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Technology Gives Terrorists New Edge

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The New York Times

Published: December 14, 2008

MUMBAI, India - The terrorists who struck this city in November stunned authorities not only with their use of sophisticated weaponry, but also with their comfort with modern technology.

The terrorists navigated across the Arabian Sea to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan, with the help of a GPS handset. While under way, they communicated using a satellite phone with those in Pakistan thought to have coordinated the attacks. They recognized their targets and knew the most direct routes to reach them in part because they had studied satellite photos from Google Earth.

And, perhaps most significantly, throughout the three-day siege at two luxury hotels and a Jewish center, the Pakistani-based handlers communicated with the attackers using Internet phones that complicate efforts to trace and intercept calls.

Those handlers, who were apparently watching the attacks unfold live on television, were able to inform the attackers of the movement of security forces from news accounts and provide the gunmen with instructions and encouragement, authorities said.

Hasan Gafoor, Mumbai's police commissioner, said recently that as once complicated technologies - including GPS and satellite phones - have become simpler to operate, terrorists have become adept at using them. "Well, whether terrorists or common criminals, they do try to be a step ahead in terms of technology," he said.
Indian security forces surrounding the buildings were able to monitor the terrorists' outgoing calls by intercepting their cell phone signals. But Indian police officials said those directing the attacks, who are thought to be from Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group based in Pakistan, were using a Voice over Internet Protocol phone service, which has complicated efforts to determine their whereabouts and identities.

VoIP services, in which conversations are carried over the Internet, are popular with people looking to save money on long-distance and international calls. Many such services, such as Skype and Vonage, allow a user to call another VoIP-enabled device anywhere in the world free of charge.

But the same services are also popular with criminals and terrorists, a trend that worries some law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

In mid-October, a draft U.S. Army intelligence report highlighted the growing interest of Islamic militants in using VoIP, noting recent news reports of Taliban insurgents using Skype to communicate.

VoIP calls pose an array of difficulties for intelligence and law enforcement services, according to communications experts. "It means the phone-tapping techniques that work for old traditional interception don't work," said Matt Blaze, a computer security expert.

"Ultimately, we can trace them," said Gafoor, referring to VoIP calls. "It takes a little longer, but we will trace them."

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