"Through weeks of interviews with U.S. law-enforcement officials and experts, USA TODAY has learned new details of how extremists hide maps and photographs of terrorist targets — and post instructions for terrorist activities — on sports chat rooms, pornographic bulletin boards and other popular Web sites. Citing security concerns, officials declined to name the sites. Experts say it's difficult for law enforcement to intercept the messages.
"It's something the intelligence, law-enforcement and military communities are really struggling to deal with," says Ben Venzke, special projects director for iDEFENSE, a cyberintelligence company."
U.S. officials and militant Muslim groups say terrorists began using encryption — which scrambles data and then hides the data in existing images — about five years ago.
But the groups recently increased its use after U.S. law enforcement authorities revealed they were tapping bin Laden's satellite telephone calls from his base in Afghanistan and tracking his activities."
NetSecurity, About. Sep, 17, 2001:
Methods Terrorists Use
August 2001, CITI Techreport
Detecting Steganographic Content on the Internet
US alert: coded message reveals bin Laden terror plot, July 20, 2001
US alert: coded message reveals bin Laden terror plot
Excerpt:
"The United States is expecting a terrorist attack orchestrated by the Saudi extremist Osama bin Laden soon, and has placed its forces in the Middle East on the highest level of alert.
State Department officials said intelligence services had intercepted a coded message to one of bin Laden's senior operatives outlining plans for the attack."
Newsmax, Feb. 9, 2001
U.S. Makes Cyberwar on Bin Laden
Excerpt:
"Since 1994, bin Laden has used modern technology such as laptop computers, regular computers, faxes, cell phones, e-mails and the Internet to help set up his networks in Western Europe and 50 other countries, U.S. government officials said.
But to counter his vulnerability to the NSA and America's superior electronic warfare resources, including Vortex satellites that vacuum up microwave transmissions, bin Laden has resorted to "the application of traditional tradecraft" to the Net world, Venzke said. In the past, spies "hid micro dots in letters," he said. Today, bin Laden operatives hide encrypted messages "in the middle of a porno picture." or use chat rooms or other seemingly harmless venues to deliver covert orders."
Wired News, Feb. 7, 2001:
Bin Laden: Steganography Master?
Excerpt:
"WASHINGTON -- If there's one thing the FBI hates more than Osama bin Laden, it's when Osama bin Laden starts using the Internet. So it should be no surprise that the feds are getting unusually jittery about what they claim is evidence that bin Laden and his terrorist allies are using message-scrambling techniques to evade law enforcement.
The Clinton administration substantially relaxed -- but did not remove -- regulations controlling the overseas shipments of encryption hardware and software, such as Web browsers or Eudora PGP plug-ins.
Three years ago, FBI Director Louis Freeh spent much of his time telling anyone who would listen that terrorists were using encryption -- and Congress should approve restrictions on domestic use.
"We are very concerned, as this committee is, about the encryption situation, particularly as it relates to fighting crime and fighting terrorism," Freeh said to the Senate Judiciary committee in September 1998. "Not just bin Laden, but many other people who work against us in the area of terrorism, are becoming sophisticated enough to equip themselves with encryption devices."
steganographic software
There is more, but you all get the Idea..