Beirut: Islamic State and al-Qaeda have formed internet "help desks" to teach jihadists how to avoid being monitored online, a study by the US-based Counter Terrorism Centre has found.

Terrorist groups and their supporters use the internet to arrange the movement of foreign fighters around the world and are also teaching recruits techniques for online privacy. Efforts are also under way to develop their own privacy tools.

"The effectiveness of these tools is likely to be limited in most cases, yet will likely increase the concerns of intelligence and law enforcement individuals as they represent a small first step down the road to developing potential cyber weapons," the report said.

Al-Qaeda and other jihadist organisations have used online discussion forums since the Nineties. The Islamic State has taken the practice to a new level, using Twitter and other social media to propagate - and often exaggerate - its conquests.

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Telegraph, London

 

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