StormWarning’s Counterterrorism

This is critically important.  Throughout the days and months since September 11th, we (the "good guys") have been able to intercept messages from the "bad guys" and often, interfere with their plans.  Earlier this week it was revealed that the jihadists may have a new tool, "the first Islamic computer program for secure exchange on the Internet."  The fact that it is written in Arabic is expected to make it "user friendly" to the Arabic-speaking terrorist.

Andy Cochran at the Counteterrorism Blog posted this article written by Jim Melnick, iDefense Intelligence Team, VeriSign, Inc. about this on January 26th in his post, Internet Security Company Cracks Special Jihadist Software.  In his post, he describes how a pro-terrorist group, "Global Islamic Media Front" (GIMF) has developed "Mujahedine Secrets," an encryption program that is portable (can be used form a USB memory stick) and will cloak the identity of those who use the program, and may
make it increasingly difficult or even impossible for investigators to
track down the source of activity further than the Internet café itself.

It is critical to remember here that the jihadists that we face today, are no simple terrorist group.  Many are college educated, many have advanced degrees and often have degrees in engineering or computer science.  These terrorists are not just suicide attackers!

Analysis: Encryption tool aids terrorist cause

• "Mujahedin Secrets" by its authors, is an executable file that can be
  installed on removable media, like a thumb drive, and used on computers
  in libraries other public places to encrypt e-mail or other files being
  sent over the Internet…

• "The program’s ‘portability’ as an application (not requiring
  installation on a personal computer) will become an increasingly
  desirable feature, especially considering the high use of Internet
  cafés worldwide by pro-terrorist Islamic extremists…"

• "Mujahedin Secrets," which can be downloaded for free, offers "the five
  best encryption algorithms, with symmetrical encryption keys (256 bit),
  asymmetrical encryption keys (2048 bit) and data compression…"

• ZDNet blogger Mitch Ratcliffe: "The difference is an Islamist skin, which seems more a gimmick to inspire confidence in the
  software than a guarantee it will be effective."

Ratcliffe said
that the release of the program would likely revive a debate about the
ethics of publicly releasing encryption software, which makes Internet
communications essentially not interceptable.

Growing Technical Competance

• Melnick said another unusual, though not unique feature of the
  software, in addition to its portability, was that it did not supply
  so-called "public keys." Keys are the code that allows encryption users
  to talk to each other. Possessing a key does not allow anyone to
  decrypt messages sent using it, but does mean the user can set up a
  secure session with anyone else using the same key.

"Most
encryption packages are designed to be interoperable," he said, but
this program is not. As a result, users "must get the key to decrypt
email (or other files) from the person who sent it or through other
private means."

Also see:
Al Qaeda’s Tech Traps
Investigations, arrests highlight how technology aids and weakens terror network.
Tom Spring, PC World
Wednesday, September 01, 2004 12:00 AM PDT
"Al Qaeda operatives may be comfortable crossing ancient deserts and
employing guerrilla tactics, but they’re also adept at using with the
Web and computers."

What we see are men (and women) willing to commit suicide in the name
of jihad.  What we see are terrorists in robes and who wear beards, maybe ride camels and hide in caves.
What is often forgotten is that in their hierarchy, the terrorists are
well educated and capable of using technology and the media to their
advantage in ways unlike any enemy has ever been able.

Current Affairs, International Issues, National Security, Opinions, Technology

3 Comments »

How naïve one must have to be to believe that the drug cartel violence that we’ve seen in Nuevo Laredo/Laredo would not spread.  So now, the "big" city of Monterrey in northern state of Nuevo Leon (pretty place, isn’t it?) is being hit with a recent spate of murders and attacks on police officers. [Storm Note: For a post related to some of the comments to this one, click on the final "word."]

Sean Mattson, writing his "Beyond the Border" blog in the San Antonio Express posts, U.S. government tells visitors to Monterrey to "remain vigilant".

The Overseas Security Advisory Council has issued an alert, warning people, especially gringos, to be aware…

"…foreign visitors (including Americans) have been among the victims of
homicides and kidnappings in the nearby border region. Law-abiding U.S.
citizens are not the targets of the violence but have become victims by
being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Although Monterrey
has lower non-drug related crime rates than other Mexican cities,
visitors are urged to remain vigilant during their stay…

…Visitors should be aware of their surroundings at all times, even when
in areas generally considered safe. U.S. citizens should be very
cautious in general when using ATMs in Mexico. Cloning/counterfeiting
of ATM cards and credit cards occurs in Mexico, and travelers are
advised to check their account activity online at least weekly while in
Mexico to detect fraudulent charges early. Visitors are also advised to
avoid using bank machines in dark or isolated areas.

Visitors
are very vulnerable when visiting local "red light districts,"
particularly if they are departing alone in the early hours of the
morning. Use caution and common sense when visiting any foreign
country…

Need more reasons not to go to Monterrey?

Gunmen Kill 2 Mexican Police in Monterrey
Gunmen shot two police officers in a Monterrey suburb whose police chief was slain two months ago, authorities said Thursday.

At
least two assailants opened fire on officers Ramiro Calvillo, 33, and
Martha Guillen, 32, in the drive-by shooting Wednesday night in the
Monterrey suburb of Santa Catarina. The officers died shortly after arriving at a hospital, authorities said…

Mexican troops in Monterrey as violence soars
Mexican soldiers manned road blocks in the northern industrial city of
Monterrey on Friday as part of a nationwide crackdown by President
Felipe Calderon against rampant organized crime.

Troops armed
with assault rifles set up temporary checkpoints overnight across the
city in Nuevo Leon state, including the San Pedro business district.
Soldiers stopped and searched vehicles but made no arrests. One man was found shot to death near a checkpoint. Trevino said the shooting had the hallmarks of a drug-related execution.
Some 2,000 killings linked to drug cartel violence were recorded in
Mexico last year, including the murders of five police chiefs in
Monterrey…

"Violence and organized crime is at critical levels in Nuevo Leon and
it is a key objective to contain this and make the necessary arrests,"
state Attorney General Luis Carlos Trevino told a news conference.

Oh please!  Mexico is a third world country just south of our
border!  I know people who like to drive to Monterrey to shop and see
the sites.  Going to go?  Don’t!  Until the Mexican government takes
serious steps to quell the violence, I don’t know why anyone would
spend their vacation money in that country! 

Besides, if you haven’t figured it out yet, our porous border with Mexico not only enables illegal immigrants to cross over…not only permits the illegal narcotics trade to flourish, but also leaves no real gate to stop the violent drug cartels from entering our country. 

Border Security is for the Good of All Americans!  Make it that way and stop pussy footing around with politically correctness.  What other country in the world would allow citizens of a neighboring country to enter it without legal papers and authorization?  This simply does not make sense.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

23 Comments »

It was only about one year ago when I posted about the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and used a lead line, "This is about the War on Terrorism and the men and women who have been
fighting it for all of us. This is about the men and women who have
survived the battles and been seriously injured."

Today in San Antonio is the dedication of the $50 million rehabilitation center at Brooke Army Medical Center.  Its quite an accomplishment.  And despite the luminaries coming to our town for the ceremony (Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Peter Pace, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senators McCain and Clinton, as well as Denzel Washington, Rosie O’Donnell and John Mellencamp and maybe even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Michelle Pfeiffer), the true stars of the event of course are the soldiers.

It took only 14 months for this facility to be built. As construction workers toiled at a breakneck pace for some 14 months to finish the cutting-edge facility on time, they kept thinking about the wounded.

"That was a big emotional mover for the job," said Dean Poillucci, vice president of Skanska USA Building, construction manager on the project. 

About 1,000 tradesmen helped with the center, which took 325,000 man-hours to build.    

"This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a facility for the people in our armed services," he said. "The challenges were many, and it took a lot of long days and long hours, but we knew what it was for."

Remember that it was built with PRIVATE funding.  Some people, including Paul Begala, Democratic Party guru and former adviser to President Clinton, said the center, which will be staffed by Veterans Affairs and Defense Department medical workers and therapists, should’ve been funded with public dollars.

"It is an obscenity that a government that can find billions in no-bid contracts for Halliburton and trillions in tax cuts for the wealthy cannot find a few million dollars to bind up the
wounds of its heroes," he said.

Frankly, I agree!  But what truly matters is that the facility exists.

Related stories from the San Antonio Express:

• Private Rx for rehab
• Vets rehab center celebrates 2 accomplishments
• Public help sought for housing for families of recovering GIs
• Wounded troops, families to get new hope and aid

There are a few other stories relating to the dedication, but this is a San Antonio story.  Its a proud day for America’s Military City.

Current Affairs, Opinions

1 Comment »

"Facing Reality in Afghanistan" and getting "back to basics" here.  For a number of months I have been posting about the precipitous situation in Afghanistan and frequently railing on about the phantom "NATO guy’s" perspective that all was well in Afghanistan.  The most recent of these posts was Afghanistan & the Taliban: The "Rule Book" (Layeha).  The simple point has been that the rosy colored glasses being worn by people in many quarters have simply been coloring the truth.

Once again, Doug Farah, writing on the Counterterorrism Blog and on his own blog in an article titled, A Serious Problem with The Surge

The Bush administration has finally turned its attention in a serious way to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. It has, of course, been seriously deteriorating for some time and the attention is likely to be brief.

Afghanistan has been the victim of international attention deficit disorder. Not only the Bush administration suffers this malady that could snatch victory from defeat. [I think he actually meant "snatch defeat from victory."]

What has changed in the past 18 months? The Taliban have new weapons, vehicles, communications equipment with encryption, and outreach and propaganda facilities.

It is overdue to seriously rethink how to try to retake the initiative. Al Qaeda and the Taliban have gone from a defeated, dejected force under fire even from fellow travelers, to resilient heroes in the past two years.

Given the lack of security, people are helping the Taliban, if not for conviction, then out of fear that, ultimately, the Taliban will return, as they have in several provinces already.

The massive focus on Iraq by the Bush administration would have been less damaging to Afghanistan if NATO and other allies had been more willing to pick up the slack.

Wishing that something were so (e.g., the defeat of the Taliban, the elimination of violence in Afghanistan, or the stability of the Karzai government) does not make it so.  And yet, not only the Bush Adminstration, but so many of the penguins that blindly believe that what they read on certain very opinionated web sites (not here!  but think World News Daily or NewsMax or Drudge), have maintained that any hint of a problem in Afghanistan is the result of the devious workings of the "mainstream media" [LImbaugh I believed coined the phrase, "drive-by" media] and its "liberal slant" not telling the truth, but raising the specter of an American defeat in the War on Terror.  That is pure BS.

Now, recognizing the devolving situation in Afghanistan, the United States as well as the NATA Alliance are moving toward ramping up aid and military presence.  Note Doug Farah’s point here:

The consequences of the years of complacency and blind assumptions are now clear. Coming up on six years after occupation of Afghanistan, more opium than ever before in its history is being grown. My sources recently returned from there say the Taliban (the role of al Qaeda is far less clear) are financing their resurgence, including premium payments for new armed recruits, from the opium and heroin trade. The central government controls little more than Kabul. Warlords have increased in power.

Perhaps none of this should be surprise.  So the Bush Administration is pushing to "surge troops" in Iraq, while simultaneously increasing aid to Afghanistan.

Bush Plans New Focus On Afghan Recovery
Extra $7 Billion Would  Go to Security, Roads

After the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion, the Bush administration is preparing a series of new military, economic and political initiatives aimed partly at preempting an expected offensive this spring by Taliban insurgents, according to senior U.S. officials.

Even as it trumpeted a change of course in Iraq this month, the White House has completed a review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. It will ask Congress for $7 billion to $8 billion in new funds for security, reconstruction and other projects in Afghanistan as part of the upcoming budget package, officials said…

…Although U.S. officials say the Taliban insurgency does not pose an immediate threat to the Karzai government, they are eager to nip in the bud a potentially bloody Taliban spring offensive that could erode Afghani confidence in the central government and in the staying power of the international coalition that is trying to establish security across the country…[more]

Please!  I think that a dose of reality is in order here.  NATO’s move to increase presence and aid in Afghanistan is meeting with some resistance too!

Rice Presses Allies to Boost Afghan Aid
NATO, Europe Urged to Join U.S. in Increasing Commitments of Money and Manpower

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, citing the $10.6 billion in new aid that the Bush administration proposes to give Afghanistan, pressed NATO and European allies Friday to increase their contributions of money and manpower.

Rice’s push came as concern grows over the resurgence of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, massive increases in opium production and rising tension between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, where Taliban leaders and fighters have been allowed refuge…

…NATO authorities said the 33,250 NATO troops in Afghanistan represent about 85 percent of what military commanders say they need. The United States has contributed 12,000 troops to the NATO mission and has another 12,000 personnel operating in the country under independent U.S. command. The United States has said it will keep 3,200 of its troops in Afghanistan for an extra four months to provide reinforcements through the spring.

Some European ministers grumbled to reporters afterward that their countries are already making significant contributions and are overstretched by military commitments around the world. Those ministers said additional money and troops should come from countries now making few or no contributions…

The best part (NOT!!!) is that some of our supposed NATO allies don’t want to send their troops into the Southern part of Afghanistan where they might actually have to discharge a weapon or confront the Taliban.  This is a living, realtime example of how not to win a war. 

Whether the "surge" actually happens in Iraq may depend upon how many Republicans follow John Warner.  I frankly believe that the "surge" is needed, but that the strategies of making this move hopefully need to be very carefully calculated, with specific targets and intentions.  But at the same time, I have believed for quite some time that the War in Iraq had created a vacuum in Afghanistan, and that depending upon (or hoping) that NATO could step into the void and permit the peaceful transition to a new and democratic Afghanistan was naive at best.

You should also take into account that the Afghans themselves are refusing to spray the poppy crops over concerns that the spraying could damage legitimate crops.  Karzai says that he has a "committment" to iradicate the poppies, but won’t agree to spraying until 2008 if other efforts fail.  Clearly, as noted in the link, this concern is spurred by fear that the rural Afghans who depend on the income from the poppy fields would resist any spraying or iradication…"resist" probably should be read as "support the Taliban."

I’m sure that there is so much more that I could write right now on the subject, but why not leave it for now?  Other previous references to Afghanistan:

• Afghanistan - Winning and Losing
• Re-Emergence of bin Laden

Technorati links here

Current Affairs, International Issues, Opinions

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Now, this has absolutely nothing to do with terrorism, unless your name is Mozart the Iguana…in that case, this is clearly an act of terrorism.

You see, for some reason Mozart has had, and can’t get rid of, an erection for six days following a "session" with a female iguana (she must have been really hot).

The terrorists at the zoo in Antwerp Belgium are threatening to cut it off if it doesn’t go down!

They must be kidding to post a story like this on SHORT NEWS.

The other headlines on this story are simply hilarious:

It’s a hard decision for zoo vets

Erect Iguana faces penis trauma

Iguana’s stubborn erection to get the chop
…Mozart, sitting on the shoulders of his keeper as camera crews focussed on his red, swollen erection, seemed unperturbed by the news.

"It doesn’t bother him. He doesn’t know what amputation means," said vet Luc Lambrecht, adding that Mozart’s sexual activity should be undimmed by the operation.

"I don’t think so. That’s all in his head."

So don’t dispair for Mozart. Afterall, he’s got two penises anyway.

Sorry folks!  But with all of the bad news in the world today including the reported sale of nuclear material by Russia to Middle Eastern men, the continuing resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan (and the upcoming surge in Iraq), the continuing flow of illegal immigrants across our border with Mexico, the real disturbing possibility of who will run for President in 2008 and so many other issues, I felt that I should stop for a minute and hope that Mozart fully recovers from his malady and remains intact.

Current Affairs, Humor, Opinions

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If this were the Wild West, we’d be seeing plenty of these cyber-terrorists hanging high and swinging from the nearest tree.

Symantec: Storm Trojan worst outbreak since 2005
Malicious software that was sent out in millions of spam messages over the weekend has now infected about 300,000 computers, making it the worst malware outbreak since 2005, Symantec said Monday…

…The malware is not actually a worm, however, and infected PCs do not immediately start spreading the software to other computers. Instead, Storm has been spreading more rapidly over the past few days as its creators have pumped out more and more malicious e-mail messages…

And BEWARE!!!  Recent versions of these Trojan e-mails have contained suject lines such as "A Bouguet of Love," "A Day in Bed Coupon," or "A Monkey Rose for You."

But if this all wasn’t enough, we have this!

Trojan.Peacomm is a Trojan horse that drops a driver program file to download additional security threats.

Threat Assessment

Wild

• Wild Level: High
• Number of Infections: More than 1000
• Number of Sites: More than 10
• Geographical Distribution: Medium
• Threat Containment: Easy
• Removal: Moderate

Damage

• Damage Level: High
• Payload: Downloads additional security threats.
• Degrades Performance: Sent UDP packets may degrade performance.

Distribution

• Distribution Level: Low
• Ports: UDP ports 4000, 7871 and 11271

If you’re running a naked computer (without updated anti-virus or firewall), stay away from me!

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

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Once again an issue of cybersecurity is raised, and highlights the importance of what a wise person should have already told you…if you get a strange looking email from someone, do not open the attachment.

Storm Trojan floods e-mail boxes
Malicious Trojan horse software claiming to provide information on topics like the deadly storms that have battered Europe this week has infected thousands of computers over the past 24 hours, security vendor Sophos warned Friday.

The e-mail tries to entice victims into clicking on the malicious attachments by offering reports on topics like "230 Dead as storm batters Europe," or "U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has kicked German Chancellor," said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant with Sophos…

BEWARE!

• "Full Story.exe"

• "Full Video.exe"

• the Trojan accounted for about one of every 200 e-mails being sent on the Internet Friday

"It’s not a small threat, but it isn’t an epidemic either," said Dave Cole, a director with Symantec Security Response.

Watch the Storm Virus spread (scroll down to the middle of the page).

"Storm Worm" Virus Hits Computers Worldwide
It shouldn’t take much to keep anyone from being "net-stupid" but read some of the unedited comments.

This is another reason why I believe that cyber terrorists are just that, terrorists, and should be dealt with that way.

Current Affairs, National Security, Opinions

4 Comments »

This is way past being a serious situation and way past any point of being willing to tolerate.

First there is one that I missed back before the New Year…Iraqis are entering U.S. through Mexico: U.S. and Mexican immigration agencies are investigating the arrival of small groups of Iraqis at the border in the past week and their possible connection to smuggling organizations…

…The vast majority of Iraqis who show up along the California border are members of the Chaldean Christian minority who are drawn by San Diego’s sizable Chaldean community. Their numbers today are nowhere near those of six years ago, when Tijuana was a major transit point for Chaldeans trying to get to the United States…

OK…humanitarian etc.  But wait!

Sean Mattson: Report: 11 Iraqis detained at Monterrey airport
…The Iraqis reportedly obtained false passports in Europe and were to meet a pollero, a human smuggler, in Monterrey. The were reportedly headed to Tijuana, where they would cross into the United States…

ICE: Illegal Workers Arrested at Bases
Immigration officials have arrested 40 illegal workers hired by military contractors in three states, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday.

The arrests took place on Wednesday and Thursday in Georgia, Virginia and Nevada, the agency said. The workers were hired by different subcontractors, none of which faced federal charges, Rocha said…

• Twenty-four illegal immigrants were arrested while trying to enter Fort Benning, Ga.

• 21 were charged with identity theft and immigration violations.

• The three not facing criminal charges were to be placed in immigration removal proceedings.

• The 16 people arrested in Virginia include 14 undocumented workers who are not facing criminal charges but will be sent to immigration removal proceedings, including three arrested at the Quantico Marine Base.

Illegal Workers Were Allowed on Marine Base, Authorities Allege
People in this country illegally were allowed onto the Quantico Marine Base and worked there on a construction project, federal officials announced yesterday as they charged two men with harboring the workers…

…the immigrants worked for a company owned by Richard Eversole, 58, who was charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Eversole, a U.S. citizen, obtained Department of Defense vehicle stickers from Quantico, which allowed the men to enter the base with limited inspection at the front gate, the documents said…

This is also now very reminiscent of a post made last December, Counterfeit Documents Used to Gain Entry to Randolph AFB.

For all of the excuses and explanations, I am simply tired of the government, our federal government, turning the "other cheek" and accepting this behavior.  This guy Richard Eversole is hopefully going to be charged in this "incident."  That being the case, the question becomes why each and every other employer who is caught knowingly employing an illegal immigrant (they usually call them aliens for a reason) isn’t also charge with a violation of immigration and loabor laws and tossed in the "pokey" (jail, prison, slammer).

In this case, we’re not talking about illegal immigrants working at a meat packing plant (see: Swift & Co., Meatpacking Giant Seeks Sympathy for Losses and Illegal Immigration and ID Theft…they’re working and gaining access to military bases!  What has to happen for ICE and the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as all of the military security agencies to wake up?  And the whole issue of falsified passports and identity documents simply drives me over the top.

Hat tip to RightTruth for bringing this to my attention.

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

2 Comments »

I don’t understand the hub-bub.  I’ve seen whatever pictures someone has posted on the Internet.  Maybe its because I’m getting old, but frankly (in my opinion):

• she’s not that pretty

• the pictures aren’t all that hot

• I don’t particularly like tatoos

• I don’t understand why this is such an issue (too many more important things going on) - for example, see Negroponte’s report, Jason Dunham or the Anti-Terrorist Plane (to select a few)…or the fact that the Lackland AFB Battle Lab may close.

So why am I writing anything about it?  Simply Pavlovian (classical conditioning).

Playboy Controversy: SSgt Michelle Manhart Talks to WOAI
…“I was a little surprised by some of the reaction, some of the comments, but I understand they’re making a comment for a large group.”

The Air Force has launched an investigation and released Michelle from her duties.

“This staff sergeant’s alleged action does not meet the high standards we expect of our airmen, nor does it comply with the Air Force’s core values of integrity, service before self and excellence in all we do,” the Air Force said in a statement released Thursday. “It is not representative of the many thousands of outstanding airmen who serve in the U.S. Air Force today…”

Working link to WOAI video.

In an exclusive Survey USA poll, we asked if Michelle should be allowed to remain in the Air Force?

• 58% say she should be
• 36% think she should not
• 5% just aren’t sure

She’s quoted as saying that she hopes that her Playboy spread "motivates not just women but men as well."

Personally, I think this is a whole lot of nothing.  Hopefully people drawn here because of Michelle’s "frontage" will actually look around and read some of the other posts.

Commentary: Air Force In Tailspin Over SSgt. Michelle Manhart’s Posing For Playboy

As the author writes, no cover-up (literally a figuratively), no attempt to hide the fact that she was doing the spread…so what’s there to investigate?  Besides…

Why aren’t the people at Lackland AFB spending the time they are worrying about Michelle’s "spread" dealing with the impending closing of the Airforce Battlelab at Lackland AFB?
…The former commander of the Air Force Security Forces Center at Lackland, retired Brig. Gen. Ronald Coleman, said the lab is needed more than ever and called the possible closure “penny-wise and pound-foolish.”

“I will tell you it is inconceivable to me that the Air Force would shut the Force Protection Battlelab at this point in our history when we’re trying to do everything we can in the world to make our deployed forces safer,” Coleman said…

"With all due respect," I’d get the priorities straight here guys…forget about anything else (that might be "straight").

Current Affairs, Humor, Opinions

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Maybe I’m confused by the statements that the Wikileaks service now being tested is targeted "for use in China, Russia, Eurasia, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa…"  But I am trying to understand why an on-line repository of leaked documents.  I’ve seen it written that this is a counter to the previously discussed Intellipedia – The Spy-Game’s “Wiki”.

According to the Homeland Security Daily Newswire:

So, lets dig a little deeper and  see what other’s are writing about this…

From NewScience.com: How to leak a secret and not get caught
Leaking a sensitive government document can mean risking a jail sentence - but not for much longer if an online service called WikiLeaks goes ahead. WikiLeaks is designed to allow anyone to post documents on the web without fear of being traced…

Using something called The Onion Router, Wikileaks will ensure anonymity of the leaker and prevent IP tracking.  "The Onion" routes data through a network of servers that use cryptography to hide the path that the packets took. Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer based in Silicon Valley, California, explains it like this. "Imagine a large room jammed full of people in which many of them are passing around envelopes. How would you know where any of them started?"

Somehow, to me, there seems to be something awfully wrong with this concept.

Here is a link to the Wikileaks website.  Just that there is a supposed endorsement from Daniel Ellsberg makes this a bit strange (and yes, I realie the role that the leaking of the Pentagon Papers played in that critical juncture in American history during the War in Vietnam - see The Pentagon Papers: Secrets, Lies and Audio Tapes).  But anyway, they claim that this will be a positive influence.  Here is what they (Wikileaks) say:

Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to a much more exacting scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency could provide. Wikileaks will provide a forum for the entire global community to examine any document for credibility, plausibility, veracity and falsifiability. They will be able to interpret documents and explain their relevance to the public. If a document comes from the Chinese government, the entire Chinese dissident community can freely scrutinize and discuss it; if a document arrives from Iran, the entire Farsi community can analyze it and put it in context. Our first sample analysis is available from the news page, providing a look into the future of what Wikileaks can provide.

If you follow the "news page" not only do you find a leaked document (in zipped format) on Somalia, but a quote from Abbie Hoffman (who was one of my idols back in the 60’s and 70’s): “We were young, we were foolish, we were arrogant, but we were right.”  Of course, now I am not so sure that documents meant to remain out of the public eye should be given such a free path to open publication.

From Secrecy News (apparently authorized by FAS - or the Federation of American Scientists) you have this: Wikileaks and Untraceable Document Disclosure…and here is some of what the author wrote (Bold emphasis is mine):

Wikileaks invited Secrecy News to serve on its advisory board. We explained that we do not favor automated or indiscriminate publication of confidential records.

In the absence of accountable editorial oversight, publication can more easily become an act of aggression or an incitement to violence, not to mention an invasion of privacy or an offense against good taste.

So we disagree on first principles? No problem, replied Wikileaks: "Advisory positions are just that — advisory! If you want to advise us to censor, then by all means do so."

While Wikileaks seeks to make unauthorized disclosures technologically immune to government control, an opposing school of thought proposes to expand U.S. government authority to seize control of information that is already in the public domain when its continued availability is deemed unacceptably dangerous…

There is something about this that makes me uncomfortable.  I am all for freedom of the press…but unrestricted disclosure of U.S. government documents?  Security is there for a purpose.

Wikileaks has high hopes: “Wikileaks may become the most powerful ‘intelligence agency’ on earth,” the site says, “—an intelligence agency of the people.”

Also see:  Freedom of Information, the Wiki Way - Site to Allow Anonymous Posts of Government Documents

I would love it if someone would comment here and tell me why my discomfort is unwarranted, and why Wikileaks is a good thing.  They say that they want to enable "whistleblowing" and leaking of bad behavior by government agencies and corporations.  But what is to stop someone from leaking a sensitive document or report and put it on the Internet?

Concerns about anonymity are first and foremost, because if the system is not secure it is worthless. In order to prevent IP address tracing, WikiLeaks uses an anonymising protocol known as The Onion Router (Tor), which routes data through a network of secure, encrypted servers to hide the leaker’s trail. "Imagine a large room jammed full of people in which many of them are passing around envelopes," said security guru Bruce Schneier. "How would you know where any of them started?" Not everyone, however, is convinced that Tor is as secure as some say, and some worry that the system might be overwhelmed by insincere users. "The initiative could drown in fabricated documents, pornographic records or become hijacked to serve vendettas," warns Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, D.C.

Current Affairs, National Security, Opinions

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Intriguing concept, this anti-terror plane being built under an apparently previously secret program(me) called the SAFEE project — Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment — is the first coordinated international effort to create an airplane system capable of thwarting hijackings and terrorist attacks.  On the surface it seems great, but on looking at the  Washington Post article, it looks like a conglomeration of various technologies, none of which have really yet been proven.

This is going to be a "technology reality check" (at least from my perspective and understanding).

At the door, a hand-held electronic nose reputedly 30 times more sensitive than a dog’s snout sniffs passengers for dangerous chemicals and vapors. 

This sound alot like a product from a company acquired by Smiths Detection that has such a device.  From my exposure to the "electronic nose" the technology works.  But ask the essential question.  If this device is detecting vapors from a "terrorist" at the door of the airplane, how the hell did that person get passed all of the other anti-bomb/anti-terror device sensors?

After takeoff, computers monitoring cabin conversations pick up suspicious words in Seat 9B, fingernail-size video cameras detect nervous facial tics on the passenger in 21F, and a hidden microphone records questionable noises from the passenger in the rear toilet. Buzzers or flashing lights on a computer screen warn the crew and pilot of potential trouble in each spot.

OK.  This combines audio and video sensors and has to be based on algorithms that sift through all of the data (sound and pictures) picked up.  As noted later in the article, the algorithms are still being catalogued.

If a hijacker manages to bypass the fingerprint-activated locks on the cockpit door and grabs the controls, an internal computer takes over and diverts the plane from high-rise buildings, a nuclear plant or any other pre-programmed no-fly zone.

OK.  Biometrics is still an imperfect science (my opinion).  But you would have to expect that the access control biometrics used for cockpit entry would be using the highest level of the current science, optical pattern recognition instead of minutiae point for example (there are other biometric techniques that factor into the "precision equation" not discussed here).  Furthermore, a number of pilot bypass technologies are being patented as we speak (err, as I write), including, but certainly not limited to the new Boeing patent for an “uninterruptible” autopilot system (I say not limited to since I am quite familiar with another remote autopilot system being developed).

The article also raises a question of privacy (lets pronounce that the way the British do it, OK? - with a short "i"). 

The use of potentially intrusive monitoring systems — such as those that would record passenger movements and facial expressions and eavesdrop on private conversations and toilet visits — is a particularly sensitive issue in Europe.

Now, as far as I am concerned, especially in the post-September 11th world, you lose all expectations of privacy (let’s use a long "i" here) when you enter an airport, let alone board a plane.  So all of these people worrying about invasion of privacy, eavedropping, video profiling of terrorists (check out "Walking Like a Bomber" from Technology Review - although this whole issue was first raised a few years ago when it was announced that Logan Airport, the origination point of two of the terrorist flights from September 11th, was implementing a "behavioral assessment" to spot terrorists.).

The package of systems found to work is unlikely to be available on commercial aircraft for as long as a decade because most would need to be incorporated into the airframes of planes under construction.

Further, as the project coordinator said, As to whether this technology can be perfected to operate as envisioned, Gaultier said: "We’re just getting started. It needs a lot more research."

A worthy effort?  Sure! Realistic?  Maybe.  Worthy of atention?  Yes.

As it is described, this is a systems integration effort bringing together new (and to an extent untested) technologies from multiple companies (and from multiple countries).  This raises serious questions of cooperation.  Will it happen (eventually)?  I’m pretty sure that, yes, such systems will someday be on commercial airplanes.  However, I go back to one very important point.  Checking for a terrorist after he/she has boarded an airplane is way too late in the process for me.  Please recognize that I’ve probably left a few points out, and that I won’t discuss "certain things" in this venue.

"Hat-tip" to Right Truth on this one.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, National Security, Opinions, Technology

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In what I hope will be the first of many such convictions of cyber-terrorists, Jeffrey Brett Goodin was found guilty and now faces a possible sentence of 101 years.

In the first jury conviction under the Can-Spam Act of 2003, a California man has been found guilty of operating a sophisticated phishing scheme that attempted to dupe thousands of AOL users…

… The evidence presented during the week-long trial showed that Goodin used several compromised Earthlink accounts to send the fraudulent spam. Users were urged to update their AOL billing information or risk losing service. The e-mails, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, referred people to one of a list of Web pages where they were directed to input their personal and financial information. Prosecutors contend that Goodin controlled the Web pages, and he subsequently collected the information and then made charges on people’s credit or debit cards…

In addition to the CAN-SPAM Act charges, Goodin was found guilty of 10 other counts, including wire fraud, aiding and abetting the unauthorized use of a credit card, possession of more than 15 unauthorized credit cards, misuse of the AOL trademark, attempted witness harassment and failure to appear in court.

Another link here.

Read about the Can-Spam Act of 2003.

If you don’t think that a spammer is a cyber-terrorist and should therefore be put away for a very long time (101 years is about right, even though I doubt if that is the sentence he will get), then you’ve never had a problem with identity theft, never had spam sent to you (even the stuff that gets through my filters), and never received an email containing a virus laden attachment.  They are all guilty as charged!

Just my opinion, of course.

Current Affairs, Opinions, Web/Tech

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I guess I had no idea.  I’d bet most people don’t either.  Sure, its pretty well known that the current salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $165,200 per year.

But I’ll bet that you don’t know how much the staffers make in salary and bonuses.  It caught me by surprise.  So if you’re interested in how much your Congressman’s legislative director makes or how much the staffers of your Senators make, "you can look it up" as Yogi used to say, here at LegiStorm.  While I haven’t really gone through much of it yet, but they’ve apparently just started a forum.

And at what is bound to be a "reader favorite" here is a link to the Hill Blog, where your Representatives post their thoughts on various subjects.

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, Opinions

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Late last week the Annual Threat Assessment of the Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, was released.  For comparison sake, here is a link to the Assessment from February 2006.

Quoting Doug Farah on both the Counterterrorism Blog and his own blog, "…The report was notable for its candor and the end to the happy talk that has often made its way into assessments on the struggle against the jihadist threat. What is amazing is that, five years and billions of dollars after 9-11, we are falling behind in the conflict. We are not even really competing in the field of ideas, and we have done little to mitigate the broader problems.

Part of the problem is that there is still no general consensus on who the enemy is and if a war exists. Until we decide that, little else of import can happen.

The enemy is the ideology and theology that is still be funded by billions of dollars a year to spread its poison. There are two different poisons-the Salafist-Sunni version funded by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and the Shia poison funded by Iran. Both are aimed at killing us before they turn on each other…"

Key points to start with:

• al Qaeda has recovered from the loss of leadership

• al Qaeda has found "safe haven" in places like Pakistan

• al Qaeda surrogate, the Taliban, has disrupted (mildly put) Afghanistan’s recovery

• al Qaeda surrogate, the Islamic Courts Union has retreated in Somalia, but has not been eliminated

• Iran threatens regional stability

From the Washington Post article, Intelligence Chiefs Pessimistic In Assessing Worldwide Threats Negroponte Cites Resilience of Al-Qaeda, Iraqi Insurgency

…Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples said Iraqi security forces have been thoroughly infiltrated by Shiite militias and "are presently unable to stand alone against Sunni insurgents, al-Qaeda in Iraq" or the militias themselves. Negroponte, who was ambassador to Iraq in 2004-05, said sectarian violence had become the greatest problem inside the country.

"The struggle among and within Iraqi communities over national identity and the distribution of power has eclipsed attacks by Iraqis against the coalition forces as the greatest impediment to Iraq’s future as a peaceful, democratic and unified state," he said…

What is astounding to me is the continued blindness of "some on the right" who fail to recognize that, as Farah wrote, and as been said by many before (including me), we are not fighting a traditional war, and we are fighting this non-traditional, asymmetric war, on multiple fronts, and we are fighting against an enemy in al Qaeda (along with other Islamic fundamentalist groups) that seeks to spread a system of jihad without needing an organization or organized groups…it is truly ideology that we fight.

Key points (from my point of view) from the Assessment (not meant to replace a full reading of the 15 page document by my readers):

• Terrorist threats to the Homeland, to our national security interests, and to our allies remain the pre-eminent challenge to the Intelligence Community, operationally and analytically.

• Al-Qa’ida is the terrorist organization that poses the greatest threat to US interests, including to the Homeland.

• Use of a conventional explosive continues to be the most probable al-Qa’ida attack scenario…[although] al- Qa’ida and other groups are attempting to acquire chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons or materials.

• the terrorist threat from Hizballah, which is backed by Iran and Syria.

• The two countries where the United States military is engaged in combat - Iraq and Afghanistan - —face challenges that are significantly exacerbated by terrorism but not exclusively attributable to it. And Pakistan, despite its ongoing efforts, continues to face terrorism’s many challenges, while that country also raises other concerns for us.

• Iraq is at a precarious juncture. Communal violence— - accelerated by AQI’s attack on the Samarra mosque in February 2006 - —and scant common ground between Shias, Sunnis, and Kurds have polarized politics. Prime Minister Maliki’s national reconciliation agenda is still at its initial stages.

• With political reconciliation stalled, Iraqis increasingly resort to violence. The struggle among and within Iraqi communities over national identity and the distribution of power has eclipsed attacks by Iraqis against the Coalition Forces as the greatest impediment to Iraq’s future as a peaceful, democratic, and unified state.

• 2007 will be a pivotal year for Afghanistan. The ability of the Karzai government, NATO, and the United States to arrest—if not reverse— the resurgence of the Taliban will determine the country’s future. The insurgency probably does not directly threaten the government, but it is deterring economic development and undermining popular support for

• President Karzai…[see building infrastructure and drug trade]

• Iran and North Korea are the states of most concern to us because their regimes disregard international opprobrium, flout UN Security Council restrictions on their nuclear programs, pervert the legitimate purposes of governance, and ignore the needs and rights of their citizens.

• In the Middle East, Iran and its neighbors see a strategic shift: Iran’s influence is rising in ways that go beyond the menace of its nuclear program. The fall of the Taliban and Saddam, increased oil revenues, HAMAS’s electoral victory, and Hizballah’s perceived recent success in

• fighting against Israel all extend Iran’s shadow in the region. Our Arab allies fear Iran’s increasing influence, are concerned about worsening tensions between Shia and Sunni Islam, and face heightened domestic criticism for maintaining their decades-old strategic partnerships with Washington.

• The Darfur conflict is the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian crisis, with more than 200,000 people killed, 2 million internally displaced and another 234,000 refugees in neighboring Chad. Internally divided rebel groups continue to fight against the government because the existing

• peace agreement fails to provide security and power sharing.

• The rapid collapse of the Council of Islamic Courts and arrival in Mogadishu of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has altered the political dynamics in southern Somalia. The TFG faces many of the same obstacles that have kept any single group from establishing a viable

• government in Somalia since the country collapsed in 1991. Somali society is divided into numerous clans and sub-clans that are reluctant to see one group rise above the others.

• Democracy is most at risk in Venezuela and Bolivia. In both countries, the elected presidents, Chavez and Morales, are taking advantage of their popularity to undercut the opposition and eliminate checks on their authority.

• The rise of China and economic prosperity more generally— - except for North Korea - —are changing Northeast Asia in unprecedented ways.

• The three-year peace process between India and Pakistan has lessened tensions in the region and both sides appear committed to improving the bilateral relationship.

• Fifteen years after the dissolution of the USSR, post-Soviet Eurasia remains in a state of flux— more so than even a year ago—but increasingly subject to Russian assertiveness.

• Ukraine’s political situation is also unsettled. The power struggle between President Yushchenko and recently re-installed Prime Minister Yanukovych continues to buffet Ukrainian politics and national policy.

From Farah’s blog: "…But (it) is a mistake to focus solely on the geographic location of the old al Qaeda leadership. What is more important is the network that exists that wants to respond to the leadership even if they have no organic link to the al Qaeda organization. It is the ideology that is the unifying and driving force…"

For reference, you may wish to review my post, Year-end observations — 2006 in which some of these points were discussed.  Also, from Doug Farah’s post Lessons Learned in 2006 The primary lesson I take away from 2006 is that we often do not believe what we see in front of us, to our own detriment and danger.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, Federal Policy, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

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Don’t look now, but its been happening in the background all along.  It was revealed that the Pentagon, using what are referred to as "non-compulsory" versions of national security letters to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering.  This article is also found here (for anyone not able to access the New York Times article).  Following is mostly information, not analysis.

…The F.B.I., the lead agency on domestic counterterrorism and espionage, has issued thousands of national security letters since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, provoking criticism and court challenges from civil liberties advocates who see them as unjustified intrusions into Americans’ private lives. But it was not previously known, even to some senior counterterrorism officials, that the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency have been using their own “noncompulsory” versions of the letters…

More from the Washington Post: "…Under then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the Pentagon expanded its collection of intelligence within the borders of the United States — a development that stirred concern among members of Congress and prompted stern criticism and lawsuits from civil liberties advocates.

These efforts are overseen by the Pentagon’s Counterintelligence Field Activity agency, or CIFA, which was established in September 2002 by then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz.

CIFA is charged with coordinating policy and overseeing the domestic counterintelligence activities of Pentagon agencies and the armed forces. The agency’s size and budget are classified, but congressional sources have said that the agency spent more than $1 billion through October. One counterintelligence official recently estimated that CIFA has 400 full-time employees and 800 to 900 contractors working for it…

Usually, the financial documents collected through the letters do not establish any links to espionage or terrorism, and they seldom have led to criminal charges, military officials say. Instead, the letters often help eliminate suspects…

…Some national security experts and civil-liberties advocates are troubled by the CIA and military taking on domestic intelligence activities, particularly in light of recent disclosures that the Counterintelligence Field Activity office had maintained files on Iraq war protesters in the United States in violation of the military’s own guidelines. Some experts say the Pentagon has adopted an overly expansive view of its domestic role under the guise of "force protection," or efforts to guard military installations.

"There’s a strong tradition of not using our military for domestic law enforcement," said Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, a former general counsel at both the National Security Agency and the CIA who is dean at the McGeorge Scho