---
title: "That time British Intelligence hacked al-Qaeda just to mess with them"
description: "MI-6 hacking an Al-Qaeda affiliated website might sound all cool and shadowy, but in this instance, it's more just hilarious... and delicious."
date: "2021-07-14"
modified: "2021-07-15"
authors:
  - name: "Blake Stilwell"
    job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/british-intelligence-hacked-al-qaeda/"
categories:
  - "Afghanistan War"
  - "History"
  - "War History"
tags:
  - "Terrorism"
---

# That time British Intelligence hacked al-Qaeda just to mess with them

![Cupcakes decorated with fondant animal faces including a lion, tiger, monkey, and elephant, each with green frosting resembling grass underneath the fondant. The cupcakes are in silver foil liners.](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/cakes-618102_1920.jpg>)
*Who could hate these? They're ADORABLE. (Image by \<a href="https://pixabay.com/users/envasa-679813/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=618102" target="\_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"\>Michael Baragwanath\</a\> from \<a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=618102" target="\_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"\>Pixabay\</a\>)*

One might assume that an international intelligence apparatus like Britain's MI6 would wreak havoc when hacking into a terrorist-affiliated website. The truth is they did little more than likely annoy al-Qaeda after hacking a recruiting website. The result wasn't exactly devastating unless you're someone who hates cupcakes.

---

While it's hard to imagine even the most hardcore of Islamist extremist terrorists hating cupcakes (though it's even harder to imagine one of them eating one like the adorable animal cupcakes pictured above), whether they made MI6's infamous cupcakes is unknown – but they definitely had the recipe.

In 2011, the UK's external intelligence service was in an all-out information war with al-Qaeda and the terrorist organization's affiliate groups. In particular, Her Majesty's secret service was looking to disrupt the activities of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its effort to recruit "lone wolf" attackers abroad. One of the ways it recruited disgruntled Westerners was through the use of its online magazine, called "Inspire."

![Silhouette of a person standing on rocky shore with arms raised, facing the ocean at sunset, with islands visible in the distance under a cloudy sky.](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/sunset-3072666_1920.jpg>)
*New rule: everyone who wakes up with the sun to say, "Guys, today let's be inspired by Al-Qaeda" gets droned. (Image by [Daniel Ankele](<https://pixabay.com/users/dndankele-7634170/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3072666>) from [Pixabay](<https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3072666>))*

But when avid readers of "Inspire" went to download the June 2011 Issue to read "Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom" by "The AQ Chef" actually downloaded a semi-unintelligible computer code. The code still revealed a recipe, but it had nothing to do with your mom's kitchen and everything to do with some cupcakes that \*might\* be described as "da bomb."

MI6 reportedly hacked the website and replaced "Inspire" with a number of episodes for delicious cupcakes, including a recipe featured on The Ellen Degeneres Show dubbed "The Best Cupcakes in America" as well as a number of original recipes from Ohio-based cupcaker Main Street Cupcakes. Al-Qaeda initiates came looking for bomb-making information and instead received a flavor explosion, with varieties such as white rum cake with buttercream frosting, rocky road, and a delicious-sounding mojito flavor.

![Vanilla cupcakes with swirled chocolate and vanilla frosting topped with chocolate and white sprinkles, arranged closely together.](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/cupcake-478690_1920.jpg>)
*"Inshallah you checked them with a toothpick before removing them from the oven." (Image by [Larissa Kozemekin](<https://pixabay.com/users/larikoze-473068/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=478690>) from [Pixabay](<https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=478690>))*

On top of removing the bomb-making instructions, intelligence analysts replaced articles by Osama bin Laden and his second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, on "What to Expect in Jihad." Both MI6 and the United States' Central Intelligence Agency had been planning on disrupting the publication and dissemination of the magazine since they discovered its creation. The western allies have deployed a number of cyber weapons to disrupt al-Qaeda's information warfare operations.

Although the CIA and MI6 were able to successfully put off the publication of "Inspire," the full issue and more issues were published immediately anyway. The executive editor of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's signature magazine, Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed in a drone-strike in Yemen just a few months later.

*Feature image: MGM*

## Author
Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house.

### Author social links  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/StilwellAngel/>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/blakestilwell>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/somethingwaffles>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakestilwell/>)