Terrorists May Have Used PlayStation 4s to Plan ISIS Paris Attacks. Here's How

Yahoo Tech ^ | 11/15/15 | Philip Ross

[Enlightened1]

The people who carried out Friday's attacks in Paris may have used Sony's PlayStation 4 video game consoles to coordinate the operation, according to officials in nearby Brussels, where at least some of the suspected terrorists likely originated. The game consoles would have allowed the attack's perpetrators to communicate more securely -- as in, away from intelligence officials' ears or eyes -- compared to traditional channels like email or smartphone apps.

When Belgium authorities arrested several people with suspected links to the Paris terrorist attacks, among the evidence they recovered was at least one Playstation 4 console, Forbes reported. "The thing that keeps me awake at night is the guy behind his computer, looking for messages from [the Islamic State group, or ISIS] and other hate preachers," Jan Jambon, Belgium's federal home affairs minister, said Friday, according to Quartz. "PlayStation 4 is even more difficult to keep track of than WhatsApp," the popular instant messaging app for smartphones. He said ISIS uses the gaming console because it's harder for authorities to keep tabs on.

"With PlayStation 4, it seems likely that simple voice communication could have worked just fine," Forbes contributor Paul Tassi wrote. "It's still difficult for investigators to monitor IP-based voice systems compared to say, a simple cellphone. ... The point is that terrorists could simply be in a [PlayStation Network] party together and chatting away mostly free from the fear that anyone is listening because of the difficulty and infrequency of governments eavesdropping on those forms of communication."

Terrorists could also use more stealthy communication means, including ones that wouldn't require any verbal or written messages at all. For example, a player in Super Mario Maker could spell out a note in gold coins, something that would almost impossible for intelligence agents to catch.

[Enlightened1]

[taxcontrol]

Lots of VOIP apps for pc or mobiles. Lots of point to point encryption appss as well. Identifying one system sounds more like trying to sensationalize.

[MarkL]

I also remember concerns when it turned out a huge number of gaming systems were purchase by either Iraq or Iran, in order to bypass the high-tech limitations placed on the countries by the West.

As I recall, it turns out the processors could be linked together as a parallel computing system which was effectively a super-computer, which could be used in nuclear and biological weapon development. Mark

[SeeSharp]

Sounds like the bureaucrats are inventing monsters in their heads again. I’d be willing to bet the terrorists had watches and got their orders through vibrations in the air.

[a fool in paradise]

Terrorists could also use more stealthy communication means, including ones that wouldn't require any verbal or written messages at all. For example, a player in Super Mario Maker could spell out a note in gold coins, something that would almost impossible for intelligence agents to catch.

It's not as cloak and dagger as this article makes it sound. Someone involved in the planning of this plot wished them well on their mission via a social media account. While it is possible to use such communication methods as spelling out things with gold coins, etc. much more of it is done out in the open.

[Timber Rattler]

There are also applications like Ventrilo and TeamSpeak, designed for inter-group communications during MMO gaming, that work very well too.

[Flick Lives]

I see this article as a horribly crass attempt to sell PlayStations.

[SecondAmendment]

And it would be virtually impossible for anyone listening in to tell the difference between gamers playing COD:BO3 and a terror cell planning an attack, well unless they hear "Allah Ackbar" every other word.

[wbarmy]

If they really want to sell Playstations, bring back the old OS.

http://phys.org/news/2010-12-air-playstation-3s-supercomputer.html

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/scientists-builds-supercomputer-playstations-study-black-holes

[Bryanw92]

>>Sounds like the bureaucrats are inventing monsters in their heads again.

This isn’t a new idea. When the MMORPG World of Warcraft became really huge and mainstream (the first MMO to really get outside the gamer world) people were thinking that it would be a great way for a terrorist cell to communicate. Join the game and form a guild in the game. Communicate in guild chat using game terms (there’s lots of violence and destruction in an MMO, so the conversations would be quite normal with the use of a few code words) and no would know. People outside the guild can’t even see the chat. The game is global so you could be talking to guild members from the Middle East and it would be hard to track.

Today, there are dozens of popular MMORPGs, so it would be even easier to track.

[sockmonkey]

So, does this mean that I won’t be reading/hearing the attacks are Edward Snowden’s fault anymore?