“Color me skeptical about the claim if not the device.”
They put GPS tracking devices in laptops to track them down if stolen, so what’s implausible about the device cited?
Stuxnet allegedly was spread via USB drive, so why not use such a device as a remote tracking delivery system?
It’s a bit astonishing Al Qaeda would even admit the successful delivery of a USB drive. That would signal the U.S. is a lot closer to finding OBL than he’s “hidden in a cave SOMEWHERE in Pakistan.” So if this is just propaganda, why put out a story that makes it appear the leader of Al Qaeda is that vulnerable?
To kill Bin Laden, we only need to get lucky once.
To stay alive, Bin Laden has to stay lucky all the time.
TC
GPS devices such as this have to do two things: They have to receive signals from at least three different satellites, simultaneously, in order to calculate their coordinates. This, essentially, requires line of sight view of three different positions in the sky. Then they have to somehow transmit this data to a responding site. This could be by Internet, or by radio signals. If they are transmitted by radio, the signal has to be very strong (much stronger than a blue tooth or wireless router signal) which would take more power than most computers would supply and would be easily detectable. If they are transmitted by the Internet, they obviously require an Internet connection, and would also be easy to detect.