Hiding (and Seeking) Messages on the Web - Al Qaeda uses the Web

Newsweek ^ | June 17 issue | Colin Soloway, Rod Nordland and Barbie Nadeau

[sarcasm]

One day last October, an intelligence-community analyst noticed something strange about a radical Islamist Web site she had been monitoring for several months. A previously open, innocuous part of the site was suddenly blocked. She checked her notes, found the old address for the link and typed it in

[Uncle Miltie]

I recommend we find the servers from which such coded messages are delivered, and lob a white phosphorous grenade into the server room. Lots of little building fires all over Pakistan could help clean this up.

Come on, spooks, it is a WAR. We certainly blew up Nazi radios. Let's blow up Jihaddist servers.

[proxy_user]

They could easily post coded messages anywhere. Look at the Yahoo stock message boards, for example. So many nuts post complete gibberish to these, no one would notice.

[Alas Babylon!]

Allah, His Holy Name Be Praised!!!

Who ordered the faffalla? Goats read by day. 3rd and K Street. By my beard, where is the hummus? Do you have the "special sauce"? Camels lurk on Wall Steet. The dunes are growing.

Transmission out.

[Nogbad]

ping

[Jonah Hex]

West wind rising. Tora tora tora. The pelican flies at midnight.

Hurrah hurrah for the spinster sister's daughter. The world wonders.

[swarthyguy]

What was the msg broadcast by the BBC to the French Resistance before DDay that was depicted in 'The Longest Day'. There were probably lots of different ones to different groups, but this one was enshrined in that movie.

[Jonah Hex]

(copied from a WWII web site)

Radio messages in French were broadcasted from London. These coded messages passed on important information to the French Resistance, who were working in occupied France. Such a message would have alerted the French Resistance of the impending invasion, allowing the Resistance to create confusion and disruption within German-held France.

[Woman/Femme]: Qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is it?)

[Radio]: Les sanglots longs des violons de l'automne. Je repete: Les sanglots longs des violons de l'automne...
(Long sobs of autumn violins. I repeat: Long sobs of autumn violins)

[Man/Homme]: Et cette fois vous allez combattre sur la terre de France. Dans nos campagnes. Dans nos villages. Sous les yeux des notres.
(And this time you will fight on land of France. In our country. In our villages. Before our eyes.)

[Radio]: Ici radio Londres. Voici notre huitieme bulletin d'information. Mais voici, tout d'abord, quelques messages personnels. Demain, la melasse deviendra du cognac. Demain, la melasse deviendra du cognac. Jean a de longues moustaches. Je repete...
(This is radio London. This is our eighth information bulletin. But first, a few private messages. Tomorrow, treacle will turn to brandy. Tomorrow, treacle will turn to brandy. John has a long moustache. I repeat...)

[Woman/Femme]: Vite, il faut se depecher! (Lets go! We have to hurry up!)

[Radio] : Jean a de longues moustaches. (John has a long moustache.)

[Capt. Tom]

Analysts believe Al Qaeda uses prearranged phrases and symbols to direct its agents.

You can't break a prearranged message code unless you get the book with the tie ins to the nonsensical commands. - Tom

[swarthyguy]

Thanks, i started doing a search then took the lazy way out.

[Doctor Stochastic]

This can be stopped by having the Government monitor each and every computer on the Web. Any computer having suspect phrases could be subject to warrantless seizure. This project could be funded by selling the computers seized from those who aren't willing to show their Patriotism by going to Court and suing to get their computer back by proving that everything on their computer is not only legal but was not downloaded from Napster.

[swarthyguy]

I don't think they need physical possession anymore.

[abner]

Ping!

[JohnathanRGalt]

Brad Cloven wrote: I recommend we find the servers from which such coded messages are delivered, and lob a white phosphorous grenade into the server room. Lots of little building fires all over Pakistan could help clean this up.

Come on, spooks, it is a WAR. We certainly blew up Nazi radios. Let's blow up Jihaddist servers.

Don't even think about it!

Do you know where the servers for almost all the terrorist groups are located? They are in the USA and UK! You don't even need to go to Pakistan to get them.

Why don't you just write up a letter detailing the murderous hatred and other nastyness you can see on the terrorist websites and how that violates the AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) or the TOS (Terms of Service) that every ISP has -- many are happy to take them down.

This tactic is much safer and cheaper than white phosphorous grenades. And it has the advantage that it is legal.

[aristeides]

Is that verbatim what was broadcast? I seem to recall all those words from the movie The Longest Day. Of course, there's no reason the movie might not have gotten it exactly right.

[aristeides]

It's more important to intercept and track these messages than to stop them.

[Jonah Hex]

Nope, I believe that was just a compilation of bits and pieces transmitted over the days preceeding 6 June. A lot of the phrases was intended as nonsense of course to bollux the Germans, but a few real code phrases were scattered here and there for the Marquis and others.

(I've always been fascinated by military history.)

[fuzzthatwuz]

Thank you for the links. Your dialog with BurstNet was impressive. Bookmarked for further review.

[ArrogantBustard]

Thank you for demonstrating that even a non-mohammedan website (like, eg. FR) could be abused by these people to pass their messages. Please don't anybody toss wille pete into the FR server room.

[JohnathanRGalt]

I think that MSNBC/Newsweak is getting it all wrong.

The main purpose of the terrorist websites is not to hide secret messages. Sure, there's an occasional order going out to the Islamist operatives coordinating attacks and that sort of thing -- but that's not the main purpose.

The purpose of the terrorist websites is propaganda -- pure and simple. The Islamists use the sites to establish community, to recruit more Islamists from their fellow Muslims, to obtain funding, and to repeat the Big Lie over and over until the entire Ummah and everyone else thinks that it's truth.

aristeides wrote: "It's more important to intercept and track these messages than to stop them". And, it will become even more important to track those messages as the Islamist movement grows to encompass the billions in the Muslim world. You see, propaganda is a living organism. The purpose of propaganda is to reproduce itself.

I believe that the Muslims are human beings -- no better, nor worse -- and as humans, they are similar to those living in the one of the most civilized and Christian nations on the earth 65 years ago: Germany.

There's a war going on, it's a cyberwar and the front-line trench is that screen in front of your face. It looks like we can all use some Ms.Guidance. Spend some quality surfing time looking through the links at this site. As a non-DOD individual, you are allowed to use any link that is not locked to you.