ISIS supporter gets 20 years for cyber terrorism

A 20 year-old from Kosovo has been arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison for leaking confidential US military information to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, announced the US Department of Justice. Ardit Ferizi, also known as “Th3Dir3ctorY,” hacked a US retailer and collected the data from tens of thousands of customers. He then used it to compile a hit-list of some 1,300 military and government personnel.

The ISIS supporter announced on Twitter that he had gained access to the personally identifiable information, which ISIL intended to use as a hit list. After sharing the document with Junaid Hussain, a recruiter for ISIL, a link to the document was published on Twitter.

“We are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!” read the document.

Farizi was captured in Malyasia and extradited to the US. He pleaded guilty in June.

“This case represents the first time we have seen the very real and dangerous national security cyber threat that results from the combination of terrorism and hacking,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “This was a wake-up call not only to those of us in law enforcement, but also to those in private industry.