IP: And sometimes, banging on drums is better than the Net.

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Reply-To: <ihopper () ap org>
> From: "D. Ian Hopper" <ihopper () ap org>
> To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
> FYI...
>
> ^BC-Attacks-Cybertrail, Bjt,720<
> ^Foiling U.S. technology, bin Laden relies on little technology to
> communicate<
> ^By D. IAN HOPPER=
> ^AP Technology Writer=
> ¶   WASHINGTON (AP) _ Despite warnings from top government officials that
> terrorists would use exotic technology to communicate, suspected terrorist
> mastermind Osama bin Laden instead has used "no-tech" methods, foiling
> efforts to track him, former U.S. intelligence officials said.
> ¶   But there are some lingering electronic trails by his suspected
> operatives being investigated by federal officials looking at how last
> week's attackers used e-mail and the Internet.
> ¶   Intelligence agents once could keep tabs on bin Laden when he used a
> satellite phone that could be picked up by U.S. spy gear and matched to his
> voiceprint. That capability leaked to bin Laden, so he swore off talking on
> the phone, according to Marc Enger, former director of operations at the Air
> Intelligence Agency, the Air Force's intelligence arm.
> ¶   "So he switched a lot of communications technologies," Enger said.
> "Unfortunately, now it is other people talking for him. In an innocuous
> conversation, you can't pick that out."
> ¶   Bin Laden relies on human messengers, safe houses and close-knit groups
> such as family members to send out his directives.
> ¶   "This isn't low-tech," said Wayne Madsen, a former communications
> specialist for the National Security Agency. "You'd have to really call it
> no-tech."
> ¶   Investigators think some of the hijackers may not have been as wary of
> high-tech communications as bin Laden, whom the United States considers the
> prime suspect in the attacks.
> ¶   After the attacks last week, investigators began working with major
> Internet service providers like Earthlink and America Online to get
> information about the hijackers' Internet habits. In Britain, law
> enforcement agencies have asked Internet companies to keep traffic logs to
> look for clues to the attacks.
> ¶   In March 2000, the CIA has warned about terrorist organizations using
> secure Internet communications. CIA Director George Tenet told the Senate
> then that several terrorist groups, including bin Laden's al-Qaida, "are
> using computerized files, e-mail and encryption to support their
> operations."
> ¶   "Terrorists also are embracing the opportunities offered by recent leaps
> in information technology," Tenet said.
> ¶   Madsen said the hijackers could have communicated by means of seemingly
> innocuous messages on Web sites, impervious to the most vaunted surveillance
> tools in use by U.S. intelligence.
> ¶   "There might some minor change to a Web site that would indicate a plan,
> because they knew it in advance. All the Carnivores and all the Echelons in
> the world would do very little to hamper that kind of operation," referring
> to the FBI's e-mail surveillance box and a widely suspected NSA surveillance
> network.
> ¶   Enger said some U.S. agents have reported bin Laden has used
> steganography _ the art of hiding a message in plain sight, such as a text
> message hidden in a picture file _ and pornography Web sites to communicate.
> Enger said those sites would be considered unlikely hiding places for a
> devout Muslim like bin Laden.
> ¶   The use of racy pictures loaded with hidden messages is extremely
> difficult to verify because the investigator first would have to know the
> message was there, Enger said. Decrypting it presents another problem.
> ¶   "Unless you have the original photo file, you can't compare to see if
> they've been changed," Enger said. He said the United States has looked for
> new technology to overcome that hurdle.
> ¶   While the free, powerful encryption software available through the
> Internet presents somewhat of a hurdle, that a message is encrypted can tip
> off authorities. Sometimes, they also can figure out the sender and
> recipient of the message even if the message itself is coded.
> ¶   Former NSA technician Madsen said the United States battled another
> low-tech foe in recent years: Mohamed Farah Aidid, a Somalian warlord who
> was the target of U.S. forces in 1993. Madsen said that instead of phones,
> Aidid's forces banged out messages on drums.
> ¶   "Spy satellites can't pick that kind of stuff up," Madsen said.
> ¶   ^___=
> ¶   On the Net: Air Intelligence Agency: http://www.aia.af.mil
> ¶   National Security Agency: http://www.nsa.gov



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