Hacker Group Anonymous Declares War on ISIS: "Expect Massive Cyber Attacks"

The international cohort of hackers known as Anonymous has promised a cyber war on ISIS following the terrorist organization's horrific attack on Paris on Friday night (opens in new tab). 

In a video posted to YouTube over the weekend, a French-speaking man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask—a signature look for Anonymous members—had strong words for ISIS.

"Expect massive cyber attacks. War is declared. Get prepared," he said (opens in new tab). 

"The French people are stronger than you and will come out of this atrocity even stronger," the man continued (opens in new tab). "Anonymous from all over the world will hunt you down. You should know that we will find you and we will not let you go. We will launch the biggest operation ever against you."

The video, which has more than 1 million views, was not posted to Anonymous's official YouTube channel, according to NBC News (opens in new tab), but Anonymous tweeted from its official Twitter account on Sunday that it was in fact at war with Daesh, another name for ISIS. 

ISIS uses social media aggressively, posting, for example, gruesome videos of its members executing prisoners. It's also sought to recruit people in the West (opens in new tab), including young women, by seeking them out on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. While their strategy may seem sophisticated, ISIS's dependence on the internet makes them an obvious target for Anonymous's skilled hackers. Stay tuned for updates.