Archive for Terrorism
Author: Dave Lewis
April 28, 2008 at 10:59 am · Filed under Terrorism
Well, after having issued warnings in February the Taliban are now making good on their threats. The terrorist group wanted cell phone networks shut down at night so that the Canadians, Brits and Americans could have less luck hunting them down.
Well, as was expected, they were ignored. Now they’re running around parts of Afghanistan blowing up cell towers.
From the LA Times:
Afghans tend to be stoic in the face of poverty, hardship and seemingly endless warfare. But mess with their cellphones, and the response is one of undiluted outrage.
For the last two months, Taliban fighters have been blowing up telecommunications towers, with the aim of preventing NATO-led forces from hunting them down via cellphone signals. It could hardly have been a worse public-relations move for the insurgency.
Fuming Afghans call the tactic nonsensical.
“I’m so, so furious about this,” sputtered businessman Rahim Agha. “Why do they have to do this to us? Why can’t they just turn off their phones?”
To Afghans, the country’s rapidly expanding cellphone network is a symbol of pride and hoped-for prosperity. Cellphones are a lifeline to Afghanistan’s vast rural hinterlands, an engine of commerce, and a vital link with millions of Afghan refugees around the world.
This will continue to turn the populace against the deposed regime and further to worsen their situation.
Sharp like beach ball.
Article Link
Tags: Taliban, Cell Phone Towers, Insurgents
Author: Dave Lewis
February 26, 2008 at 7:51 am · Filed under Mobile, Terrorism
You know, these are interesting demands from a terrorist group on the run.
From Ars Technica:
The towers and offices of mobile phone operators in Afghanistan are being pressured to shut down operations at night by the Taliban. The former rulers of Afghanistan and current insurgent group held “talks” with the four major mobile companies in Afghanistan today, and gave them three days to go dark for 14 hours per day—or else.
The reason for the threat is the Taliban’s belief that American soldiers and rebels within Afghanistan are using mobile phones to track down remaining Taliban members. “Since the occupying forces stationed in Afghanistan usually at night use mobile phones for espionage to track down the mujahideen, the Islamic Emirate gave a three-day ultimatum to all mobile phone firms to switch off their phones from five in the afternoon until seven in the morning,” Taliban spokesperson Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters, ironically via mobile phone (and presumably during daylight).
This is reminiscent of the Tanya Harding request for a “do over”. And of course there is amusement to be had that they made their demands…via cell phone.
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Tags: Taliban, Terrorism, Cell Phones
Author: Dave Lewis
February 6, 2008 at 2:24 pm · Filed under Crypto, Terrorism
Unfortunate but, inevitable.
From CSO Online:
A recently released tool that allegedly was designed to help al-Qaeda supporters encrypt their Internet-based communications is a well-written and easily portable piece of code, according to a security researcher who has analyzed the software.
However, messages that are encrypted using the tool, which is known as Mujahedeen Secrets 2 (alternately spelled as Mujahideen), should be relatively easy for law enforcement authorities to spot and track, said Paul Henry, vice president of technology evangelism at Secure Computing Corp. in San Jose.
The tool was previously downloaded and reviewed by information-security practitioner Jeff Bardin, a former USAF/NSA code-breaker and Arabic translator who blogs for CSOonline.com. In a blog entry, “A Gift from the Islamic Faithful Network – Mujahedeen Secrets 2 Program,” Bardin concluded that the tool showed a software development cycle with an increasing level of sophistication.
For the full article read on.
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Tags: Terrorist Encryption, Terrorist Crypto, Al-Qaeda Encryption Tool
Author: Dave Lewis
January 21, 2008 at 8:27 am · Filed under Spy Game, Terrorism
From the Washington Post:
The Homeland Security Department spent more than $90 million to create a network for sharing sensitive anti-terrorism information with state and local governments that it has decided to replace, according to an internal department document.
The decision was made late last year but was not announced. It was outlined in an Oct. 27 memorandum that listed the network’s flaws and asserted that DHS’s counterterrorism, immigration enforcement and disaster management missions were hampered by the proliferation of more than 100 Web “portals” that provide poorly coordinated information.
“Most are duplicative in capabilities” and lack innovation, noted the memo by DHS Undersecretary for Management Paul A. Schneider. He said that as a result, the department “will replace” the current system, known as the Homeland Security Information Network.
The decision underscores recurring criticism about the department’s effectiveness at meeting the core need to better share information with government and private partners involved in counterterrorism efforts five years after it was formed, according to lawmakers and independent experts. The department also has repeatedly rushed crucial technology initiatives, leading to delays and millions of dollars in additional costs.
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Tags: DHS, Anti-Terrorism, DHS Data Network, Terrorism
Author: Dave Lewis
January 7, 2008 at 8:58 am · Filed under Mobile, Terrorism
Al-Qaida has moved its PR campaign to the mobile market with the addition of video content for cell phones.
From CBC:
Video messages of al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri can now be downloaded to cell phones, the terror network has announced, as part of its attempts to further extend its reach.
The announcement was posted late Friday by al-Qaida’s media wing, al-Sahab, on websites commonly used by Islamic militants. As of Saturday, eight previously recorded videos were made available including a recent tribute to the slain former “al-Qaida in Iraq” leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by U.S. forces in Iraq in June 2006.
In a written message introducing the new cell phone videos, al-Zawahri, al-Qaida’s No. 2 figure, asked followers to spread the terror group’s messages.
Now, I think it would be truly amusing if someone were to hack their content servers and trojan the videos. That would be amusing to no end to watch as their supporters have their cell phones bricked.
Article Link
Tags: Al-Qaida, Mobile Terror Messages, Terrorism. Terrorist
Author: Dave Lewis
December 27, 2007 at 8:32 am · Filed under Physical Security, Politics, Terrorism
Just got word that former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto was killed at a rally this morning. She was apparently shot in the neck by an assailant. The attacker was allegedly wearing a suicide vest. Details are sketchy right now.
More to follow.
[UPDATE] 8:24 am Reuters is reporting that she has been been gravely injured but, is in fact still alive.
From Reuters:
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was seriously wounded in an attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi, her husband said.
“I was informed that she is badly injured,” Asif Ali Zardari told Ary-One television from Dubai.
CONFIRMED: 8:32 am She has died. A tragic moment in history. Yet again the democratic process has been derailed by fanatics and madmen. Was this a terrorist group or a political assassination by rivals? Only time will tell.
References:
BBC News
CNN
Washington Post
ABC News
CBC News
[UPDATE] OK, after having watched 24 hours (not literally) of CNN’s “breaking news” on this story I’m struck by something. Have we seen this before? Shortly after the attack Pervez Musharraf was saying that it was a terrorist attack. OK, so that would be anyone’s first guess. But, consider the source. He has a lot to gain by having Bhutto leave the playing field as it were. Before you start crying conspiracy nut read this on CNN.
The source of the claim was apparently Italian news agency, Adnkronos International (AKI), which said that al Qaeda Afghanistan commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid had telephoned the agency to make the claim.
“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” AKI quoted Al-Yazid as saying.
According to AKI, al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri set the wheels in motion for the assassination in October.
One Islamist Web site repeated the claim, but that Web site is not considered a reliable source for Islamist messages by experts in the field.
The DHS official said the claim was “an unconfirmed open source claim of responsibility” and the bulletin was sent out at about 6 p.m. to state and local law enforcement agencies.
Hmm, the other sites aren’t chiming in. This is a group that is more than happy to take credit for bloodshed and mayhem yet, they are strangely quiet even as Bhutto is being laid to rest.
*cough* JFK *cough*
I’m just saying.
Tags: Benazir Bhutto, Bhutto, Pakistan Prime Minister, Assassination
Author: Dave Lewis
November 30, 2007 at 11:24 am · Filed under Dumbass, Physical Security, Terrorism
If ever there was a case for handing out prophylactics and saying “for the love of (insert deity) let it end with you”, this is it. An art student, Thorarinn Jonsson, from the OCAD placed a fake bomb behind the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto in what was apparently part of his final school project. The police were alerted to the device which resembled several pipe bombs strapped together. He affixed a note to the device that said “this is not a bomb”.
Indeed.
From Citynews.ca:
The 25-year-old remains relatively unrepentant about an escapade that also cost police hours of their valuable time and an equal amount in rustling up the necessary experts and equipment to defuse the phony explosive.
“I expected the police to immediately realize what they were dealing with,” he claims. Two videos surrounding the hoax were posted on YouTube, one here, the other here. One shows a girl going through the ROM when an apparent explosion takes place. Jonsonn calls it part of his final assignment for the school.
“I’m taking something that’s clearly a sculpture. It’s clearly not a bomb. But by taking it out of context and putting it into another context, by leaving it lying around … it suddenly takes on a different meaning.”
Does he feel bad about the effect it had? “I think the piece is pretty important … Police waste their time all the time doing all kinds of things.”
Yes, police do waste their time with these type of things because morons like Jonsson do stupid crap like this.
The video one and two
Article Link
Tags: Moron, Fake Bomb, Pipe Bomb Art Project
Author: Dave Lewis
October 25, 2007 at 9:24 am · Filed under Legal Aspects, Terrorism
Here is an interesting side note from the terrorism desk. It turns out that Daniel Pearl’s widow is giving up the fight against Habib Bank. This bank that has been alleged to be a financier for al-Qaida.
From Jerusalem Post:
The widow of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl has withdrawn a lawsuit seeking damages against al-Qaida, a dozen reputed terrorists and Pakistan’s largest bank.
In a letter Tuesday to the US judge presiding over the case, lawyers for Mariane Pearl noted that Habib Bank Limited and the other defendants had not answered the lawsuit filed in July, but they otherwise did not explain their reason for dropping the action.
There are no further details available at this point.
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Tags: Habib Bank Lawsuit, Pearl vs Habib, al-Qaida
Author: Dave Lewis
October 9, 2007 at 7:17 am · Filed under Spy Game, Terrorism
In a blunder that could cost the intelligence community dearly, it appears that the fourth estate let the cat out of the bag. Now the terrorist intranet has gone dark.
From NY Sun:
Al Qaeda’s Internet communications system has suddenly gone dark to American intelligence after the leak of Osama bin Laden’s September 11 speech inadvertently disclosed the fact that we had penetrated the enemy’s system.
The intelligence blunder started with what appeared at the time as an American intelligence victory, namely that the federal government had intercepted, a full four days before it was to be aired, a video of Osama bin Laden’s first appearance in three years in a video address marking the sixth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. On the morning of September 7, the Web site of ABC News posted excerpts from the speech.
But the disclosure from ABC and later other news organizations tipped off Qaeda’s internal security division that the organization’s Internet communications system, known among American intelligence analysts as Obelisk, was compromised. This network of Web sites serves not only as the distribution system for the videos produced by Al Qaeda’s production company, As-Sahab, but also as the equivalent of a corporate intranet, dealing with such mundane matters as expense reporting and clerical memos to mid- and lower-level Qaeda operatives throughout the world.
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Tags: Obelisk, Al Qaeda Hacked, ABC Blunders, Terrorism
Author: Dave Lewis
September 20, 2007 at 6:19 pm · Filed under Terrorism
Now this is hilarious! A stay at home Mom in South Carolina has turned computer vigilante and has been hacking into terrorist affiliated websites. Thanks to her fluent arabic she could decipher the sites. Good for her!
Once her three kids are off to school, Laura Mansfield settles in at her dining room table with her laptop and begins trolling Arabic-language message boards and chat rooms popular with jihadists.
Fluent in Arabic, the self-employed terror analyst often hacks into the sites, translates the material, puts it together and sends her analysis via a subscription service to intelligence agencies, law enforcement and academics.
Occasionally she comes across a gem, such as when she found a recent Osama bin Laden video — before al-Qaida had announced it.
Bush can’t find a six foot tall Arab man on a dialysis machine in the mountains of the Pakistan border. Maybe Laura will fair better?
Article Link
Tags: South Carolina Mom Hacker, Anti Terrorist Mom
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