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Hackers shut down Al Qaeda Net communications

Unknown hackers manage to temporarily knock Al Qaeda's communications offline in 'well coordinated' attack, NBC News reports.

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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Elinor Mills

Hackers have temporarily shut down Al Qaeda's online distribution of videos and statements, NBC News reported today.

"Al-Qaeda's online communications have been temporarily crippled, and it does not have a single trusted distribution channel available on the Internet," Evan Kohlmann, of Flashpoint Global Partners, told NBC. Flashpoint monitors the extremist organization's communications.

The attack happened within the past few days and was "well coordinated and involved the use of an unusual cocktail of relatively sophisticated techniques," he said, adding that it could be several days before the network is up and running again.

No one has claimed credit for the attack, but Kohlmann said it could be government-sponsored.

Earlier this month, British newspapers reported that the UK government hacked an English-language Al Qaeda site and replaced bomb making instructions with cupcake recipes.