US begins waging cyber war against IS

The US has begun waging cyber warfare against IS, Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has confirmed.

As the Financial Times reports, Carter said he has issued orders to the US Cyber Command to launch online attacks against the fundamentalist group.

Speaking to the paper, he said: "I have given Cyber Command really its first wartime assignment...and we're seeing how that works out."

He added: "Even a few years ago, it would not have occurred to a Secretary of Defence to say, 'let's get cyber in the game', but here we have real opportunities."