ISIS is merging hacker groups into a “United Cyber Caliphate” army

The unified cyber army is an effort by the terror group to launch more sophisticated and disruptive cyberattacks against western targets, says a new report from security firm Flashpoint. ISIS’s previous cyber warfare team, the Cyber Caliphate Army, was believed to consist at times of as few as one person, who was killed in a drone attack in 2015. The Cyber Caliphate Army’s biggest “victories” are believed to be the defacement of CENTCOM’s Twitter account, though the group often falsely took credit for bigger hacks. For now Flashpoint believes the new United Cyber Caliphate army is more a posturing and propaganda stunt to attract more talented hackers than a true threat, and it doubts the UCC will have the capabilities in the foreseeable future that would allow it to match the attacks and defenses of the U.S. Cyber Command.