More than 2,900 people died in the September 11 attacks in 2001. The 7/11
blasts on Mumbai trains took the lives of more than 200 innocents this year.
Last year, Delhi reeled under the blasts at the Sarojini Nagar Market, which
killed about 60 people.
Terror creators use technology for their ends. And the only way to combat
that-is with technology. Security agencies are gearing up for this, but in
many cases far too slowly.
NBC TV reported in June this year how forensic software created by a company
called Guidance Software in Pasadena, is being used by various military and
intelligence outfits to unravel terror trails. The software supports Arabic and
has helped solve many cases. According to NBC, digital media found from the
bombed safehouse of Abu Masab al Zaqawi, has helped the intelligence outfits
open 200 related investigations. The software was also used in several other
investigations as well, including the one to trace the murderers of Daniel
Pearl. British agencies use a solution called Ibas for the same purposes.
RFID chips in US passports might create a revolution in tackling terror... but, they might also lead terrorists to their victims |
Intelligence agencies also have to make use of translation software to be
able to decipher content with cross-cultural terrorism. Language Weaver is one
example of such software which can translate many different languages, including
Russian, Chinese, Arabic into English, even if it is on air. Many more languages
and dialects are yet to be cracked by software, so defense agencies are still
scouting in deaf alleys, as they can't tell what is being communicated.
Link analysis software has been around for a while and has been used in
identifying terrorists. This looks for all the records pertaining to a said
person, past and present. It not only helps an analyst to trace the perpetrator
but also helps to share information with another analyst. The FBI has its own
database called Investigative Data Warehouse, which has more than 650 million
records of intelligence communications to terrorist watch lists, etc. Now it
also has a search tool to wade through this information. Similarly, in Seattle,
the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed the Starlight program to
search through a mine of information and give patterns of association.
Meanwhile every new terror strike anywhere in the world first sees its impact
on global travelers. Unending security checks and stringent regulations are the
rule. RFID might show the way out. The US is introducing RFID chips in US
passports this month onward. With features that include transmission of the
name, nationality, sex, date of birth and a digitized photograph of the holder,
this can create a revolution in tackling terror, by effectively combining it
with databases of terrorists around the world. The US government is certain that
the info on the passport cannot be cloned, so it's secure that way. But there
is a flip side to it. A US tourist in a foreign land could be similarly
identified by terrorists and made a terror victim.
The Internet has made our lives easy, but it has made the lives of terrorists
easy as well. They use it to spread messages and propaganda, recruit new people,
raise funds, networking, planning and coordination, and so on. They even post
handbooks for budding terrorists! According to an Al Qaeda training manual
recovered in Afghanistan, “Using public sources openly and without resorting
to illegal means, it is possible to gather at least 80 percent of all
information required about the enemy.”
If we have the technology, they have it too. Who is winning the race?
Security agencies need to keep their methodologies under wraps. But clearly, the
efforts that are visible do not inspire enough confidence. At least, not so far.
The author is editor-in-chief of CyberMedia, the publisher of Dataquest. He
can be reached at shyamm@cybermedia.co.in