U.S. News & World Report writes that “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.”

“‘I can confirm we are using offensive cyber for the first time in this campaign,’ Fallon said in response to a question from a journalist at a conference on ‘The Transformation of 21st Century Warfare’ in central London.”

“He didn’t go into further detail, but the very admission was seen as noteworthy in the context of the secrecy which usually surrounds military hacking.”