WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A Malaysia-based "terrorist hacker" was arrested on charges he stole personal information from more than 1,000 U.S. service members and federal employees and gave the data to Islamic State militants.
Ardit Ferizi, was detained in Malaysia on a provisional U.S. warrant alleging he provided material support to the IS, also known as Daesh, ISIS and ISIL, and committed computer hacking and identity theft, the Department of Justice said.
"This case is a first of its kind and, with these charges, we seek to hold Ferizi accountable for his theft of this information and his role in IS' targeting of U.S. government employees," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin said. "This arrest demonstrates our resolve to confront and disrupt IS's efforts to target Americans, in whatever form and wherever they occur."
Authorities said Ferizi called himself "Th3Dir3ctorY'' online and is the leader of a Kosovar Internet hacking group calling itself Kosova Hacker's Security. Ferizi allegedly hacked into the computer system of an unnamed U.S.-based company from April through August and stole personal information, including names, email addresses, passwords and home addresses, the criminal complaint said. He then gave that information to IS member Junaid Hussain, also known as Abu Hussain al-Britani, a British hacker working for the IS who was killed in an airstrike in August.
Kosova Hacker's Security is responsible for compromising government and private websites in countries that include Israel, Serbia, Greece and Ukraine. KHS has claimed responsibility for hacking 20,000 websites, including 90 percent of the Serbian government's sites and France's Interpol site in 2012.
Ferizi was living in Malaysia on a student visa, studying at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.
