Dutch media are reporting that the Dutch secret service AIVD has been operating a pro-terrorist website for about 6 months trying to track down and monitor Jihadists in The Netherlands.
Despite its huge success, the website has been taken offline as it turned out that within the sites’ discussion forum, plans were developing to go and hack high profile websites.
“Nobody dared to take responsibility when it would become public that these jihadhackers had been supported by the AIVD”, a source told a local newspaper.
The site has been used to retrieve IP addresses and the intelligence agency was able to read along with the internal communication. The AIVD also contemplated having downloadable files contain spyware.
There were 150 active members present within the sites’ forum. The AIVD was proud that this tactic proved successful but is currently not happy with the PR about this initiative as their methods have now been disclosed.
Dutch language article: http://www.nu.nl/internet/2307950/aivd-runde-website-radicale-moslims.html
Previously:
MI5 comes out against cutting off internet pirates
Both the security services and police are concerned about the plans, believing that threatening to cut off pirates will increase the likelihood that they will escape detection by turning to encryption.
Law enforcement groups, which include the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the Metropolitan Police’s e-crime unit, believe that more encryption will increase the costs and workload for those attempting to monitor internet traffic. One official said: “It will make prosecution harder because it increases the workload significantly.”
A source involved in drafting the Bill said that the intelligence agencies, MI5 and MI6, had also voiced concerns about disconnection. “The spooks hate it,” the source said. “They think it is only going to make monitoring more difficult.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6885923.ece
