E-Jihad: ISIL Affiliates Hack E-Mail Accounts of UK Cabinet Ministers

ISIL affiliates have reportedly hacked into the e-mail accounts of British cabinet ministers.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Jihadists with links to ISIL have hacked into the e-mail accounts of British cabinet ministers, The Telegraph reports.

Officials were ordered to tighten security procedures after the hack, although "it is understood that no security breaches occurred," The Telegraph said on Friday.

According to the newspaper, the hack was uncovered by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) during an intelligence operation that The Telegraph learned about several months ago, agreeing not to release the information before the end of the investigation.

At least one ringleader involved in the hacking plot was killed during a British drone strike in Syria earlier this week, The Telegraph said.

Earlier this year, the ISIL-associated "Cyber Caliphate" group carried out a number of cyber-attacks targeting the Twitter and YouTube accounts of the US Central Command (CENTCOM).

The United States has been leading an international coalition, which has been launching airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria since last year. ISIL, a radical Sunni group, has seized vast areas in the two countries, spreading their radical ideology, enslaving people from minority ethnic groups, and committing violent acts such as the public beheading of foreign journalists.