(Newswire.net — May 1, 2016) —Reuters reported that according to the FBI, thousands of New Yorkers are on the list which ISIS hackers have tagged as future targets of terrorist attacks.
Federal agents and New York police are contacting people from the list to inform them of a possible threat, but a source has said that they do not believe that it is a credible threat.
Many of the addresses on the hacker’s list are outdated, FBI agents have said, and added that they believe it’s an old list, merely a scare tactic.
John Cohen, former counter-terrorism coordinator at the Department of Homeland Security, believes the list doesn’t mean much and is only an ISIS attempt at proving that they have global reach.
In a statement by the FBI, they explain that the standard practice is not to comment on specific operational matters and anything relating to the investigation, although they do inform individuals and organizations on information collected during the investigation which could be seen as a potential threat.
The list, which the group of hackers associated with the Islamic State release on the internet, contains the perosnal names, home addresses and email addresses of thousands of people from New York.
According to ABC, the FBI has notified the New Yorkers that their names are on the list.
This is not the first time this has happened, agency Reuters reminds us.
Last year, the group of hackers who have said that they are connected to the Islamic State, claimed that they published the personal names, home addresses, email addresses and photos of 100 U.S. military service members, and called upon followers to kill them.
In 2013. United States authorities arrested more than seventy people attempting to support ISIS, reports Reuters agency.