Australian cyber-op attacked ISIL with the terrifying power of Rickrolling.
Australia’s Signals Directorate, the signals intelligence organization, has revealed it employed zero-click attacks on devices used by fighters for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – then unleashed the terrifying power of Rick Astley.
The documentary, BREAKING the CODE: Cyber Secrets Revealed, reveals that the Directorate (ASD) developed three payloads it could deploy to ISIL fighters’ smartphones and PCs “without ISIL having to interact with the device in any way.”
One of those payloads, “Light Bolt,” saw devices link to a video of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit Never Gonna Give You Up. That attack took devices offline but was a mere inconvenience that could be dispelled by restarting.
A second payload, “Care Bear,” could also take a device offline, but ISIL’s tech support team found a workaround for that attack.
The ASD’s operatives quickly developed a third payload, “Dark Wall,” that they judged could not be defeated by ISIL’s techies.
The three payloads were used against just 47 devices, on 81 occasions. But the documentary describes how even that level of intervention made a difference as commanders in the field were able to request the ASD act against fighters in real time – and those fighters struggle to coordinate their defense.
In the documentary, ASD staff explain that merely forcing ISIL fighters to leave their posts to seek tech support was a win, because it reduced their effectiveness. In some instances, once devices were taken offline, ISIL fighters started using radios that made it possible to determine their location. In some cases, air strikes followed.
ASD staff slept in the office during much of the campaign, which took place during 2016’s Operation Valley Wolf, during which Iraqi forces advanced on the city of Mosul and ultimately reclaimed it from ISIL.
The documentary does not disclose the nature of the zero-click attacks, nor whether they were developed in-house or based on a commercial platform. During the discussion of Dark Wall, an ASD staffer states it was developed very quickly, suggesting the organization was able to iterate its efforts quickly.
The ASD’s operatives quickly developed a third payload, “Dark Wall,” that they judged could not be defeated by ISIL’s techies.
The three payloads were used against just 47 devices, on 81 occasions. But the documentary describes how even that level of intervention made a difference as commanders in the field were able to request the ASD act against fighters in real time – and those fighters struggle to coordinate their defense.
In the documentary, ASD staff explain that merely forcing ISIL fighters to leave their posts to seek tech support was a win, because it reduced their effectiveness. In some instances, once devices were taken offline, ISIL fighters started using radios that made it possible to determine their location. In some cases, air strikes followed.
ASD staff slept in the office during much of the campaign, which took place during 2016’s Operation Valley Wolf, during which Iraqi forces advanced on the city of Mosul and ultimately reclaimed it from ISIL.
The documentary does not disclose the nature of the zero-click attacks, nor whether they were developed in-house or based on a commercial platform. During the discussion of Dark Wall, an ASD staffer states it was developed very quickly, suggesting the organization was able to iterate its efforts quickly.
Source: The Register
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