In a show of cyber-force, MI6 agents conducted a mission they dubbed "Operation Cupcake" infiltrating an al'Qaeda online magazine entitled Inspire and replacing instructions for making lethal pipe bombs made from sugar, matchheads, and lightbulbs with a recipe for something else made from sugar but significantly less lethal: cupcakes.

     The original document, a 67-page color file entitled "Make a Bomb in Kitchen of your Mom" by AQ Chef, was replaced by "The Best Cupcakes in America", a webpage from Ellen DeGeneres' show written by Dulcy Israel and produced by Main Street Cupcakes, a business in Ohio. Clicking on the link, would be bombers were greeted with, "The little cupcake is big again...it summons memories of childhood even as it's updated for today’s sweet-toothed hipsters.” The operation also removed articles by Osama bin Laden and other top al'Qaeda officials including the potential heir to bin Laden, al'Zawahiri's essay "What to Expect in Jihad".

     According to The Telegraph, an operation of the same kind was being planned by the U.S. Pentagon's Cyber Command but the CIA halted it, claiming that it would compromise too many sources of valuable intelligence. Britain, of course, went through with the operation, and although the magazine has been reissued, MI6 will continue to conduct operations of this nature against outlets of the magazine as it is seen as a powerful propaganda piece. U.S. officials said "the packaging may be slick but the contents are as vile as their authors." A security analyst commented that the magazine is clearly intended as an inspiration and recruiting tool.

     The masterminds behind the magazine, Inspire, are Anwar al’Awlaki, nd al’Qaeda leader, and Samir Khan, a U.S. citizen. Both are believed to be hiding somewhere in Yemen. While Yemen is embroiled in uprisings across the small nation, al’Qaeda seems to be taking advantage of the unrest to hide high-ranking members and to ramp up recruitment and mobilization. Similarly, U.S. officials believe that many of the social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter that are being used to organized the so-called “Arab Spring” may be encoded messages sent between terrorist cells.

     It’s interesting to me that a islamo-fascist group is so anti-western culture and anti-globalization would embrace this piece of technology as, essentially, a marketing tool. They’ve eve created a well-produced and glossy image for Inspire, supposedly to inspire prospective terrorists. So what gives? Is the network changing its brand? Have they decided that they’re going to become a 21^st century terrorist organization? Who makes those decisions now that bin Laden’s fish bait? Isn’t that an inherently capitalist move; rebranding and upping the production value to attract more “customers”?

     In any event, with the recent spike in news of hacking and information breaches, this was a welcome change; something that promoted national security, rather than threatening it. If only we could somehow convince "Anonymous" or "LulzSec" to turn their mischief to mayhem for international criminals, terrorists, and cartels. Anonymous would no longer need to stay that way, and LulzSec (Lulz Security) might actually provide some.