UK Defense secretary: Our military is hacking Islamic State

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Thursday that Britain's military is launching cyberattacks against the Islamic State group in support of the offensive on the Iraqi city of Mosul, a first-of-its kind acknowledgement that British forces are launching attacks across the internet.

Fallon's public admission, which came several months after a senior U.S. military official boasted of dropping "cyberbombs" on the Islamic State group, is a sign that some Western military leaders are tentatively opening up about the use of hacking on the battlefield.

Last month, for example, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that the German army hacked into an Afghan telecommunications firm as part of an operation to help free a kidnapped aid worker.