CNNMoney reported that a messaging app known as Telegram had become popular among ISIS members because of its promise of highly encrypted communication. Laith Alkhouri, director of Research at Flashpoint Global Partners, called it "the new hot thing among jihadists."
This Berlin-based start-up company is proud of its two layers of encryption and is allegedly much faster and more secure than its counterpart WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. The app has managed to block 78 ISIS related channels across 12 languages. However they fear that the message exchanges among these jihadists won't be affected.
On Wednesday, Telegram addressed the issue saying that their ultimate goal is to provide a secure line of communication that can work everywhere on the planet, and in order to do that, they said they had to take down content which they think is illegal to the public such as sticker sets and channels within the app itself.
However, the app still features private chatrooms that users can invite friends in. They can use the app without fearing that others may be able to read their conversation because it is highly encrypted. They can message friends and send pictures and files using the app too. Another feature of the app is a group chatroom that can host up to 200 members, but this feature is something they are really confident only they have. This is feature is called "special secret chat" where messages, pictures and videos self-destruct after a period of time.
It is still difficult to choose who to block even in channels that are available to the public. Some groups who agree with ISIS' principles have been constantly posting tweets on Twitter that they had been able to post to new channels in Telegram.
It has been discovered that ISIS has used Telegram to circulate large messages on the app's "channels," which are specific to a certain topic. Every channel has a certain topic and it was in one of those channels that the group called the Paris attacks as the "first of the storm."
ISIS loyalists were also telling each other to be careful in the chatroom. There was one user who warned others to be careful and said that nothing is safe to use anymore which she hashtagged as #IslamicState.
Encryption apps are under the spotlight following the terror attacks on Paris. Law enforcement sources confirmed there were encrypted apps found on cell phones believed to belong to some of the Paris attackers.
