December 10, 2015
The hacking collective Ghost Security Group discovered this month that ISIS has been distributing an application that provides propaganda-laced news and videos. The Android-based app is essentially a news portal, run by the Amaq News Agency, a group believed to be tied to ISIS. According to a tweet this week from Michael S. Smith, principal at Kronos Advisory, a defense contractor that works as an intermediary between Ghost Security Group and the U.S. government, the app features news and videos showing executions and battlefield victories. He says it’s designed to “streamline access” to the militant group’s “propaganda.”
Images of the app posted to Twitter by Smith show that it’s called “Amaq Agency.” When users start it up, the app displays a scrolling news feed and icons to play videos. For added convenience, the app includes the ability to change font size and has options for users to have the feed automatically check for new posts. It can even be automatically updated whenever the app’s developers send out new versions of the program.