How Tiny Phone Chips Helped Track Global Terrorweb

[Membrane]

Interesting article on how different countries in the world are banning together to STAMP OUT TERRORISM using technology. I love reading articles like this. The terrorists are smart--but not smart enough. Their days are numbered...

From an article at the New York Times:

March 4, 2004

How Tiny Swiss Cellphone Chips Helped Track Global Terror Web

By DON VAN NATTA Jr. and DESMOND BUTLER

LONDON, March 2 - The terrorism investigation code-named Mont Blanc began almost by accident in April 2002, when authorities intercepted a cellphone call that lasted less than a minute and involved not a single word of conversation.

Investigators, suspicious that the call was a signal between terrorists, followed the trail first to one terror suspect, then to others, and eventually to terror cells on three continents.

What tied them together was a computer chip smaller than a fingernail. But before the investigation wound down in recent weeks, its global net caught dozens of suspected Qaeda members and disrupted at least three planned attacks in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, according to counterterrorism and intelligence officials in Europe and the United States.

The investigation helped narrow the search for one of the most wanted men in the world, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is accused of being the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to three intelligence officials based in Europe. American authorities arrested Mr. Mohammed in Pakistan last March.

For two years, investigators now say, they were able to track the conversations and movements of several Qaeda leaders and dozens of operatives after determining that the suspects favored a particular brand of cellphone chip. The chips carry prepaid minutes and allow phone use around the world.

Investigators said they believed that the chips, made by Swisscom of Switzerland, were popular with terrorists because they could buy the chips without giving their names.

"They thought these phones protected their anonymity, but they didn't," said a senior intelligence official based in Europe. Even without personal information, the authorities were able to conduct routine monitoring of phone conversations.

A half dozen senior officials in the United States and Europe agreed to talk in detail about the previously undisclosed investigation because, they said, it was completed. They also said they had strong indications that terror suspects, alert to the phones' vulnerability, had largely abandoned them for important communications and instead were using e-mail, Internet phone calls and hand-delivered messages.

"This was one of the most effective tools we had to locate Al Qaeda," said a senior counterterrorism official in Europe. "The perception of anonymity may have lulled them into a false sense of security. We now believe that Al Qaeda has figured out that we were monitoring them through these phones."

The officials called the operation one of the most successful investigations since Sept. 11, 2001, and an example of unusual cooperation between agencies in different countries. Led by the Swiss, the investigation involved agents from more than a dozen countries, including the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Britain and Italy.

Cellphones have played a major role in the constant jousting between terrorists and intelligence agencies. In their requests for more investigative powers, Attorney General John Ashcroft and other officials have repeatedly cited the importance of monitoring portable phones. Each success by investigators seems to drive terrorists either to more advanced — or to more primitive — communications.

During the American bombing of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in December 2001, American authorities reported hearing Osama bin Laden speaking to his associates on a satellite phone. Since then, Mr. bin Laden has communicated with handwritten messages delivered by trusted couriers, officials said.

In 2002 the German authorities broke up a cell after monitoring calls by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has been linked by some top American officials to Al Qaeda, in which he could be heard ordering attacks on Jewish targets in Germany. Since then, investigators say, Mr. Zarqawi has been more cautious.

"If you beat terrorists over the head enough, they learn," said Col. Nick Pratt, a counterterrorism expert and professor at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. "They are smart."

Officials say that on the rare occasion when operatives still use mobile phones, they keep the calls brief and use code words.

"They know we are on to them and they keep evolving and using new methods, and we keep finding ways to make life miserable for them," said a senior Saudi official. "In many ways, it's like a cat-and-mouse game."

Some Qaeda lieutenants used cellphones only to arrange a conversation on a more secure telephone. It was one such brief cellphone call that set off the Mont Blanc investigation.

The call was placed on April 11, 2002, by Christian Ganczarski, a 36-year-old Polish-born German Muslim whom the German authorities suspected was a member of Al Qaeda. From Germany, Mr. Ganczarski called Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, said to be Al Qaeda's military commander, who was running operations at the time from a safe house in Karachi, Pakistan, according to two officials involved in the investigation.

The two men did not speak during the call, counterterrorism officials said. Instead, the call was intended to alert Mr. Mohammed of a Qaeda suicide bombing mission at a synagogue in Tunisia, which took place that day, according to two senior officials. The attack killed 21 people, mostly German tourists.

Through electronic surveillance, the German authorities traced the call to Mr. Mohammed's Swisscom cellphone, but at first they did not know it belonged to him. Two weeks after the Tunisian bombing, the German police searched Mr. Ganczarski's house and found a log of his many numbers, including one in Pakistan that was eventually traced to Mr. Mohammed. The German police had been monitoring Mr. Ganczarski because he had been seen in the company of militants at a mosque in Duisburg, and last June the French police arrested him in Paris.

Mr. Mohammed's cellphone number, and many others, were given to the Swiss authorities for further investigation. By checking Swisscom's records, Swiss officials discovered that many other Qaeda suspects used the Swisscom chips, known as Subscriber Identity Module cards, which allow phones to connect to cellular networks.

For months the Swiss, working closely with counterparts in the United States and Pakistan, used this information in an effort to track Mr. Mohammed's movements inside Pakistan. By monitoring the cellphone traffic, they were able to get a fix on Mr. Mohammed, but the investigators did not know his specific location, officials said.

Once Swiss agents had established that Mr. Mohammed was in Karachi, the American and Pakistani security services took over the hunt with the aid of technology at the United States National Security Agency, said two senior European intelligence officials. But it took months for them to actually find Mr. Mohammed "because he wasn't always using that phone," an official said. "He had many, many other phones."

Mr. Mohammed was a victim of his own sloppiness, said a senior European intelligence official. He was meticulous about changing cellphones, but apparently he kept using the same SIM card.

In the end, the authorities were led directly to Mr. Mohammed by a C.I.A. spy, the director of central intelligence, George J. Tenet, said in a speech last month. A senior American intelligence official said this week that the capture of Mr. Mohammed "was entirely the result of excellent human operations."

When Swiss and other European officials heard that American agents had captured Mr. Mohammed last March, "we opened a big bottle of Champagne," a senior intelligence official said.

Among Mr. Mohammed's belongings, the authorities seized computers, cellphones and a personal phone book that contained hundreds of numbers. Tracing those numbers led investigators to as many as 6,000 phone numbers, which amounted to a virtual road map of Al Qaeda's operations, officials said.

The authorities noticed that many of Mr. Mohammed's communications were with operatives in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Last April, using the phone numbers, officials in Jakarta broke up a terror cell connected to Mr. Mohammed, officials said.

After the suicide bombings of three housing compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 12, the Saudi authorities used the phone numbers to track down two "live sleeper cells." Some members were killed in shootouts with the authorities; others were arrested.

Meanwhile, the Swiss had used Mr. Mohammed's phone list to begin monitoring the communications and activities of nearly two dozen of his associates. "Huge resources were devoted to this," a senior official said. "Many countries were constantly doing surveillance, monitoring the chatter."

Investigators were particularly alarmed by one call they overheard last June. The message: "The big guy is coming. He will be here soon."

An official familiar with the calls said, "We did not know who he was, but there was a lot of chatter." Whoever "the big guy" was, the authorities had his number. A Swisscom chip was in the phone.

"Then we waited and waited, and we were increasingly anxious and worried because we didn't know who it was or what he had intended to do," an official said.

But in July, the man believed to be "the big guy," Abdullah Oweis, who was born in Saudi Arabia, was arrested in Qatar. "He is one of those people able to move within Western societies and to help the mujahedeen, who have lesser experience," an official said. "He was at the very center of the Al Qaeda hierarchy. He was a major facilitator."

In January, the operation led to the arrests of eight people accused of being members of a Qaeda logistical cell in Switzerland. Some are suspected of helping with the suicide bombings of the housing compounds in Riyadh, which killed 35 people, including 8 Americans.

Later, European authorities discovered that Mr. Mohammed had contacted a company in Geneva that sells Swisscom phone cards. Investigators said he ordered the cards in bulk.

The Mont Blanc inquiry has wound down, although investigators are still monitoring the communications of a few people. Christian Neuhaus, a spokesman for Swisscom, confirmed that the company had cooperated with the inquiry, but declined to comment.

Last year, Switzerland's legislature passed a law making it illegal to purchase cellphone chips without providing personal information, following testimony from a Swiss federal prosecutor, Claude Nicati, that the Swisscom cards had become popular with Qaeda operatives. The law goes into effect on July 1.

One senior official said the authorities were grateful that Qaeda members were so loyal to Swisscom.

Another official agreed: "They'd switch phones but use the same cards. The people were stupid enough to use the same cards all of the time. It was a very good thing for us."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[adjan jb]

The terrorists are smart--but not smart enough. Their days are numbered...

If you believe so, you too need all the help you can get.

[Membrane]

The terrorists are smart--but not smart enough.  Their days are numbered... 

If you believe so, you too need all the help you can get.

What? You really think they can win, over the rest of the civilized world? Get a grip, man! It may have to come to WWIII, but those scum-sucking pigs will never win!

You are picking the wrong side my friend...

[adjan jb]

What? You really think they can win, over the rest of the civilized world? Get a grip, man! It may have to come to WWIII, but those scum-sucking pigs will never win!

You are picking the wrong side my friend...

I just think that their days are not numbered. Terrorism will never disapear. If you believe so, you're just as dumb or as naive as your president.

And it's not a game : there's no winner, there's no loser (except the victims).

WWIII ?!?! Are you sane ? Do you think that the Eyesore Towers and 2000 victims are enough to justify a world war ?

I'm neither on your side, nor on the terrorists' side.

[Membrane]

I just think that their days are not numbered. Terrorism will never disapear. If you believe so, you're just as dumb or as naive as your president.

And it's not a game : there's no winner, there's no loser (except the victims).

WWIII ?!?!    Are you sane ? Do you think that the Eyesore Towers and 2000 victims are enough to justify a world war ?

I'm neither on your side, nor on the terrorists' side.

Really? Because it sure sounds like you want the terrorists to win. With your cute names for the Twin Towers (calling them the "Eyesore Towers") and all of your other consistently-negative-towards-America postings, I think you ache for the U.S. to get it's a$$ kicked. C'mon adjan--admit it! Be a man and stand up and say it--it's not just Bush you hate, you hate anything and everything American.

And let's not get personal here--you don't want to try to egg me into a flame war do you? Like your friend "the gent" did with G-P? Hmmm?? Please don't tell me that's your agenda--prove it by not starting off this discussion by calling ANYONE stupid, etc.

And I never said it's "a game". It's very serious stuff. And I never said the Twin Towers or the 3,500+ victims justified WWIII--so don't go putting words in my mouth, slick boy.

No, look--the truth is, there are radical Islamic extremists who are itching for a fight. They see the world through their angry, blood-tinted glasses they wear every day and live in a hate-filled world of their own making. They even corrupt their own youth with hatred and anger, brainwashing them at an early age, by indoctrinating them into a sick and twisted view of the world and the west. These people want to bring the world to it's knees because they are religious kooks and nutcases who are on a CRUSADE to convert the world to Islam. As much as people laugh at Christians for doing this, they are far, far worse.

No, the Twin Towers incident by itself is not enough for WWIII. The terrorists WANT their beloved "war on Islam" they keep trying to start. That way, they can vent their anger and hatred on SOMEBODY and convert the world to their twisted perverted version of Islam. If the situation gets bad enough to actually start a WWIII, it will be because of them, not setting down at the negotiation table and doing something productive--like bringing peace to the Palestinians, for example....

EVER WONDER WHY THEY NEVER DO THAT?? Think about it.... If you can't figure it out, it's because THEY DON'T WANT PEACE. They want war. Now how do you deal with a mentality like that?

[adjan jb]

[Really? Because it sure sounds like you want the terrorists to win. With your cute names for the Twin Towers (calling it the "Eyesore Towers") and all of your other consistently-negative-towards-America postings, I think you ache for the U.S. to get it's a$$ kicked. C'mon adjan--admit it! Be a man and stand up and say it--it's not just Bush you hate, you hate anything and everything American.

And let's not get personal here--you don't want to try to egg me into a flame war do you? Like your friend "the gent" did with G-P? Hmmm?? Please don't tell me that's your agenda--prove it by not starting off this discussion by calling ANYONE stupid, etc.

don't go putting words in my mouth.

First I apologize for using the word "dumb" (But not "naive")

In another thread, I also called the Eiffel Tower, the Eyesore Tower. No big deal. I just think that they were ugly.

Don't go putting words in my mouth, too. I don't hate anything and everything American. You would be very suprised if you could see my collection of American books and music. But I admit it: I was quite happy that you get your arse kicked. Now you know what it is to be bombed. Now you know what it is to suffer, to be scared. It's an experience that you badly needed. But I thought that such a terrible experience would teach you to be more humble. I was wrong. You just became more arrogant (as a nation).

Your last question requires some reflection.

[Membrane]

You gotta be kidding me, right? We NEEDED to be BOMBED? Are you for real? Do you have even a shred of human decency about you? That's about as "smart" as when Thaksin recently said his own Thai troops "deserved to die" because they were unable to defend themselves against Muslim terrorists in the south.

That's really a sick, disgusting statement. You should be ashamed of yourself for posting that adjan. You're really scraping the bottom of the barrel with that one.

[mouse]

Adjan you are way out of line. I do not agree with a lot that we as Americans have done, or do throughout the world, but to suggest the we needed a lesson is insane. You seem educated, use it.

As for you membrane; Please do not forget that just two hundred years ago the English said we would never win, just 56 years ago, everyone thought the Israelis would go away and the problems would stop. Dayan bombed British Schools and he was one of the terrorist of his time and yet he is considered one of the founding father of his nation.

By the way membrane "I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR AVATAR" Who is it?

[Ulysses G.]

It is interesting how some people present their opinions here.

There are a few posters, Axel and adjan jb spring to mind, who never really have a lot to say, although they seem to think that they do. They show up, throw in a cynical world-weary remark once in a while, or a very simplistic answer to a complicated question. Then they disappear.

They suddenly throw in another quick one liner, and disappear again.

They want to get their two cents in. They want to poke the other guy in the ribs, however they don't go into detail about solutions to problems that they mention and they inevitably vanish before the other guy knows enough about them to poke back.

They want to let us know how clever they are, but, they don't seem to want to take any chance of falling over their own feet.

It seems strange behavior to me, because no one knows who they really are, anyway.

Well, to each his own.

[Axel]

It is interesting how some people present their opinions here.

There are a few posters, Axel and adjan jb spring to mind, who never really have a lot to say, although they seem to think that they do. They show up, throw in a cynical world-weary remark once in a while, or a very simplistic answer to a complicated question. Then they disappear.

They suddenly throw in another quick one liner, and disappear again.

They want to get their two cents in. They want to poke the other guy in the ribs, however they don't go into detail about solutions to problems that they mention and they inevitably vanish before the other guy knows enough about them to poke back.

They want to let us know how clever they are, but, they don't seem to want to take any chance of falling over their own feet.

It seems strange behavior to me, because no one knows who they really are, anyway.

Well, to each his own.

Ulysses G.: This is interesting, but how come you know my name? You know, I have a lot to say, really, but if I would do so, I would be banned by the power boards, (Or was it chair persons of the bored?) and perhaps would be send to Guantanamo.

Now you say, "Axel and adjan jb spring to mind,".

Honestly, I don't know adjan jb. alhough, I admit to have seen some VERY clever posts by him. You like him?

BTW, I live for too long in LoS to think in cents. My mind is in two Bahts, AT LEAST, not Euro-cents.

I still do not know what you are complaining about, especially after we met for the first time tonight. But you might try to tell me. For myself one trick works, 'lean back, relex and use your brains' Try it!, even a little bit helps.

I do not know for how long you are contributing in here. Please try to make some sense. Once you do that, I might be able to respond more directly.

BTW, the threat here is

"Replying to How Tiny Phone Chips Helped Track Global Terrorweb"

I apologize to have wandered off. Last time this hapened to me was when some guy wanted to teach me about Melbourne food. You know what? The OZoes were very upset.

BTW, I really wandered off, Membrane started this thing, and he was right. 'Tiny Swiss Cellphone Chips Helped Track Global Terror Web". I loved it!

[Boon Mee]

. But I admit it: I was quite happy that you get your arse kicked. Now you know what it is to be bombed. Now you know what it is to suffer, to be scared. It's an experience that you badly needed. But I thought that such a terrible experience would teach you to be more humble. I was wrong. You just became more arrogant (as a nation).

Your last question requires some reflection.

Adjan - some of your own countrymen got incenerated when the "Twin Eyesores" as you call them went down. BTW, assuming you're either Frog or a Pomme, check out my post in the thread: Enuch Freeloaders #5675.

So you're quite happy to see "our ass kicked" huh? And 3k people fried or crushed to satisfy your sense of inferiority???

You're quite a guy, pal...

Boon Mee

[Jeepz]

Adjan jb~

Hmm, let see, losing three wars to the Israeli military has made the Arab/Moslem contingent a more humble group, or should have, following your line of thought. The long line of suicide bombers that Israel has experienced should have produced a deferential, tractable attitude in the Israeli people by now.

To be honest, what you are saying is that, feeling slighted or undervalued, the effective remedy is to strike back. If one doesn't have the capacity to defend themselves or their feelings in a open manner, they should simply find an underhanded way of producing pain and suffering to balance the equation.

Humility, which I do happen to think is often a good thing, is rarely taught by a closed fist. Now fear can be easily instilled thusly. And some people will occasionally confuse the two things. They can produce superficially similar appearances of deference.

Now, you wonder why anyone would think that the twin towers attack could produce something along the lines of a world war three. And that is a good point. By itself, such an attack could not. But a continued series of attacks might. If, for the sake of argument, fanatical fundamentalists continued a series of successful (or partially successful) attacks killing thousands of people in the USA and or other western countries repeatedly, you might actually get to see something resembling a serious conflict.

I doubt that you would find the USA government or its citizens growing more humble and deferential to the necessity of placing Moslem fundamentalists in positions of power and authority. Instead one might find that we would end up killing them instead, regardless of geopolitical boundaries, their supporters sensibilities, and/or the admonitions of critics.

But there is little to discuss along these lines. Fundamentalists of whatever ilk, christian, moslem, you name it, are not interested in anything but controlling the world so it is reflects their vision. Their interest is forcing obediance and deference to their belief system. Well, and damning unbelievers to ######, occasionally even speeding them on their way there.

Sometimes, in my darker moods, I think that martyrdom is good for the soul, and we should do our level best to assist those fundamentalist obtaining it. You would expect they should accept that assistance with a sense of humility, wouldn't you, adjan jb?

Jeepz

[Boon Mee]

<<Sometimes, in my darker moods, I think that martyrdom is good for the soul, and we should do our level best to assist those fundamentalist obtaining it. You would expect they should accept that assistance with a sense of humility, wouldn't you, adjan jb?>>

Jeepz~

I definitely believe Adjan needs to become a martyr - strap a suicide belt on the dude and usher him into the vicinity of one of his heros - say Arafat or one of that ilk...

Boon Mee

[Guest IT Manager]

I thought the posting by membrane was very interesting, and thanks for it. I don't get time to spend a lot of energy over the O/S newspapers much any more and appreciate most things technical.

If you see stuff like that again Membrane, feel free to post it. It is very informative and quite interesting.

[Membrane]

I thought the posting by membrane was very interesting, and thanks for it. I don't get time to spend a lot of energy over the O/S newspapers much any more and appreciate most things technical.

If you see stuff like that again Membrane, feel free to post it. It is very informative and quite interesting.

Will do, IT. Being an IT guy as well, I love all things technical...

[Ulysses G.]

QUOTE=Ulysses G.,Thu 2004-03-04

There are a few posters, Axel and adjan jb spring to mind, who never really have a lot to say, although they seem to think that they do.

I rest my case.

[, 20:54:15]

Ulysses G.: This is interesting, but how come you know my name? You know, I have a lot to say, really, but if I would do so, I would be banned by the power boards, (Or was it chair persons of the bored?) and perhaps would be send to Guantanamo.

Now you say, "Axel and adjan jb spring to mind,".

Honestly, I don't know adjan jb. alhough, I admit to have seen some VERY clever posts by him. You like him?

BTW, I live for too long in LoS to think in cents. My mind is in two Bahts, AT LEAST, not Euro-cents.

I still do not know what you are complaining about, especially after we met for the first time tonight. But you might try to tell me. For myself one trick works, 'lean back, relex and use your brains' Try it!, even a little bit helps.

I do not know for how long you are contributing in here. Please try to make some sense. Once you do that, I might be able to respond more directly.

BTW, the threat here is 

"Replying to How Tiny Phone Chips Helped Track Global Terrorweb"

I apologize to have wandered off. Last time this hapened to me was when some guy wanted to teach me about Melbourne food. You know what? The OZoes were very upset.

BTW, I really wandered off, Membrane started this thing, and he was right. 'Tiny Swiss Cellphone Chips Helped Track Global Terror Web".  I loved it!

[Membrane]

As for you membrane;  Please do not forget that just two hundred years ago the English said we would never win, just 56 years ago, everyone thought the Israelis would go away and the problems would stop.  Dayan bombed British Schools and he was one of the terrorist of his time and yet he is considered one of the founding father of his nation.

By the way membrane "I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR AVATAR"  Who is it?

Mouse - As I said before, I take terrorism very seriously. In fact, the fight against terrorism should be treated as serious as life itself, because that's exactly what is at stake. But it's not in arrogance that I feel we will prevail. It's that I deeply feel that the good, decent people all around the world will not allow fundamentalist, crack-pot, Islamic extremist religious nuts to ruin the world. I do believe though, that not enough people have had their eyes opened to the full terrorist threat yet, because too many are focussing on GWB's shortcomings or other relatively irrelevent distractions. And if the U.S. (and it's allies) do it's job well enough, the world may never know just how good of a job it has done and will continue to do, because so much of the fight is covert and so therefore doesn't make the headlines. So the disgruntled of the world will continue to ignorantly bash and blame the U.S. for this or for that, never realizing that all the while, we have been working hard in the background, in order to save their lives and preserve their freedoms.

Now on a (much) lighter note, I love my little avatar girlie too! And here she is, in all her splendor:

[Ulysses G.]

Adjan you are way out of line. I do not agree with a lot that we as Americans have done, or do throughout the world, but to suggest the we needed a lesson is insane. You seem educated, use it.

As for you membrane; Please do not forget that just two hundred years ago the English said we would never win, just 56 years ago, everyone thought the Israelis would go away and the problems would stop. Dayan bombed British Schools and he was one of the terrorist of his time and yet he is considered one of the founding father of his nation.

By the way membrane "I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR AVATAR" Who is it?

Mouse, could you tell where I can get verification that Moshe Dayan "bombed" British schools?

I find that there is lots of talk about terrorism by Israelis, but when I try to track it down, it either doesn't exist, or they gave about 20 warning calls before blowing up a bomb in a British Military installation, and let's face it, the British stabbed both the Jews and the Arabs in the back, and were hardly blameless in the whole mess.