to post sectarian messages.

"The media" have finally begun to notice.

Washington Post - Al-Qaeda Web Forums Abruptly Taken Offline

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Four of the five main online forums that al-Qaeda's media wing uses to distribute statements by Osama bin Laden and other extremists have been disabled since mid-September, monitors of the Web sites say.

There had been this aura of invincibility" about al-Qaeda's media operations, said Gregory D. Johnsen, a U.S.-based expert on violent Sunni groups in Yemen. "Now this has really been taken away from them."

In early September, the al-Fajr forums were drumming up anticipation of al-Qaeda's annual video marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Await Sept. 11!" one message declared.

Instead, on Sept. 10, the forums vanished.

[edit on 10/18/08 by makeitso]