After having used the Internet profusely for propaganda and recruitment, jihadist organisations have realised that investigators are gleaning crucial information online and are increasingly concealing their web presence, experts say.
Apart from recent orders given to fighters to limit their exposure, erase the footprint of their online activity and avoid revealing too many place names or faces, the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front groups are increasingly using the "Dark Web" -- the hidden part of the Internet protected by powerful encryption softwares.
"Sometimes we get the geographical location of some fighters thanks to Facebook," Philippe Chadrys, in charge of the fight against terrorism at France's judicial police, said earlier this week.
"Some even publish it on the public part of their account. That gives us elements to build a case. Because of course we don't go to Syria, we have no one on the ground, and we lack proof."
In November, Flavien Moreau, a 28-year-old jihadist who travelled to Syria and then returned to France, was jailed for seven years exclusively on the basis of what he posted online.
And those who just months ago had happily posted videos, photos of themselves holding Kalashnikovs or of beheading on Facebook have now realised that they were single-handedly building a case against themselves, if they ever decided to come home.
"We are starting to notice the beginnings of disaffection with Facebook -- they have understood that's how we get incriminating evidence," said Chadrys.
"They are resorting more and more to Skype or WhatsApp, software that is much harder to intercept.
"We realise that the people we are interested in are increasingly specialised in computing. They master encryption software and methods to better erase data."
'Cyber-surveillance' key
Chadrys also said that jihadists were increasingly using the "Dark Web."
"That makes our probes much more complicated. The terrorists are adapting, they understand that the telephone and Internet are handy, but dangerous.
He pointed to Mehdi Nemmouche, saying last year's alleged Brussels Jewish museum killer had no mobile phone and no Facebook account.
Faced with this problem, police are resorting to calling in cryptography and computing experts, but there are never enough, which slows down investigations.
Last autumn, the Islamic State group (IS) published guidelines for its members, asking fighters not to tweet precise location names, to blur faces or stop giving too many details about on-going operations.
"Security breaches have appeared, which the enemy has taken advantage of," read the text, written in Arabic.
"The identity of some brothers has been compromised, as have some sites used by mujahedeen. We know that this problem does not only involve photos, but also PDF, Word and video files."
In a recent report, Helle Dale of the US-based Heritage Foundation think-tank wrote that cyber-surveillance was key to the fight against IS "as human intelligence is hardly available on the ground, especially in Syria, and the number of unmanned drones is limited."
But, she added, the group "is changing is communications strategy. It is encrypting its electronic communications, limiting its presence online and using services that delete messages as soon as they are sent."
AFP
Sat Jan 31 2015
Faced with this problem, police are resorting to calling in cryptography and computing experts, but there are never enough, which slows down investigations. - File Photo
3 maut, 5 parah nahas dua pacuan empat roda
Tiga maut, lima parah dalam kemalangan membabitkan dua kenderaan pacuan empat roda di Jalan Kuala Krai-Gua Musang kira-kira jam 12.30 pagi tadi.
Penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin di Paris kepung universiti
Penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin mengepung bangunan dan kawasan hadpaan Universiti Sciences Po yang berprestij di Paris pada Jumaat.
Piala Thomas: Zii Jia pamer magis tarik perhatian ramai di Chengdu
Zii Jia merekodkan kemenangan ke atas Lee Cheuk Yiu dalam aksi yang mengambil masa 45 minit menghadirkan saat-saat terbaik dalam saingan pembukaan ini.
Youth All Girls raih gangsa di Amerika Syarikat
Pasukan sorak Malaysia Youth All Girls raih gangsa di The 2024 International Cheer Union World Cheerleading Championships (ICU JWCC) di Florida, Amerika Syarikat pada Khamis.
Perkembangan proses penamaan calon PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu
Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) membuka tirai hari ini dengan bermulanya proses penamaan calon pagi tadi di Dewan Serbaguna Dan Kompleks Sukan Daerah Hulu Selangor.
Firdaus Azil ada perincian untuk dikongsikan jam ini.
Firdaus Azil ada perincian untuk dikongsikan jam ini.
Malaysia-China bincang perkukuhkan kerjasama sektor pendidikan
Malaysia dan China membincangkan inisiatif strategik bagi memperluas serta memperkukuh jalinan kerjasama sektor pendidikan tinggi antara Kuala Lumpur-Beijing sempena sambutan ulang tahun ke-50 hubungan diplomatik Malaysia-China.
Perdana Menteri ke Riyadh sempena mesyuarat khas Forum Ekonomi Sedunia
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan mengadakan lawatan kerja ke Riyadh, Arab Saudi sempena mesyuarat khas forum sedunia World Economic Forum (WEF) bermula 27 hingga 29 April ini.
Kerajaan Persekutuan kaji cadangan wujud hospital di Pengerang - Azalina
Hospital tersebut akan memudahkan penduduk mendapatkan rawatan memandangkan Pengerang semakin pesat membangun.
Pusat penamaan calon PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu ditutup
Pusat penamaan calon bagi Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) ditutup tepat pada pukul 10 pagi selepas dibuka 9 pagi ini.
AWANI Ringkas: Reformasi gaji di Malaysia
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.