ISIS, Other Terror Groups Might Use NFT For Funding, Propaganda: Former US Intel Officials

Intelligence officials and national security experts raised a red flag over the appearance of an NFT, which, according to them, was designed and shared by a "terrorist sympathizer," noting that the emerging blockchain technology could propel the spread of terrorist propaganda and messages and could be used as a tool for raising funds for global terror groups.

The NFT dubbed "IS-News #01" was spotted via pro-ISIS social media accounts by Raphael Guck, one of the founders of Jihadoscope, a firm monitoring jihadist activities across social media and the internet. The said Non-Fungible Token was reportedly created by a supporter of the terror group that praised the "army of the Caliphate" for attacking a place in Kabul.

In a report that came out over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal mentioned that the NFT could be an indicator that the Islamic State as well as other terror groups are maybe prepping to use Non-Fungible Tokens to avert efforts, especially that of the Western countries to destroy the groups' online messaging and fundraising.

According to the report, former U.S. intelligence officials commented that the NFT was made perhaps as an experiment to try a new way to reach out and raise funds for the Islamic State. Regulators and security officials reportedly expressed their concern about the possibility that terrorists want to exploit new technologies and markets, including NFTs.

"It's very much an experiment [...] to find ways to make content indestructible," Gluck, the one who discovered the "IS-News #01" NFT, said. Apart from this particular NFT, the supporter also made a couple of other NFTs on Aug. 26, according to Mario Cosby, a former federal intelligence analyst who specializes in the blockchain.

One of these shows a person garbed in a lab suit and gas mask, which many think is a portrait of an ISIS fighter teaching followers how to make explosives. The other one appears like a campaign condemning cigarette smoking.

None of these NFTs were ever traded and after OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, discovered the listing, it immediately took down the listing and closed the account of the one who posted them. Despite this, security experts think it could be a start.

"It was only a matter of time," Yaya Fanusie, a former CIA economic and counterterrorism analyst said. Cosby, meanwhile, noted that the mere existence of these tokens should be a cause of concern since "it's as censorship-proof as you can get," adding that "there's not really anything anyone can do to actually take this NFT down."