This hacker has fought terrorists online since 2010, and he's not impressed by Anonymous

[Guest]

He’s defaced and shut down hundreds of terrorist websites, inserted false stories into Libyan newspapers, and unmasked fellow hackers who have crossed him.

 

His name is “The Jester” and he has worked alone as an anonymous hacker vigilante since 2010.

 

Though the international "hacktivist" group Anonymous declared cyber-war against ISIS on Sunday, The Jester is not among them. In fact, he's among the group's sharpest critics.

 

"All they'll do is dump a random list of names from a previous hack and claim it's ISIS members, and they'll report 'ISIS' accounts to Twitter. Pretty standard BS from them," The Jester, who goes by the @the3j35t3r handle and keeps his identity closely-guarded, told Tech Insider in an interview over Twitter.

 

In a video released to YouTube following the terrorist attacks on Friday in Paris, France, Anonymous vowed "massive cyber attacks" while launching its "biggest operation ever against [iSIS]." The group then released a listing of nearly 10,000 Twitter accounts it said were linked to ISIS.

 

This isn't the first time ISIS has drawn the scorn of the hacker collective. In August 2014 the group also "declared war," later revealing what it claimed were approximately 10,000 ISIS-linked social media accounts, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

 

But even Anonymous may err amidst a confusing battlefield in Iraq and Syria. Among its listing of "target" websites that clearly are in support of the Islamic State, there were some others which were questionable: One site had nothing more than placeholder content (headline: "Modern Concept And Charming Kitchen Design Ideas"), while another was an academic research site intended to track Russian-speaking foreigners who travel to Syria.

 

Non-jihadist website anonymousScreenshot

 

On Tuesday, Anonymous posted a listing of people it claimed were suspected ISIS extremists with a warning: "we are coming for you." And on Twitter, an Anonymous-affiliated hacker who goes by @CtrlSec — his or her bio lists a website for people to report terrorists online — began posting ISIS-related Twitter accounts. Still, the group has allegedly misfired in some past releases, and a simple listing of first and last names can be hard to verify as ISIS supporters.

 

"In the past its been limited to getting accounts suspended, getting content taken down, identifying IP addresses," Dan Winter, a security specialist, told the BBC of Anonymous. "But it's disruption rather than meaningful challenge. It won't solve the problem. It'll be interesting to see if it goes further than they have before."

 

Interestingly, there may be some internal strife within Anonymous over its latest operation. Tech Insider reached out to multiple social media accounts affiliated with Anonymous with no response. But "X" — the preferred nickname of an Anonymous hacker who claims to spend nearly 12 hours a day conducting business on the group's behalf — did respond over email.

 

"While I do not oppose Op ISIS, I do not agree with it nor will I actively support it," X said. "And I am not alone within Anonymous in this position. The reason is simple. The primary beneficiaries of Anonymous Op ISIS is NATO and the government of the USA. These very same organizations have long listed Anonymous as a 'foreign terrorist group' right along with ISIS, and for this reason Anonymous has been for several years at war with NATO and the USA. It seems rather foolish to me to be aiding our mortal enemies, who lock up and even torture Anons — in a fight against an evil that they themselves actually created."

 

But The Jester doesn't expect much from a group he calls "blowhards": "It's the usual case of Anonymous jumping on a current big news story," he said. "It'll amount to a hill of beans like always."

 

With the group offering members complete anonymity and no real leadership, The Jester argues, it could even host jihadists and other bad actors within its ranks.

 

But X counters this view, telling Tech Insider that while there is no central command structure, Anonymous does operate cells that are coordinated with internal leadership. And he says these cells take precautions and distrust potential infiltrators unknown to them in chatrooms and social media.  

 

Anonymous hackerFlickr/Brian Klug

 

A self-proclaimed "patriot hacker," The Jester actually got his start by going after Anonymous members and Wikileaks, which he believes endangered the lives of US troops with its massive release of classified data obtained from Chelsea Manning. But Jester's real passion, it seems, is going after jihadists online.

 

"I am here to say — no guys — you ain't gonna use the web to blow my buds up," Jester told a hacker conference in 2011, making a vague reference to having a military background. He told TI, "I'm a former military man but when pushed I tend not to go there." (In one interview, he claimed to have served as a soldier with or attached to Army Special Forces, while a New York Times report said he used to be a military contractor).

 

“Approximately five years ago I realized that there was a growing threat from Jihadis online using the internet to recruit, radicalize, and even train homegrowners,” The Jester told NBC Chicago. “I decided to research their favorite haunts, collect intelligence on the users and admins and in many cases remove them by force. I tended to hit some sites a lot and leave others. This had the effect of herding/funneling them into a smaller space. And smaller spaces are easier to watch and monitor.”

 

Since then, The Jester has built tools that initiate distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that are able to take websites offline. He's also coded tools that have fooled his fellow hackers in Anonymous, complete with backdoors that have revealed their identies — a move he says has earned him plenty of attacks in response. But nearly every time, he documents his apparent successes with his calling card: "Tango Down," a callback to military phrasing meaning that a target has been neutralized. According to a CNN Money report, the hacker says he stopped counting at 179.

 

Unlike Anonymous and its mish-mash of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube accounts, and websites, The Jester is easily found online in a handful of places, and he sometimes gives live cybersecurity talks (though he presents only through text chat to conceal his identity). He documents his hacks and comments on information security at his blog, and his nearly 70,000 Twitter followers are privy to his threats toward jihadists, and the follow-up successes if they occur.

 

After he researches target websites and identifies them, he'll attack — and often tweet as its happening. "www.alemarah.info is now under sporadic cyber-attack. This 'Voice of Jihad' served only to act as tool for terrorist [sic]. OWNED. By me, Jester," he tweeted in Jan. 2010.

 

 

 

Sometimes, he'll warn hosting companies they have a site on their servers with jihadist materials. "U should take action, or if you prefer, I can," he tweeted in June 2014. He closed with the hashtag #30mins, and as promised, he announced "Tango Down" approximately 30 minutes later.

 

It's far too early to tell whether Anonymous' war on ISIS will be what The Jester refers to as a "hill of beans."

 

Still, he praised the group for its stand against Scientology in 2008 on Tuesday, though even that was a back-handed compliment within his overall critique: "I'm not saying [Anonymous] ... doesn't have good intentions," he wrote on his blog. "I am saying they don’t have the skills, situational awareness, or moral fiber to back that up."

 

Source: http://www.techinsider.io/anon-war-isis-jester-hacking-2015-11

 

Although I sort of agree with some of the hacker's statements; I don't think that Anonymous won't do anything major against ISIS

There are so many factors at play here and I'd like to see what develops in a few months 

[Jerakl]

I've heard about him before. He actually said he was walking away from hacking I think.

 

I do know for a fact he's former US Military.

[Albatross]

Hey, if someone can stick a thorn in ISIL's ass, let them.

[Atmos]

Honestly, Anonymous is trash. 

 

They try to be the "good guys" but in the same sweep they employ members who actively destroy the lives of thousands of people world wide by compromising bank accounts, personal details, and the like.

 

I completely agree with this guy, anon movements need to just stop, they do far more harm than good.

[Virtual01]

Initial reaction: That's pretty cool

 

After looking him up on Wikipedia and finding out he hates Edward Snowden and thinks him a treasoner: No longer interested

[zacRupnow]

I've heard about him before. He actually said he was walking away from hacking I think.

 

I do know for a fact he's former US Military.

Maybe he is Snowden.

[Jerakl]

Honestly, Anonymous is trash. 

 

They try to be the "good guys" but in the same sweep they employ members who actively destroy the lives of thousands of people world wide by compromising bank accounts, personal details, and the like.

 

I completely agree with this guy, anon movements need to just stop, they do far more harm than good.

 

I agree too. 

Initial reaction: That's pretty cool

 

After looking him up on Wikipedia and finding out he hates Edward Snowden and thinks him a treasoner: No longer interested

He's a former soldier, a patriot among of patriots, what do you expect?

While I don't agree with him on that, I do agree with him on a lot of other things, as stated above.

 

 

Maybe he is Snowden.

Considering the post above found out he hates Snowden, I some how don't think so

[zacRupnow]

 Considering the post above found out he hates Snowden, I some how don't think so

I admit I stopped reading half through way to go gawk at Fallout 4 while waiting for the 2018 summer sale or later to actually get it.

[Jerakl]

I admit I stopped reading half through way to go gawk at Fallout 4 while waiting for the 2018 summer sale to actually get it.

Do what I did.

I torrented it so I could see if I like it or not, I like it, plan to buy it once it goes on sale.

[Virtual01]

Do what I did.

I torrented it so I could see if I like it or not, I like it, plan to buy it once it goes on sale.

 

BANNED

[zacRupnow]

Do what I did.

I torrented it so I could see if I like it or not, I like it, plan to buy it once it goes on sale.

Ahh good ol' uTorrent video ads... I switched to Tixati due to their always free + no ads policy.

[Jerakl]

BANNED

NO U

I've been banned more times than most of the people on this forum

It's good they weren't perma.

Ahh good ol' uTorrent video ads... I switched to Tixati due to their always free + no ads policy.

qBitTorrent is best torrent

[Bsmith]

Jester huh?

Jester is a hacker with a nice background and hinestly these statements don't amaze me.

The thing that however DOES amaze me is that everyone seems to forget(or not know) that Jester has a longer running conflict with certain anon groups, like Lulzsec. He didnt agree with them but IIRC he used his botnet a few times go against them and/or help them.

He might claim to be ex-militairy guy, but @Jerakl let's not forget how paranoid hackers are when it comes to their real name, it might be true he has been part of the miltairy, it might be false. I am only sure that he doesn't wanted to get doxxed, so there must be some misinformation.

Although I'm personally not such a fan of Jester myself, atleast he ain't all talk and does what he says.

[Jerakl]

Jester huh?

Jester is a hacker with a nice background and hinestly these statements don't amaze me.

The thing that however DOES amaze me is that everyone seems to forget(or not know) that Jester has a longer running conflict with certain anon groups, like Lulzsec. He didnt agree with them but IIRC he used his botnet a few times go against them and/or help them.

He might claim to be ex-militairy guy, but @Jerakl let's not forget how paranoid hackers are when it comes to their real name, it might be true he has been part of the miltairy, it might be false. I am only sure that he doesn't wanted to get doxxed, so there must be some misinformation.

Although I'm personally not such a fan of Jester myself, atleast he ain't all talk and does what he says.

I remember that from an interview somwehere. Of course he was hiding behind a billion layers of protection. But he did say that he was former military personnel.

It's what I heard. I took it with a grain of salt and formulated my own beliefs off of it, as should others.

Of course I came to the conclusion that he was telling the truth.

[Bsmith]

I remember that from an interview somwehere. Of course he was hiding behind a billion layers of protection. But he did say that he was former military personnel.

It's what I heard. I took it with a grain of salt and formulated my own beliefs off of it, as should others.

Of course I came to the conclusion that he was telling the truth.

 

with his way of actingand talk it might be true yeah, but him being ex-militair would put him automatically on a few watch lists, at least that wouldn't surprise me, which would be quite a huge risk, unless he struck a deal or the US of A just ignores him for some reason.

But at this point all that is just paranoia and wild guessing.

 

All it takes is one mistake though(or bad luck), if that time comes I will be willing to read through every last byte of data on him to see what he did, could and how careful he was.

[RuffRuffmcgruff]

Maybe he is Snowden.

PLOT TWIST

[NAP51DMustang]

no one should be impressed by Anonymous, they're just attention whoring script kiddies.

[alicskysareblue]

Do what I did.

I torrented it so I could see if I like it or not, I like it, plan to buy it once it goes on sale.

Hey kids be smart don't anounce you pirate games its a great way to be banned from almost any forum.

I'm not sure what I think its good we gave people like him but isil is not some random internet group they aren't stupid either, you putting yourself and others at risk when you do this.

Then again he is a former soldier so he knows better then anyone of us

[Trik'Stari]

Hey, if someone can stick a cruise missile in ISIL's ass, let them.

Fixed that for you.

[Albatross]

Fixed that for you.

 

That will hurt a lot more than a thorn.

 

 

Initial reaction: That's pretty cool

 

After looking him up on Wikipedia and finding out he hates Edward Snowden and thinks him a treasoner: No longer interested

 

You gotta understand...he is a military man and he believes Snowden put soldiers' lives at risk. Of course he would think he was a traitor and if you were in his shoes, you probably would too.

[Guest Kloaked]

Initial reaction: That's pretty cool

 

After looking him up on Wikipedia and finding out he hates Edward Snowden and thinks him a treasoner: No longer interested

 

The internet likes to praise Snowden as a hero, but you should be listening to outside opinions on the matter. The dude has a point.

[Virtual01]

The internet likes to praise Snowden as a hero, but you should be listening to outside opinions on the matter. The dude has a point.

 

It's hard to take the dude seriously when he acts like everyone except himself if a thumb sucking moron who can barely breathe without help. The dude absolutely reeks of neckbeard "I'm great and everyone else is shit" attitude.

[Guest Kloaked]

It's hard to take the dude seriously when he acts like everyone except himself if a thumb sucking moron who can barely breathe without help. The dude absolutely reeks of neckbeard "I'm great and everyone else is shit" attitude.

 

I haven't read too much into the guy, but closing yourself from outside opinions on stuff like this is dumb.

[Magnificient Potato]

"The primary beneficiaries of Anonymous Op ISIS is NATO and the government of the USA. These very same organizations have long listed Anonymous as a 'foreign terrorist group' right along with ISIS, and for this reason Anonymous has been for several years at war with NATO and the USA. It seems rather foolish to me to be aiding our mortal enemies, who lock up and even torture Anons — in a fight against an evil that they themselves actually created."

This is so stupid. 

[Joshosaurus]

PLOT TWIST

 

Your user Icon and that Line. (This is all I have to say)