04 June,2011 08:11 AM IST | | Agencies
MI6 replaces bomb-making guide with cupcake recipe on al-Qaeda website
Terrorists searching the internet for bomb-making tips found instructions on how to make Mojito flavoured cupcakes instead, thanks to British intelligence officers.
MI6 operatives were able to corrupt bomb-making instructions on an al-Qaeda website by inserting cupcake recipes
MI6 and officers at GCHQ, the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham, hacked into the launch edition of al-Qaeda's jihadi magazine Inspire and garbled the words by inserting dozens of cup cake recipes into the document.
The 67-page magazine was the first online English language website set up by an affiliate of the terrorist organisation in June last year andu00a0 contained a feature headlined "Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom" by "The AQ Chef."
Following the cyber attack, surfers were not able to browse the articles but were confronted by a list of computer code instead.
Translated, this code was revealed as page upon page of cup cake recipes for 'The Best Cupcakes in America' published by the Ellen DeGeneres chat show.
Information on how to make a Mojito Cupcake and a Rocky Road Cupcake replaced a recipe on how young
al-Qaeda supporters could make a lethal pipe bomb using sugar, match heads and a miniature light bulb.
Articles by Osama bin Laden and his deputy on 'What to expect in Jihad' were also removed.
Whitehall sources believe the magazine set up by the radical preacher Anwar-al-Awlaki was not a hoax, although there have been claims about its authenticity.
They believe it was designed to appeal to young al-Qaeda sympathisers and supporters in a bid to recruit them.
At the time Inspire was launched, US government officials said, "The packaging of this magazine may be slick, but the contents are as vile as the authors."
The head of the US Cyber Command, General Keith Alexander, defended the move, saying it was a legitimate counter-terrorism target which would help protect American troops overseas.
