Author: Pramit Pal Chaudhuri
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: February 19 2001
NOW WE know how jehadis get their
kicks. CIA chief George Tenet let it out of the brown paper bag during
a session with US Senators. Osama bin Laden and other Islamicists, it seems,
use cyberporn to send messages secure from Western intelligence's peeping
Toms.
It's known that terrorists are handy
with encryption, e-mail and the Internet. Here's how they talk dirty, electronically.
Terrorist in Kandahar uses software to code a message. He then hides this
digital strand inside a more innocuous digital packet and posts it at a
pre-determined website. Terrorist in New York City downloads the packet
and uses similar software to unscramble the message.
Here's the fun bit: the favoured
digital packet to hide such messages is a picture of an undraped female
form. Of course, when the picture is posted on a porn site it'll be downloaded
thousands of times. But others won't know there's a message here that's
more than skin-deep and they'll lack the decrypting keys.
One Indian cyber expert, Ravi V.
Prasad, says, "Such groups use porn sites because it would be the last
place someone would expect Islamic fundamentalists." The second favourite
are sports sites. Again, this runs against the Taliban grain and the large
volumes of site visitors provide good cover.
Spy thriller fans will understand.
The porn website has become the 'drop' -- the dustbin or station locker
where Cold War spooks used to leave messages.
Islamic terrorists have also discovered
e-commerce. A Los Angeles Times article called the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba "the
most accomplished Internet fund-raiser" among terrorist groups. Their website
provides a bank account in Pakistan for donations. Lashkar has done so
well it plans to open a bank. It's big bucks.
One jihadi website, azzam.com, raises
money for the Taliban to puncture UN sanctions and asks for a minimum donation
of $20,000. Business is good: it's advertising for a web designer.
Militants embrace the e-advantage.
Bin Laden began using encrypted e-mail six years ago, when he learnt US
intelligence was tapping his satellite phone. Later, Bin Laden declared
mastering hi-tech "a religious duty." Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of Hamas,
said last year, "We will use whatever tools we can - e-mail, the Internet
-- to facilitate jihad." So much porn no doubts helps stoke the fires of
jihad among militant ranks, mostly young males.
So, when next you download the file,
Britney in Birthday Suit, you may get a bomb manual with the blonde, digitally
inserted with a spamimic.com programme and scrambled with pgpi.com software.
And a CIA background check may follow to find if you are dangerous or just
depraved.
