For the last 14 months Anonymous has waged cyber War against the Islamic State and have done everything in their power to “eliminate the digital footprint of the the group.” What you might not have known is that the United States government, mainly intelligence analysts, have been opposed to these Anonymous operations as they may interfere with intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism.

Last November AnonHQ News covered an article chronicling how the United States Government was fighting itself over ISIS strategy. To sum it up, US Cyber Command had developed highly sophisticated computer programs, mainly viruses, which had the capability to completely wipe out ISIS computers and communications. However, alternative government agencies such as the FBI, were completely opposed to the deployment of these viruses as it would disrupt the FBI’s ability to monitor/record ISIS communications. The end of the article alluded to the fact that “ISIS is a military operation, the Pentagon deals with military affairs. Expect the malware to be deployed no matter how the FBI may feel about it.”

On February 26, the Secretary of Defense announced the US military was likely to become engaged in cyber War with the Islamic State, but nearly 3 months later it is now official – US Cyber Command has indeed declared cyber War against the Islamic State. President Obama gave a review of the initiative when he met with joint leaders of allied forces in Hanover, Germany last Monday.

As a report by The New York Times points out, the NSA has primarily been involved in espionage against the Islamic State, but recently President Obama has expressed the desire to bring the United States Military wing, US Cyber Command into the fight. For the same reason President Obama has used an unprecedentedly large number of drone strikes against the Islamic State is essentially the same reason he is now declaring cyber War. President Obama sees this as a way to gain ground against the United States without risking the lives of American soldiers. As for why it has taken this long for United States military hackers to get engaged? Apparently “US Cyber Command, was focused largely on Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — where cyber attacks on the United States most frequently originate.”

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has spoken publicly about the recent change in policy and has explained that the purpose of the mission is “to disrupt the ability of the Islamic State to spread its message, attract new adherents, circulate orders from commanders and carry out day-to-day functions, like paying its fighters.” Another official, deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work went on to put it more bluntly when he stated “We are dropping cyber-bombs.” – Lulz.

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