Inside the ‘Ghost Security Group’ hackers waging war on ISIS who claim to have foiled terror plots in Britain and over a DOZEN countries
The hacktivists say they have infiltrated jihadi networks and their intelligence has helped smash dozens of deadly ISIS plots
A SHADOWY network of cyber hackers waging war on ISIS claim to have helped foil terror attacks in more than a dozen countries - including Britain.
Operating within extremist groups online, the so-called Ghost Security Group (GSG) monitors activity and feeds its intelligence back to the US Government.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun Online, a GSG spokesperson said their war on ISIS's digital recruiting and attack planning networks was "a huge part of the battle and will only be growing".
It comes just weeks after a former CIA analyst revealed that ISIS had created a new generation of "cyber jihadis" who were beginning to target infrastructure such as energy grids and social media sites.
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The GSG spokesperson said: "We no longer publicly comment on our successes but if you take a look at the major news stories around the world of terrorist arrests and thwarted plots it is extremely likely we were intimately involved.
"France, Belgium, Tunisia, Brazil, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Germany, Italy, the UK, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and the United States are definitely on our list of recent successes."
The claims are almost impossible to verify given the FBI declines to comment on the organisation, or any possible links it has to the group.
But Michael Smith, an adviser to the US Congress and a middle man for the US government and GSG, admitted in interviews in 2015 that GSG intelligence led to the breakup of a terror plot in Tunisia.
This plot had made reference to Jewish and British tourists and was due to occur around a month after the devastating Sousse massacre in which 30 Brits were slaughtered.
Another plot GSG is believed to have had helped with was ISIS-inspired plans to hit New York on Independence Day in 2015.
The GSG spokesperson added: "Because we have been actively involved in fighting extremism for over two years, we are deeply embedded within the terror networks and have been able to study their tactics, behaviours, methods and technologies."
They added GSG deployed its own agents to "walk among" extremists who have a presence online and even has its own team that develops "mission-specific"; technology to monitor jihadis.
"We currently have people who were officially trained in IT, programming, network security and we have others who just immersed themselves in those fields as a hobby and became proficient over the years.
"We have military folks and we have homemakers. Some of our team are actively studying in an official capacity now to improve their skills and become even more useful.
"Our motivation is simple - stopping terrorism wherever and whenever we can to save innocent lives.
"The problem is massive and it's mostly contained but the Pandora's box is getting cracked open and we're going to have a major global human disaster on our hands if the world doesn't do more to put a stop to things more quickly.
"We may not all agree on how other people live their lives, but all humans deserve the freedom to make their own decisions without the fear of being thrown off a building, slaughtered like a lamb, stoned to death, maimed or otherwise oppressed in any way."
The spokesperson declined to discuss how many operatives they use, or where they are located, but claimed: "Our members and partners span all times zones.
"Our boots touch sand, soil, grass, wood and concrete, and there is always a ghost on watch."
The Sun Online recently revealed scientists in Texas were working to develop a vaccine for the PLAGUE amid fears terrorists could use it as a bio-weapon against Western soldiers.
US leaders have also long feared ISIS could use dirty bombs attached to hobby drones to kill thousands in heavily populated cities.
GHOST SECURITY GROUP IN NUMBERS
- Helped prevent terror attacks in 14 countries
- Assisted in suspending 100,000 social media accounts
- At least 180 websites flagged and taken offline
- Jihadi Twitter accounts taken down three times a day
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