Following terrorist attacks on Paris and Belgium, the extremist organization known as ISIS has shown no signs of slowing down. As the wealthiest terrorist organization in the world currently operating, ISIS is known for its fear-mongering tactics. The release of a hit list containing the names and personal information of 3,000 New Yorkers—many of whom aren't even affiliated with the United States government—is the latest effort.
Last week an ISIS-related hacking group called United Cyber Caliphate posted the list to Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, Gothamist reports. A chunk of the names are people who work for Homeland Security and the State Department chosen randomly from old lists, but a large portion of those listed are average New Yorkers with no affiliation to federal security. The FBI is in the process of contacting all the people on the list.
Rest assured that anyone named will be contacted by the FBI, but a spokesperson said there is no way for people to check if they are named. "Potential threats may relate to individuals, institutions, or organizations, and are shared in order to sensitize potential victims to the observed threat, and to assist them in taking proper steps to ensure their safety," the spokesperson said.
The threat of these hacking groups is surely intimidating, but the FBI upholds that "these hacking groups still operate unofficially and remain poorly organized and are likely underfunded." There's no need to panic, even if you do get a call from the FBI.
Allow Art, a 88-year-old man who appeared on the hit list, to serve as an example of strength. "I'm not going to even do what they're saying, be cautious in the street, because it's nonsense, it's nonsense," he said. Psychological warfare is the name of the game, and Art isn't having any of it.
