Lara Abdallat
Lara Abdallat | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981 or 1982 Jordan |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, hacker, former beauty pageant titleholder |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | Digital activism, hacktivism with CtrlSec and Ghost Security Group, Miss Jordan 2010 |
Lara Abdallat (born in either 1981 or 1982) is a Jordanian figure known for her roles as an activist, hacker, and former beauty pageant titleholder.
In 2010, she earned the title of Miss Jordan and subsequently secured the position of first runner-up in the 2011 Miss Arab competition.
Her engagement in digital activism grew significantly following the release of the execution footage of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh and the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks, although her initial involvement with hacktivist communities began in November 2014.
Abdallat is affiliated with hacktivist organizations CtrlSec and Ghost Security Group (GSG), which focus on identifying and eliminating online material linked to extremist factions such as ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra, and Al-Shabaab. In 2015, a division occurred within Ghost Security over collaboration with governmental bodies; Abdallat chose to join the faction working alongside authorities under the GSG banner. This group has been credited with assisting in thwarting planned assaults in locations including Times Square and Tunisia by notifying counterterrorism units. Abdallat has described these achievements as deeply fulfilling.
She stresses that her hacktivist efforts are exclusively aimed at terrorist entities and are motivated by humanitarian concerns, deliberately avoiding interference with civilians or government operations.
As of 2015, Abdallat was the only publicly identified member of GSG and was its sole Muslim participant. Her work integrates life-saving initiatives with efforts to transform perceptions of Islam; she maintains that Islam advocates peace and condemns extremist violence as violations of its core values.
Additionally, she has openly confronted ISIS through her Twitter presence.
Her heritage includes a Jordanian father and a mother of Turkish-Syrian descent.