Don’t expect Anonymous to beat ISIS, cyber-security expert says

Hacktivist group Anonymous has declared war on the so-called Islamic State terror group. But it’s tough to say just how much damage it has done.

Anonymous released a video in the wake of the Nov. 13 Paris massacres saying the attacks “cannot go unpunished.”

READ MORE: Anonymous declares war on Islamic State after Paris attacks

“That’s why Anonymous activists from all over the world will hunt you down,” the video message said, warning of “many cyber attacks.”

“War is declared. Prepare yourselves.”

WATCH: Anonymous vows to “hunt down” ISIS after Paris attacks in new video

“You know, they’re doing some useful things,” said Herbert Lin, senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at Stanford University.

But cyber attacks are not a “magic answer” to destroying the terrorist group, Lin said. They’re “just one more thing to do.”

This can include shutting down email or social media accounts ISIS uses to recruit and communicate, or hijacking those accounts and using them to send out false information.

“Is any of this a game changer? No, not really. But is it a useful thing to do? Sure,” Lin said.

“There’s always a meaningful role for harassing the enemy.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Is any of this a game changer? No, not really. But is it a useful thing to do? Sure," Lin said.</p><p>"There's always a meaningful role for harassing the enemy."

But this could backfire: Anonymous could be shutting down ISIS accounts that intelligence officials are monitoring.

“They run the risk of … sort of screwing up other operations that might in the long run have more effect,” said Lin. “Which doesn’t mean it’s harmful, it just might be less effective than it could otherwise be.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They run the risk of … sort of screwing up other operations that might in the long run have more effect," said Lin. "Which doesn't mean it's harmful, it just might be less effective than it could otherwise be."

WATCH: Is Anonymous becoming the ‘modern-day technological Robin Hood’?

Anonymous claims to have crippled thousands of pro-ISIS Twitter accounts.

The group also claims to have trolled ISIS in different ways, including inundating social media accounts with links to a video of Rick Astley’s 80s hit Never Gonna Give You Up (a tactic referred to as Rickrolling) and replacing an ISIS propaganda site’s content with ads for sexual enhancement drugs.

Overall, Lin says, the more “pain in the butts” there are for ISIS, the better.

“It reduces their operational effectiveness. There’s no question that that’s true. It’s just not a game-changer.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It reduces their operational effectiveness. There's no question that that's true. It's just not a game-changer."

Lin says nobody knows how to definitively defeat ISIS, so we’re left with the option of a multi-pronged approach and hopes for the best.

“Every war is like that,” Lin said. “You do what you can.”