US Charges Man in Malaysia With Hacking, Aiding Islamic State

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian and USA authorities say a Kosovo citizen has been arrested in Kuala Lumpur for computer hacking and allegedly providing information about U.S. service members to the Islamic State group.

Malaysia’s state-run Bernama news agency reported that the 20-year-old alleged hacker had entered the country in August to pursue computer science and computer forensics studies.

The criminal complaint against Ferizi notes his hacking monitor – Th3Dir3ctorY – and that he is believed to have been the leader of the group called Kosova Hacker’s Security. The list was then tweeted out by Abu Hussain Al Britani, then the master of ISIS social media efforts, on August 11, 2015.

Authorities have arrested a Malaysia-based hacker who they accuse of stealing personal information of USA military members and giving it to ISIS.

The document said in part: “we are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses”. “We have your names and addressees … we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah [the political system that implements Islamic policies] who soon with the permissions of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands”.

“This case is a first of its kind and with these charges, we seek to hold Ferizi accountable for his theft of this information and his role in (Islamic State’s) targeting of USA government employees”, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P.Carlin said in the USA statement.

Authorities are cracking down on people with Islamic State links and have so far identified several Malaysians who have gone to Syria and Iraq to join the group.