The military is working with the FBI to weigh the threat and security needs from a chilling Islamic State (ISIS) "kill list" of service members — but one soldier's wife said she's already been warned to be "vigilant."
The names, photos and details of mostly airmen and sailors targeted by the "Islamic State Hacking Division" was gleaned from the Internet, not hacked from government sources,
Stars and Stripes reports.
The Air Force has notified 58 people on the list, spokeswoman Lt. Col. Holly Slaughter told the newspaper.
"We’re trying to encourage everyone to be vigilant about what they’re putting online and how they’re interacting online, and just to secure their information," Maj. Sheryll Klinkel, a spokeswoman for U.S. Air Forces in Europe-U.S. Air Forces Africa, told Stars and Stripes.
One military spouse in Virginia told Fox News she's already heard from someone from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, urging her family to be watchful.
"We had a call from an NCIS agent on Saturday who said we were on the 'ISIS kill list,'" the military spouse told
Fox News.
"The agent wanted to verify our name and address as accurate. He said the threat should be considered. We need to be vigilant, but there was no guidance on what to do and no meeting in person to do a security assessment of our home."
She told Fox News that at least a handful of names are directly connected to the U.S.-led air campaign over Iraq and Syria, targeting ISIS.
But she disagreed with a White House claim that images were taken from social media, telling Fox News, "The way it is being presented implicates the service members when, in fact, many of these photos were published by the Navy PR machine."
She also complained there was no immediate contact from the FBI, and the family has not heard what the bureau and NCIS may be doing to verify and thwart any threat directed toward military families.
"I don't know whether to let our kids play basketball out front of the house," she told Fox News. "I don't know if we can get housing on base. But moving onto base would be letting ISIS intimidate us and win."
The NCIS told Stars and Stripes it was "actively evaluating this threat reporting and working with law enforcement and U.S. intelligence partners to address this incident."
"NCIS has met with almost all named Navy and Marine Corps service members to notify them of this threat and discuss their concerns," Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty said in an emailed statement to Stars and Stripes.
The Army, meanwhile, was trying to "determine the validity of any potential threats" while its Criminal Investigation Division worked with the FBI and local units were notified, DoD spokeswoman Cynthia Smith told Stars and Stripes.
Officials for commands in Europe and Africa said they were aware of the threat but declined to discuss security measures.
"We can’t confirm the validity of the tweet or address list, but, as always, the safety and well-being of service members and their families are a top priority, so we’re looking into it," Navy Capt. Greg Hicks of U.S. European Command wrote to Stars and Stripes.
In January,
hackers aligned with ISIS briefly seized control of U.S. Central Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts, posting threats and Internet documents.
At the same time, a division calling itself the Cyber Caliphate threatened troops and released a list of email addresses and phone numbers for top military brass and former officials, Stars & Stripes noted.
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