Grandpa, 'The Raptor,' Takes dOwn AlQueda Webs Sites - The Firearms Forum

raven818 · 04-10-2012, 03:23 PM

His Blog is linked below the article.

An American hacker, who calls himself “The Raptor” and claims to be a grandfather waging his own war on terror, is taking credit for a series of takedowns of online forums used by Al Qaeda sympathizers, FoxNews.com has learned.

Calling himself a patriot acting on behalf of U.S. troops serving overseas, The Raptor claims to be behind last month’s attack on Al Qaeda’s main online forum, Shamukh Islamic Network, and a handful of other sites and forums, including Ansar al-Mujahideen, where jihadists gather online to issue threats and exhort one another to acts of terror. The sites went down on March 22, and most remained dark for nearly two weeks. As the websites stayed offline, The Raptor taunted his targets on Twitter, daring them to “bring it.”

“Bow. Wave. Exit Stage Right. Curtains. Applause,” he tweeted after Shamukh, the main site used to blast out Al Qaeda content, was taken out of commission, only to return days later with a message blaming the outage on “Enemies of Allah.”

In the online world, where posters and hackers alike take on false personas and play a virtual game of cat and mouse, it is difficult to know if The Raptor is who he says he is, someone simply claiming credit, or if the hack attacks are part of some larger, government-related operation.

“Who is taking it down is an interesting question, but does it matter?” asked Jeff Bardin, cyberterror expert and former Air Force Arabic linguist who is now a principal at the private intelligence firm Treadstone 71.

If experts can’t be sure who is taking the jihadist sites down, it is unlikely the extremists who run them and post on them can, either. But it is all but certain they’ve been stung by the taunts of someone calling himself The Raptor, or as his Twitter handle is spelled, “th3raptor.”

“Just another infidel defending cyberspace for God and country,” The Raptor describes himself on Twitter.

A man who FoxNews.com contacted through The Raptor’s Twitter page reluctantly described himself as a grandfather and retired military man with a child serving active duty. These details could not be confirmed independently by FoxNews.com, and he declined to provide any other details about his identity.

He Has A Blog here: http://th3raptor.wordpress.com/

Lots more to the story here: http://tinyurl.com/7c4fyro

Marlin T · 04-10-2012, 04:27 PM

Go Raptor go!
Thanks for the article Raven

jack404 · 04-10-2012, 04:54 PM

raptors been around a good while ..

Marlin T · 04-10-2012, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack404

raptors been around a good while ..

Hopefully he will be around for a long time too!
He is doing more to fight islam than the govt is, at least that is my opinion.

jack404 · 04-10-2012, 08:52 PM

jbmid1 · 04-10-2012, 10:28 PM

And if you read further into the article. He speaks about the lack of security on vbulletin sites.(like this one).

04-10-2012, 03:23 PM	#1
raven818 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Jax, Fl. Contributor Posts: 4,423	Grandpa, 'The Raptor,' Takes dOwn AlQueda Webs Sites His Blog is linked below the article. An American hacker, who calls himself “The Raptor” and claims to be a grandfather waging his own war on terror, is taking credit for a series of takedowns of online forums used by Al Qaeda sympathizers, FoxNews.com has learned. Calling himself a patriot acting on behalf of U.S. troops serving overseas, The Raptor claims to be behind last month’s attack on Al Qaeda’s main online forum, Shamukh Islamic Network, and a handful of other sites and forums, including Ansar al-Mujahideen, where jihadists gather online to issue threats and exhort one another to acts of terror. The sites went down on March 22, and most remained dark for nearly two weeks. As the websites stayed offline, The Raptor taunted his targets on Twitter, daring them to “bring it.” “Bow. Wave. Exit Stage Right. Curtains. Applause,” he tweeted after Shamukh, the main site used to blast out Al Qaeda content, was taken out of commission, only to return days later with a message blaming the outage on “Enemies of Allah.” In the online world, where posters and hackers alike take on false personas and play a virtual game of cat and mouse, it is difficult to know if The Raptor is who he says he is, someone simply claiming credit, or if the hack attacks are part of some larger, government-related operation. “Who is taking it down is an interesting question, but does it matter?” asked Jeff Bardin, cyberterror expert and former Air Force Arabic linguist who is now a principal at the private intelligence firm Treadstone 71. If experts can’t be sure who is taking the jihadist sites down, it is unlikely the extremists who run them and post on them can, either. But it is all but certain they’ve been stung by the taunts of someone calling himself The Raptor, or as his Twitter handle is spelled, “th3raptor.” “Just another infidel defending cyberspace for God and country,” The Raptor describes himself on Twitter. A man who FoxNews.com contacted through The Raptor’s Twitter page reluctantly described himself as a grandfather and retired military man with a child serving active duty. These details could not be confirmed independently by FoxNews.com, and he declined to provide any other details about his identity. He Has A Blog here: http://th3raptor.wordpress.com/ Lots more to the story here: http://tinyurl.com/7c4fyro __________________ Firearms and Salt Water Fishing Retired 42 Years LEO -->

04-10-2012, 04:27 PM	#2
Marlin T Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New Mexico Posts: 7,857	Re: Grandpa, 'The Raptor,' Takes dOwn AlQueda Webs Sites Go Raptor go! Thanks for the article Raven __________________ "But the simple truth--born of experience--is that tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people." Judge Alex Kozinski - United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government. - Thomas Paine Did you read todays GOOD shooting? >>>KEEPANDBEARARMS.COM <<<

04-10-2012, 04:54 PM	#3
jack404 Former Guest Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Australia Contributor Posts: 17,622	Re: Grandpa, 'The Raptor,' Takes dOwn AlQueda Webs Sites raptors been around a good while ..

04-10-2012, 08:52 PM	#5
jack404 Former Guest Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Australia Contributor Posts: 17,622	Re: Grandpa, 'The Raptor,' Takes dOwn AlQueda Webs Sites

04-10-2012, 10:28 PM	#6
jbmid1 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,075	Re: Grandpa, 'The Raptor,' Takes dOwn AlQueda Webs Sites And if you read further into the article. He speaks about the lack of security on vbulletin sites.(like this one).