British Intelligence has thwarted terrorist attempts to publish instructions for homemade bombs on Al Qaeda's English language web magazine Inspire by replacing the un-inspiring contents with cupcake recipes, reported Mail Online on June 3, 2011.
When British M16 Government Communication Headquarters operatives in Cheltenham hacked the Al Qaeda website and replaced bomb-making instructions with cupcake recipes the intended recipients found themselves before explosive cupcake recipes, but not the kind they had expected.
Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom
The online magazine published by the organization Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), whose blogger is reportedly Samir Khan, had published instructions for a homemade bomb titled "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom" in one of last year's editions but British Intelligence officers successfully hacked the pages and inserted recipes for making mojito-laced cupcakes and decadent rocky road cupcakes.
British Intelligence Increases use of Cybertools for Cyber Attack
British Intelligence has increased the use of cyber tools to attack Inspire magazine, and the hackers have been working for Britain's eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, according to The Huffington Post. At a cyber security conference in London, Christopher Painer, U.S. State Department coordinator for cyber issues said that hackers, whether from foreign governments or lone hackers, are among the most difficult to identify. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is considered a significant threat by British officials.
Al Qaeda's Cyber Magazine
On July 1, 2010, Al Qaeda launched its first English language cyber magazine called Inspire which aims to disseminate Al Qaeda propaganda in the West. Observers say it could be used to recruit U.S. born terrorists. A U.S. official at the time said that the magazine appears to be authentic. The magazine propaganda encourages terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. A second edition was published in October 2010.
Inspire's first issue included a message from Osama Bin Laden on "how to save the earth," and a quotation from Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American-born believed to be directly connected to the attempt to destroy an aircraft over Detroit on Christmas day. The summer 2010 issue cover bears the message, "May Our Souls be Sacrificed for You!" by Shaykh Anwar Al-Awlaki. A cover sub-title announcing the contents of the magazine reads "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom" by the AQ Chef. At the moment, however, it looks like inspired homegrown terrorists will be cooking up cupcakes rather than bombs in their mothers' kitchens.
Giovanna De Gennaro - Giovanna is a Canadian citizen who has travelled and worked abroad. She speaks four languages and has worked as an EFL teacher in Italy. ...
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