KUALA LUMPUR: The Islamic State (IS) hacker arrested by Bukit Aman has been identified as Kosovo citizen Ardit Ferizi, a leader of a hacker cell named the “Kosovo Hacker’s Security”.
The 20-year-old suspect was also known by his hacking moniker “Th3Dir3ctorY”.
In a statement, the United States’ Department of Justice said Ardit's arrest was based on a US provisional arrest warrant alleging that he provided material support to the IS and committed computer hacking and identity theft violations in conjunction with the theft and release of personally identifiable information (PII) of US service members and federal employees.
“The US is seeking his extradition to the Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia to stand trial,” the department said on Friday.
Ardit is also alleged to have hacked into the computer system of a victim company located in the US and stole the PII of thousands of individuals.
“He then provided the PII of over 1,000 U.S. service members and federal employees to ISIL to be used against those employees," the statement said.
“Between June and August 2015, Ferizi provided unlawfully obtained PII to IS member Junaid Hussain, aka Abu Hussain al-Britani,” it said.
"This led to Hussain posting a tweet titled “NEW: U.S. Military AND Government HACKED by the Islamic State Hacking Division!” in the name of the IS Hacking Division (ISHD) on Aug 11."
"The tweet, which contained a hyperlink to a 30-page document, stated, in part, that 'we are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!' ”
"The next 27 pages of the document contained the names, e-mail addresses, e-mail passwords, locations and phone numbers for approximately 1,351 US military and other government personnel.
"This posting was intended to provide IS supporters in the United States and elsewhere with the PII belonging to the listed government employees for the purpose of encouraging terrorist attacks against those individuals.
"US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin said Ferizi is allegedly a terrorist hacker who provided material support to IS by stealing the personally identifiable information of US service members and federal employees and providing it to terror group for use against those employees.
The 20-year-old suspect was also known by his hacking moniker “Th3Dir3ctorY”.
In a statement, the United States’ Department of Justice said Ardit's arrest was based on a US provisional arrest warrant alleging that he provided material support to the IS and committed computer hacking and identity theft violations in conjunction with the theft and release of personally identifiable information (PII) of US service members and federal employees.
“The US is seeking his extradition to the Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia to stand trial,” the department said on Friday.
Ardit is also alleged to have hacked into the computer system of a victim company located in the US and stole the PII of thousands of individuals.
“He then provided the PII of over 1,000 U.S. service members and federal employees to ISIL to be used against those employees," the statement said.
“Between June and August 2015, Ferizi provided unlawfully obtained PII to IS member Junaid Hussain, aka Abu Hussain al-Britani,” it said.
"This led to Hussain posting a tweet titled “NEW: U.S. Military AND Government HACKED by the Islamic State Hacking Division!” in the name of the IS Hacking Division (ISHD) on Aug 11."
"The tweet, which contained a hyperlink to a 30-page document, stated, in part, that 'we are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!' ”
"The next 27 pages of the document contained the names, e-mail addresses, e-mail passwords, locations and phone numbers for approximately 1,351 US military and other government personnel.
"This posting was intended to provide IS supporters in the United States and elsewhere with the PII belonging to the listed government employees for the purpose of encouraging terrorist attacks against those individuals.
"US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin said Ferizi is allegedly a terrorist hacker who provided material support to IS by stealing the personally identifiable information of US service members and federal employees and providing it to terror group for use against those employees.
"This case is a first of its kind and, with these charges, we seek to hold Ferizi accountable for his theft of this information and his role in IS’s targeting of government employees," the statement said.
