ISIS has been blocked out of many messaging apps already, so the organization has decided to create its own encrypted Android messaging app for organizing terrorist attacks and other mayhem in secrecy.
According to information from the Ghost Security Group, this isn't the sort of messaging app that is available through the Play Store. Instead, the app, apparently known as Alrawi, is only available through hidden parts of the internet as a downloadable APK that ISIS would then sideload onto their handsets.
The Alrawi app allows ISIS to communicate through encrypted channels, albeit in a more rudimentary way than public encrypted messaging apps like Telegram. The primary function of the app is to distribute propaganda to the followers of ISIS, such as news and videos, although the messaging functionality is almost certainly used for other, more sinister means.
As someone affiliated with ISIS developed the app, group members feel safe using it as they know it doesn't contain a government backdoor. However, judging by reports from GhostSec and others, the encryption systems don't sound as tight as bigger and more well-known apps, meaning it could be vulnerable to hacking.
The move by ISIS to create their own messaging app comes after the group was banned from using apps like Telegram and WhatsApp. Terrorists and the public in general are also facing government interference with encryption, as many politicians believe that backdoors are the best way to combat and catch terrorist communication channels.
