Sydney: Hacktivist group Anonymous has officially declared a war on terror after hacking into the accounts of a Middle Eastern bank.
The group threatened to unleash "global internet destruction" unless the Dahabshiil bank admitted to financing terrorist groups.
The hacking group has reportedly published thousands of bank account names and numbers and is threatening to destroy the bank’s electronic systems if it does not publicly acknowledge that it helped terrorist groups such as al Qaeda and Al-Shabaab.
“We officially declare War on Terror,” News.com.au quoted the group as writing on tech blog, Slashdot.
“This is a call for actions of monitoring and/or destruction of companies and institutions that do work with terrorists, rogue countries, etc,” it added.
In the announcement, the group claimed it is not a terrorist organisation, and that it was just "fed up with the fact our society is losing time".
The group claimed that the WikiLeaks documents had revealed that the Dahabshiil bank had provided direct financial support to al Qaeda, Al Wafa and other terrorist organisations, as it posted documents on Google Plus, which highlighted the associations with other banking networks including Barclay's in the UK and Ernst & Young in the US.
The bank has been given a deadline of two months, by the group, to come forward or expect a "global Internet destruction".
"If you want us to immediately stop this cyber-sabotage, it's quite easy. We just ask you to stop lying, to recognise your help with Somalia terror, and to officially change your behaviour. We need a public message from you, as a proof,” Anonymous wrote.
The bank has not yet released any statements on its website as yet.
ANI
First Published: Friday, July 20, 2012, 17:21