[iwar] [fc:Intelligence.technology.may.not.stop.terrorists]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-09-15 13:02:17


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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 13:02:17 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:Intelligence.technology.may.not.stop.terrorists]
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Intelligence technology may not stop terrorists   17:21   13  September
 01 Will Knight
 

A key question arising from the terrorist atrocities that rocked the US
on Tuesday is why the intelligence services failed to provide any prior
warning. 

Some analysts believe that over-reliance on technology-based
surveillance may have led to such a catastrophic lack of awareness. 
Erich Moechel, an Austrian journalist specialising in international
intelligence, believes there has been a lack of investment in human
intelligence work. 

"Over the last couple of years, they have been running in the wrong
direction," Moechel told New Scientist.  "They have concentrated too
much on signals intelligence and not human intelligence.  Terrorism is
essentially low tech."

However, Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert from St Andrews University
in Scotland, says that infiltrating certain organisations with secret
agents can be almost impossible in practice. 

"To get inside the head of an organisation you need people in place for
a long time and that is not easy.  Often you are born into them," he
says. 

International eavesdropping

Others analysts believe that even the best efforts of the intelligence
services might not be enough, as the communications networks used to
organise such deadly attacks may sometimes be impregnable. 

The US operates the most technologically sophisticated international
surveillance network in the world.  In co-operation with other western
nations, it runs an international eavesdropping system known as
"Echelon".  A system of newly installed internet taps code-named
Carnivore also gives US law enforcers the power to trawl email messages
for information. 

But none of this gave any hint of the audacious and tragic events which
destroyed the World Trade Center and killed many thousands of people. 
Even a ploy as simple as previously-agreed code words can effectively
disable these huge data screening operations. 

The FBI believes that Middle Eastern terrorists are most likely to have
been involved and Ranstorp says the communications methods employed by
such organisations are designed to defy technological surveillance. 

"The groups do use encryption [which protects digital communications],
but some of the most important information is relayed
non-technologically, often carried by human couriers," he says

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