Purported Daesh target list contains 150 Canadian names

A U.S. media monitoring group has unearthed what has been labelled a “kill list,” linked loosely to Daesh and brandishing the names of about 150 Canadian “targets.”

The list, while likely an empty threat and apparently compiled almost at random, could serve as inspiration to “lone wolf” attackers and offers the latest example of a cyber-terror tactic by hacker groups loosely tied to the Syrian-based militant group, experts say.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) first spotted the list on social media sites, including the Telegram networking app, on June 7. The Star has since obtained a copy of the list.

Featuring mostly women’s names, it appears to be compiled by the proDaesh hacker group United Cyber Caliphate and two affiliate groups.

Elliot Zweig, the Washingtonbased NGO’s deputy director, said he passed on the list — 8,300 names in full from multiple countries — to authorities in the U.S. and abroad.

“What’s rare is the size of it,” Zweig said, noting past “kill lists” often included the names of government officials, drone operators and FBI agents. These may be mainly civilians, according to MEMRI.

“There’s no rhyme or reason. Sometimes it’s just random people,” added executive director Steven Stalinsky.”

There are about 20 people listed with GTA addresses. There are also “targets” with postal codes from across the country.

Amarnath Amarasingam, a fellow at the George Washington University program on extremism, said the link between the hacker umbrella group and the leadership of Daesh (also known as ISIS and ISIL) remains murky.

“The fear is that some lone actor might take these lists and do something with them,” he said.

The mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., last December and in Orlando last weekend, which claimed 63 lives in total, were both carried out by American-born young men.

“You don’t need individuals to have any real links to ISIS leadership,” Amarasingam said.

Still, “most people don’t take (proDaesh hacking groups) too seriously,” he added. “They’re just a bunch of fanboys with computer skills.”

In the past four months, hacker groups, including the United Cyber Caliphate, have released about nine kill lists containing thousands of names in total.

“Kill lists have long been released officially by jihadi groups, but it wasn’t until recently that self-proclaimed hacking groups began releasing their own kill lists,” according to a recent report by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group.

“While we do not comment on allegations, specific threats or operations related to national security, we can say that the Government of Canada monitors all potential threats and has robust measures in place to address them,” said Public Safety Department spokesman Scott Bardsley. The RCMP did not respond by press time to questions about whether it was alerting targeted Torontonians.