ISIS tells its jihadis to stop betraying their location through Twitter

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Jihadi fighters told to stop tweeting names, locations and identifiable photos
Isis leaders also want them to remove metadata from their tweets
Information from digital files can be valuable to intelligence agencies
Arabic language manual handed out to fighters gives detailed instructions

Published: 07:26 EST, 18 October 2014 | Updated: 08:42 EST, 18 October 2014

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Jihadi fighters have been told to remove metadata from their tweets and stop posting names, locations and identifiable photographs to stay one step ahead of Western spies.

Radical group, Isis, has had a prolific social media output, but leaders are concerned that fighters have been inadvertently leaking data through their online activities.

Pictures of jihadis brandishing severed heads and taunting their enemies have provided a wealth of valuable information to Western intelligence agencies such as the US NSA or Britain's GCHQ.

Metadata is information generated as you use technology, which could include the date and time you last tweeted as well as where you sent it from.

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Isis terrorists have led a prolific social media campaign, releasing several videos which purport to show beheadings. Alan Henning is shown being paraded in front of camera (above)

British muslims have been recuited using propaganda videos, such as this one featuring Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni, who grew up in Cardiff

Now Isis is taking steps to deal with the leaks and it has handed out an Arabic language manual among Isis fighters which gives detailed instructions on how to remove this data.

'A number of security gaps have appeared that have benefited the enemy and have helped expose the identities of some brothers or identify some sites used by the mujahideen with ease,' it says.

The document then goes on to explain what those gaps are and the way they expose 'data that could turn your hair gray', according to the Financial Times.

'We know this issue is not only tied to pictures, but to PDF files, word files and video files,' it adds.

Jihadi fighters have been told to remove metadata from their tweets and stop revealing names, locations and identifiable photographs

Arabic language manual handed out among Isis fighters gives detailed instructions on how to remove metadata

The Isis 'media restraint' campaign also stresses the importance of avoiding identifiable pictures of individuals.

One Isis account tweeted in support of the measures, referring to the group's victories in Iraq's Anbar province in the face of US air strikes in recent days: 'Your abstention from posting details and your brothers' movements during [the] Hit camp blessed battle two days ago was the reason God granted you victory.'

Darien Kindlund, director of threat research at FireEye, a US cyber security company said metadata – latent information in digital files – can be extremely valuable to intelligence agencies.

He said: '[It] can contain information about the identity of the author, when the content was created/modified, and potentially reveal location information around where the content was authored.'

WHAT IS METADATA AND HOW CAN YOU REMOVE IT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

Metadata is information generated as you use technology, and its use has been the subject of controversy since the NSA's secret surveillance program was revealed.

Examples include the date and time you called somebody or the location from which you last accessed your email.

The data collected generally does not contain personal or content-specific details, but rather transactional information about the user, the device and activities taking place.

In some cases you can limit the information that is collected – by turning off location services on your cell phone for instance – but many times you cannot.

British jihadi: 'We will kill every soldier you send'

A still from the newly-released video of British Hostage John Cantlie. The photojournalist has been a captive of ISIS for two years

In Raqqa, Isis's nominal 'capital' in Syria, the group has also grown increasingly paranoid about the use of WiFi and WiFi 'boosters' used to extend internet coverage in the city.

Patrick Skinner, a former CIA official and now counter terrorism expert at the Soufan Group, said: 'You don't see any of Isis's most important figures on Twitter and you see even less now of the more minor ones too . . . the people who make big speeches are the ones that end up dead.'

Islamic State terrorists recently released another propaganda video featuring British hostage John Cantlie, who warns of an impending third war in the Gulf.

In a video clip posted online, the abducted photojournalist, who describes himself as the 'British citizen abandoned by my government', accuses the western media of being complicit with America and its allies in trying to drum up support for a ground war against ISIS.

Jihadi training camp: ISIS killers learn how to fight

TREASON ARREST SEEN AS A 'BADGE OF HONOUR' FOR JIHADISTS

A former director of public prosecutions said any attempt to charge British jihadists with treason would be seen as a badge of honour by them.

Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, QC, said they should be treated as straightforward criminals, rather than using the archaic legislation.

He said: 'The worst thing you could do is attach some spurious glamour to them by attaching a title like traitor or a crime like treason.

'They ought to be treated like straightforward criminals. We have plenty of laws to deal with what they are doing.

'Britons who join Islamic State want to be treated as ideological and political foes of its allies rather than ordinary criminals. We shouldn't treat them as something different. We should treat them as criminals.'

Mr Macdonald made the comments after Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, raised the possibility of the Treason Act being used against British jihadists.

It was last used to prosecute the Nazi propagandist William Joyce.