<![CDATA[[SecurityRatty] tag: qaeda]]> http://securityratty.com/tag/qaeda Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:38:01 +0000 iRatty Engine http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[Mayhem in Mumbai]]> http://securityratty.com/article/b7902ee86f589ca527ebb734d591a745 http://securityratty.com/article/b7902ee86f589ca527ebb734d591a745
The latest figures suggest that at least 100 people have been killed and as many as 900 injured. Radio and television reporters are saying that it has all the hallmarks of an Al-Qaeda attack. Locations included a railway station, a cinema, the Taj Hotel, and another very popular restaurant.

It appears as if the terrorists singled out Westerners as they are reported to have taken British and American tourists hostages and brought them up to the 18th floor of the hotel. This evening the hotel is on fire and the fate of the hostages is still unknown.

The good news for some, is that they were able to escape form the hotel in the confusion. It appears that the terrorists could have numbered dozens of heavily armed men. This is definitely not a random attack but a well planned and executed operation aimed at causing mass casualties amnd hitting India's financial markets in much the same way as Wall Street was attacked on 9/11.

We do not hear that much about India's terrorist problems in the West but I was made aware of it when I was invited to India to speak on Security matters this time last year. I have since that time made clients and potenital clients aware of the security situation.

There has been much outsourcing to India and many U.S. businesses are sending personnel over there as a result. Those who can afford to have their own professional security protectors should consider that option very carefully. It could very well turn out being more of a necessity than a luxury in these dangerous times.
Visit Sexton Executive Security at www.sextonsecurity.com
]]> Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:48:00 +0000 india potenital clients aware taj hotel hotel clients hostages mass casualties amnd american tourists hostages aware Mayhem in Mumbai <![CDATA[Terrorist Fear Mongering Seems to be Working Less Well]]> http://securityratty.com/article/09f36b7171d3f9e45ccf11b061db25e3 http://securityratty.com/article/09f36b7171d3f9e45ccf11b061db25e3 BART, the San Francisco subway authority, has been debating allowing passengers to bring drinks on trains. There are all sorts of good reasons why or why not -- convenience, problems with spills, and so on -- but one reason that makes no sense is that terrorists may bring flammable liquids on board. Yet that is exactly what BART managers said.

No big news -- we've seen stupid things like this regularly since 9/11 -- but this time people responded:

Added Director Tom Radulovich, "If somebody wants to break the law and bring flammable liquids on, they can. It's not like al Qaeda is waiting in their caves for us to have a sippy-cup rule."

Directing his comments to BART administrators, he said, "You know, it's just fearmongering and you should be ashamed."

]]> Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:07:28 +0000 bart bart managers flammable liquids director tom radulovich bart administrators sippy-cup rule time people passengers law Terrorist Fear Mongering Seems to be Working Less Well <![CDATA[MI6 Camera -- Including Secrets -- Sold on eBay]]> http://securityratty.com/article/787b3bf3fc7e8ad2d3585c7a4f37ed35 http://securityratty.com/article/787b3bf3fc7e8ad2d3585c7a4f37ed35 I wish I'd known:

A 28-year-old delivery man from the UK who bought a Nikon Coolpix camera for about $31 on eBay got more than he bargained for when the camera arrived with top secret information from the UK's MI6 organization.

Allegedly sold by one of the clandestine organization's agents, the camera contained named al-Qaeda cells, names, images of suspected terrorists and weapons, fingerprint information, and log-in details for the Secret Service's computer network, containing a "Top Secret" marking.

He turned the camera in to the police.

]]> Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:59:17 +0000 camera nikon coolpix camera top secret top secret information named al-qaeda cells ebay clandestine organization secret service fingerprint information MI6 Camera -- Including Secrets -- Sold on eBay <![CDATA[$13 Billion of U.S. Taxpayers Money was Stolen or Wasted in Iraq.]]> http://securityratty.com/article/e47ddb39bd9befd964ed4262d0b883f6 http://securityratty.com/article/e47ddb39bd9befd964ed4262d0b883f6 "Washington Post" was sickening to read but hardly comes as a surprise.

It is also sad to read that there was most likely involvement by Iraqi Government officials and U.S. contractors. The investigator who testified as to the waste and theft was fearful of his life as 32 of his fellow investigative co-workers have been killed.

One scheme involved officials from the Iraqi Defense Ministry setting up a front company that received $1.7 Billion in U.S. funds to buy guns, armoured vehicles and other equipment. Only a small percentage was ever purchased and in one case, they had bullet-proof vests delivered that were defective and useless.

In another case involving Iraqis and U.S. contractors, $24.4 million was spent on an electricity project that "only existed on paper". The worst part was that money sent to the Defense Ministry was discovered to have been diverted to Al-Qaeda and found its way to bank accounts in Jordan and other places.

Let us hope the Government spends the proposed $700 Billion bail out funds in a more responsible and accountable manner.
Visit Sexton Executive Security at www.sextonsecurity.com
]]> Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:03:00 +0000 billion iraqi defense ministry defense ministry iraqi government officials officials billion bail fellow investigative co-workers funds front company $13 Billion of U.S. Taxpayers Money was Stolen or Wasted in Iraq. <![CDATA[Secret Military Technology]]> http://securityratty.com/article/ae8517ec5993912e6996ae981acd5cc7 http://securityratty.com/article/ae8517ec5993912e6996ae981acd5cc7 On 60 Minutes, in an interview with Scott Pelley, reporter Bob Woodward claimed that the U.S. military has a new secret technique that's so revolutionary, it's on par with the tank and the airplane:

Woodward: This is very sensitive and very top secret, but there are secret operational capabilities that have been developed by the military to locate, target, and kill leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq, insurgent leaders, renegade militia leaders, that is one of the true breakthroughs.

Pelley: What are we talking about here? Some kind of surveillance, some kind of targeted way of taking out just the people that you're looking for, the leadership of the enemy?

[...]

Woodward: It is the stuff of which military novels are written.

Pelley: Do you mean to say that this special capability is such an advance in military technique and technology that it reminds you of the advent of the tank and the airplane?

Woodward: Yeah.

It's here, 7 minutes and 55 seconds in.

Anyone have any ideas?

]]> Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:35:28 +0000 military woodward reporter bob woodward military novels scott pelley pelley military technique renegade militia leaders secret operational capabilities Secret Military Technology <![CDATA[Hackers Attack Iraq's Vulnerable Computers]]> http://securityratty.com/article/2113173f41adb3ceaaba754bcc542948 http://securityratty.com/article/2113173f41adb3ceaaba754bcc542948 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:00:25 +0000 global terror networks computers iraq bloody struggle prime target government al-qaeda arsenal Hackers Attack Iraq's Vulnerable Computers <![CDATA[Obama, Al Qaeda recruit for Rustock]]> http://securityratty.com/article/8286e69ac6ebc34a10c2ba854cbe4a8f http://securityratty.com/article/8286e69ac6ebc34a10c2ba854cbe4a8f Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:00:00 +0000 presidential campaign trail barack obama recruit zombies rustock qaeda world bush microsoft botnet Obama, Al Qaeda recruit for Rustock <![CDATA[Mission Statement for Federation]]> http://securityratty.com/article/9794bcabb05d5a9a4ad01ef54236e5df http://securityratty.com/article/9794bcabb05d5a9a4ad01ef54236e5df

Bruce Sterling (11/20/2001):

You know what I want? I don't want a National ID Card. I want a Global Coalition Visa.

Like it or not, we've got a huge global diaspora now. It is a fact of life. Nations with stupid and corrupt politics have seen their clever people brain- drained away, to places where the cops don't shake you down twice a day. And jet-setters go everywhere. And properly so. If you're in a true global society, then you spend a lot of your time among aliens. Quite often you are the alien. You might notice that even Al Qaeda is a genuinely multinational group. They gravitated to wicked, lawless places like Sudan, Chechnya and Afghanistan, where the locals shoot you if you ask for a badge.

But what about all us bright, shiny, world-trading jet setters, huh? There are thirty percent fewer Yankees in Europe this Christmas, and that is bad. Let me pose the problem this way. If I am going into a Japanese restaurant in Japan, I would rather like to be able to haul out some gizmo and flash it at my fellow civilians, and have these kindly people understand with a high degree of likelihood that I am not a mass murderer. On the contrary, I am quite civilized, and I should be brought a beer immediately.

A platinum VISA card and a five-hundred-dollar suit will almost do that, but those are too easy to forge and steal, plus they are not very democratic. The UN should get together on this. We should have a high level summit about digital hardware support for the crippled tourist economy. Fear and ill treatment shut down tourism faster than anything short of open warfare. That is bad for all of us. Killing off tourism harms our civilization and impoverishes our cultures. People in civilized states shouldn't routinely treat one another as criminal suspects. I don't want to get done-over for three hours every time I get off a plane in London. When I go to London, I go with empty suitcases. I don't plan to stay, but I am better news for the London economy than a lot of the people who live there.

They should know all that that before I get off the plane. My arrival is excellent news for Britain, so I should be treated that way. If this is a new kind of war, I don't want to be the evil guy hunkered down in the bunker; I want to fly with the boys from Air Assault. I want one of those handy crypto-style Friend-or-Foe IDs.

These people who normally meet me whenever I am an alien, they don't need to know my nationality, my home address or my shoe size. They just need to know that, despite being alien, I'm sort-of okay.

I want a democratic, citizen-to-citizen device that will bridge those social barriers and language barriers. I think we could invent devices and means of verification that would strengthen the global social fabric that terrorism wants to rip. It wouldn't be easy or simple, but it's not beyond our ingenuity. Our social capital sustains all civilized societies, and it is all about trust. So let's invent new methods of trust.

I added bold to the last sentence because I think this is the mission statement for building out federation systems.

]]> Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:35:35 +0000 people clever people brain- kindly people platinum visa card london mission statement london economy card true global society Mission Statement for Federation <![CDATA[Backdoording Cyber Jihadist Ebooks for Surveillance Purposes]]> http://securityratty.com/article/aeea8b0a7f192cc968531f573ed672a4 http://securityratty.com/article/aeea8b0a7f192cc968531f573ed672a4 It appears that cyber jihadists are striking back at the academic and intelligence community, by binding their propaganda Ebooks with malware, then distributing them across different forums, thanks to a recently analyzed Ebook entitled "The Al-Qaeda network's timely entrance in Palestine" distributed by the Global Islamic Media Front - hat tip to Warintel.

If it were posted by a newly joined forum member, it would have logically raises the suspicion that it's in fact intelligence agencies spreading malware infected Ebooks around cyber jihadist forums, but it's since this one in particular is being distributed by what looks like a hardcore cyber jihadist, it brings the discussion to a whole new level.

What are they trying to achive? Abuse the already established trust of their readers and cyber jihadist supporters in order to snoop on their Internet activities, or it's the academic and intelligence community they are trying to monitor? In times when botnets can be rented and created on demand, they seem to be more interested in infecting their enemies. Moreover, I suspect that prior to the forum posting, private messages and emails were automatically sent to notify members whose number of posts at the forum greate outpace those of average observers, perhaps the target in such an attack.

The malware is detected by 9 out of 33 antivirus scanners as Trojan.Midgare.gra. Consider reading a previous post on "Terror on the Internet - Conflict of Interest" as well as through the related posts summarizing all the cyber jihadist research I've conducted so far.
]]> Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:06:38 +0000 ebooks intelligence community cyber jihadist forums forums cyber jihadist research internet malware hardcore cyber jihadist forum Backdoording Cyber Jihadist Ebooks for Surveillance Purposes <![CDATA[Al-Qaeda Pwns Your Coffee Machine]]> http://securityratty.com/article/8aebc78e5bd9f33d556f2cf6b257c281 http://securityratty.com/article/8aebc78e5bd9f33d556f2cf6b257c281 This, is one of the funniest things I have read in a while.

From The Register:

An Aussie risk advisory services manager has issued a chilling security alert concerning the Jura F90 net-connected coffee machine, warning caffeine-heads that the hi-tech brewing device could open their Windows PC to exploitation by internet paedophiles and al-Qaeda*, CNET reports.

Craig Wright, who works for “professional services” outfit BDO, posted his alert yesterday on the BugTraq security email list, highlighting possible lines of attack, including buffer overflow menaces. The F90 (see pic) is apparently the “world’s first household espresso machine with internet capability”, which allows users to select “coffee specialities” via their PCs without having to walk the five feet between their desks and the machine.

Someone took the Trojan Room Coffee Machine idea and made it open to TERRORISM. Run screaming if you feel so compelled.

LOL! Yes there is a fair degree of tongue in cheek in this story. Thanks to Lester Haines for making my day. Be sure to read the full piece on the Reg.

Article Link

]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:38:01 +0000 machine coffee machine idea coffee machine household espresso machine jura f90 f90 buffer overflow menaces select coffee specialities al-qaeda Al-Qaeda Pwns Your Coffee Machine