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ISIS Hackers Have 'Kill List' of Dozens of Minn. Cops

The list includes names, addresses, and phone numbers
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2016 2:49 PM CDT
ISIS Hackers Have 'Kill List' of Dozens of Minn. Cops
Hackers supportive of ISIS have released a "kill list" featuring the names and personal information of three-dozen Minnesota police officers.   (Militant photo via AP, File)

An ISIS-affiliated group of hackers released a "kill list" that includes the names, addresses, and phone numbers of at least three dozen Minnesota police officers, KMSP reports. The list was found on the encrypted messaging app Telegram by web analysts at Vocativ on Monday. It was created by a group called the Caliphate Cyber Army and includes the message "wanted to be killed" along with information about the officers, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The FBI is taking the list "very seriously" and is working with local agencies to track down the hackers. "Clearly, in law enforcement we don’t want this information out there at all," an FBI spokesperson tells KMSP.

"We're doing everything that we can to ensure the safety of the officers," a St. Paul Police Department spokesperson tells the Star Tribune. Five of the officers named on the kill list are from that department, though one is retired. All five have been notified, Minnesota Public Radio reports. Hackers supportive of ISIS have issued similar threats against military personnel, New Jersey Transit police, Mark Zuckerberg, and others. It's unclear why this list specifically targets law enforcement in Minnesota, though 25% of US citizens who've tried to join ISIS are reportedly from the state. (More ISIS stories.)

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