A Member Loyal To The Islamic State In Iraq And The Levant (ISIL) Waves An ISIL Flag In Raqqa.
A member loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

ISIS has reportedly attacked Sony's Playstation Network through a series of DDoS attacks. According to reports, a group of ISIS hackers had taken credit for the incident. The Islamic State hackers had revealed in Twitter that it was their work that caused the network's downing.

Although attempts to hack gaming networks are not unusual, observers agree that this was the first time an attack was launched for religious or political purposes. The denial-of-service attack is done when a group of individuals cause the server to overload until it crashes.

While ISIS hackers, known as the Lizard Squad, were claiming credit for the attack in public, another hacker with the Twitter handle @FamedGod has come forward and claimed it was his work. The hacker encouraged social media users to report Lizard Squad on Twitter for spamming before he decides to let people back into Sony's Playstation Network.

In a Twitter post, the hacker said the ISIS' Lizard Squad "couldn't hurt a fly." He claimed it was his work that found the server and decrypted its memory.

According to reports, Sonys President of Online Entertainment John Smedley ordered his private plane to be diverted for inspection after learning of ISIS hackers' claim and tweet that a "bomb" has been planted.

ISIS turning to Diaspora

Meanwhile, reports surfaced that ISIS has been active in another online network, Diaspora, after Twitter had suspended its accounts.

After being banned from Twitter, ISIS has turned to a decentralised network with data store in several private servers. According to the creators of Diaspora, ISIS is using the network to spread their extremist activities.

In a blog post, the team behind Diaspora wrote that they were "concerned" about reports of ISIS taking advantage of free and open source software. The team explained there was no way for them to prevent the spread of ISIS activities should the militants choose to exploit the network. Diaspora's network is reportedly spread across several independent services which creators have no control.

The Diaspora team has contacted administrators of individual networks or "pods" to inform them of ISIS content and stressed the legal implications of non-cooperation.

The social network was created by four New York students that was launched in 2010 by a crowdfunding campaign.