From the “Ugh, This is Disheatening” Department
Man hijacks al-Qaeda site for FBI use

When Web operator Jon Messner gained control of one of al-Qaeda’s prime Internet communication sites, he offered it to the FBI to use it for disinformation and collecting data about sympathizers.

FBI agents struggled to find someone with enough technical know-how to set up the sting. By the time they did, the opportunity was lost as militant Islamic Web users figured out the site was a decoy, said Messner of Ocean City, Md.