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Locked on 10/02/2007 7:20:00 PM PDT by Lead Moderator, reason:
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Posted on 09/01/2007 6:24:54 PM PDT by nwctwx
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ADDING to post no. 114:
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47284
Defense Department Responds to Cyber Threats, Official Says
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2007 – The Defense Department receives many attempted cyber attacks each day and has measures in place to aggressively respond to and deter these attacks, a department spokesman said today.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman addressed media reports that a computer system in the Office of the Secretary of Defense was hacked into by the Chinese military earlier this year. Whitman confirmed that an attack did occur in June but declined to identify the origin of the threat. It is often difficult to pinpoint the true origin of an intrusion into computer systems and even more difficult to tie the intrusion to a specific nation or government, he noted.
“Cyber or non-kinetic type threats to military computer networks are viewed as just as real and just as significant as physical or kinetic threats,” Whitman said. “The department aggressively responds to deter all intrusions to defend what is known as the GIG, the global information grid.”
When the intrusion occurred in June, elements of an unclassified e-mail system in the Office of the Secretary of Defense were taken off-line briefly, Whitman said. However, the department has redundant systems in place, so ongoing operations were not disrupted, he said. The system was restored to full service within two or three weeks.
There are hundreds of attempted intrusions into the Defense Department computer network each day, the majority of which are detected and stopped, Whitman said. The nature of the threat is large and diverse and includes recreational hackers, self-styled cyber vigilantes, various groups with nationalistic or ideological agendas, transnational actors, and nation states. When appropriate, the department turns cases over to law enforcement officials for investigation, he said.
“We continue to aggressively monitor our networks for intrusions,” Whitman said. “We have appropriate procedures to address events of this nature.”
Since the incident in June, Whitman said, he knows of no successful intrusions into the Defense Department computer system.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47283
Coalition Troops Kill Three Terrorists, Detain 17
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2007 – Coalition forces killed three terrorists and detained 17 during operations around Iraq today.
Coalition forces detained two suspected weapons smugglers in a pre-dawn raid in the village of Qazaniyah, near the Iraqi-Iranian border northeast of Baqubah.
The detained individuals are suspected of having contact with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force. The suspects are believed to have smuggled and distributed Iranian weapons, including explosively formed penetrators. Intelligence indicates the suspects had traveled to and from Iran, U.S. officials said. AK-47 rifles, ammunition, military gear, documents, photographs and currency were confiscated.
“Coalition troops continue to kill and capture terrorists who bring Iranian weapons into Iraq,” said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “Coalition forces demonstrate their resolve by continuing to pursue these nefarious networks that provide EFPs to those who intend to kill Iraqi citizens and subvert the prospects of a stable and secure Iraq.”
In other Iraq operations today:
— Coalition forces killed two terrorists, detained 10 suspects and found several caches of explosives during operations targeting al Qaeda in Iraq. Four suspects were detained in the Rusafa neighborhood of Baghdad, including two key suspected al Qaeda in Iraq members. One is a personnel and weapons facilitator for al Qaeda in Iraq. Another suspect, nicknamed “the Monster,” is tied to the al Qaeda in Iraq agent in Rusafa and to another operative who was killed May 23.
— Coalition forces found two caches of weapons and explosives during coordinated raids northwest of Tarmiyah, where they captured two more key suspected al Qaeda in Iraq agents. An air strike destroyed captured enemy rocket-propelled grenades, explosives, improvised explosive devices and a bomb-making lab. Two other suspects were detained.
— North of Muqdadiyah, coalition forces discovered an al Qaeda in Iraq compound, clinic and roadside bombs. Coalition forces detained one suspect during the operation.
“We’re steadily taking chipping away at the al Qaeda in Iraq network,” Garver said. “We are on the offensive and will not back down until the Iraqi people can develop the future they have chosen, free of terrorist attacks.”
During operations yesterday, coalition and Iraqi forces captured 50 suspected terrorists, including two senior terror leaders, U.S. officials reported.
— Iraqi troops and U.S. Special Forces soldiers caught an alleged murder-squad member in a raid in the Baghdad area. The detainee is tied to kidnappings, torture and killings committed in the Bub al Shaam and Shaab areas of New Baghdad. The suspect allegedly is responsible for attacks on coalition forces. Body armor and detonators and other bomb-making materials were seized in the raid.
— Iraqi commandos detained a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq leader during a raid near Kirkuk. The terror leader’s group is suspected of planning attacks in Ninewa, Salah Ad Din and At Tamim provinces. Two days earlier, Iraqi troops had captured the leader’s deputy, a wanted member of the former Baath Party. Propane tanks and wires, 125,000 Iraqi dinars and assorted documents were seized during these operations. U.S. Special Forces soldiers advised Iraqi troops in both operations.
— Iraqi troops and U.S. Special Forces soldiers captured six suspected al Qaeda in Iraq members during a raid in Rabiah. One detainee is linked to an attack in Mosul that caused the death of seven policemen. Other detainees are tied to terror-financing operations. Forty other individuals with links to al Qaeda also were detained. Identification cards, documents, photographs, books, improvised explosive device-making material and a box of machine gun ammunition were confiscated.
— Coalition troops caught two suspected insurgents during a raid in southeastern Baghdad. U.S. soldiers with 25th Infantry Division also found one AK-47 rifle with five full magazines, a bandolier and some explosives.
In Sept. 2 operations:
— U.S. attack helicopters destroyed an al Qaeda safe house in Arab Jabour. Aircrews engaged the house with two Hellfire missiles, seven rockets, and machine-gun fire.
— U.S. soldiers found weapons hidden in a plastic barrel while conducting a foot patrol near Patrol Base Murray. The barrel contained three AK-47 rifles, 14 mortar primers, six magazine carriers and 24 magazines.
(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq, Multinational Force Iraq and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula news releases.)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47287
U.S. Chopper Makes Unscheduled Landing; Taliban Attack Thwarted
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2007 – A coalition helicopter made an unscheduled landing in Afghanistan today without injury to its crew or passengers, while Afghan and coalition forces thwarted a Taliban attack near Firebase Anaconda, in Oruzgun province, U.S. officials reported.
The CH-47 Chinook helicopter landed southeast of Khogyani, in Nangarhar province. The crew decided to land the helicopter as part of safe air operations. No injuries to the crew or passengers were reported. There’s no indication the aircraft was fired on by enemy forces or of enemy activity in the area where the helicopter landed, U.S. officials said. The incident is being investigated.
Elsewhere, coalition forces held off Taliban insurgents who fired 82 mm mortars that missed Firebase Anaconda, but impacted near the district center, not far from the coalition base. Afghan and U.S. troops used close-air support to repel the enemy. Ten insurgents, including a Taliban commander, were confirmed killed, officials said.
“The questionable tactics of the extremist Taliban leaders continued today,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman. “The indiscriminate firing by the enemies of peace and stability on areas populated with non-combatants highlights their ineptitude and explains why they absorb heavy casualties each time they attack this coalition firebase and its outposts.”
In other Afghanistan operations today, Afghan and coalition forces detained two men in Paktika province. Afghan and coalition forces also killed several suspected militants and wounded another during operations in Ghazni. Three men were detained. One detainee was wounded and treated on site. “Militants who engage our combined forces are fighting a losing battle,” Belcher said.
More than 12 insurgents were killed after a failed Taliban attack by more than 40 enemy fighters on Afghan army and coalition forces during a combat patrol in Kandahar province yesterday.
“The enemies of peace and stability in Afghanistan have suffered a great number of similar blows this year, but they don’t seem to learn their lesson,” Belcher said. “Extremist Taliban fighters have been warned many times to give up fighting and become productive members of this society. Instead, they choose to attack (Afghan) troops and attempt to cause non-combatant injuries.”
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=sderot
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891126/posts
“Defense minister puts Sderot under emergency status”
ynet | 09.04.07, 19:12 | Hanan Greenberg
Posted on 09/04/2007 3:22:08 PM PDT by Esther Ruth
#
Note: The following news brief is a quote:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3445927,00.html
Israel protests to UN on Qassams
Published: 09.04.07, 23:04 / Israel News
Deputy Israeli Ambassador to the UN Daniel Carmon filed a harsh complaint with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council following the bombardment of Sderot.
In the formal announcement Carmon wrote that Israel views the fact that the Qassams landed near a day-care center and elementary school with great severity as the terrorists clearly intended to harm as many people as possible with the commencement of the school year. Carmon added that Israel retains the right to defend its citizens and ensure their safety. (Yitzhak Benhorin, Washington)
Photos Included.
http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/sderot_030907e.htm
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)
September 3 , 2007
“On the morning of September 3 the Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched an exceptional rocket attack on Sderot. One of the rockets landed near a kindergarten and 12 children were treated for shock.”
SMILNG...this is GREAT news, in my opinion.
You mean the as sahab trailer?
What is sad is that the Israeli leadership has so far refused requests for rocket shelters at schools in Sderot. Just like during the Hezbollah rocket offensive last year, the citizens are being let out to fend for themselves.
Maybe. All I remember was seeing a post on a thread from a few months ago that had an image of a poster that said “Coming to a Theater Near You” (and Velveeta reminded me in post #167 that it called the coming attraction “The Haunting”). The date on the poster I seem to remember to be August 23.
I’m not sure if the image was associated with a trailer. But it is entirely possible. I didn’t think too much about it at the time so I didn’t bookmark it, but now wish I had.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the 9-11 threat going around again?
I would think they wouldn’t give advance notice and are probably just blowing smoke, but I’m wondering.
No special thoughts on my part.
Jihad is everyday and the jihad is global.
If there is a window of opportunity and the means;
the jihadis will attack.
Children are encouraged to go for jihad.
Recruiting is heavy for jihad.
The jihad propaganda is very thick on the internet.
As for 9/11/01; it is a reminder of 1 jihad attack.
How many more attacks will occur in America?
I don’t know.
Is there an attack pending (somewhere in the world)?
Probably.
It feels like 9/10/01 to me.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/018033.php
September 4, 2007
“Fear and loathing in New York: Taxi union says GPS targets Muslims”
(NEW YORK POST)
ADDING TO POST NO. 114:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=china
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NOTE: The following text is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891139/posts
China hosts nearly half of Malware sites (spyware, browser hi-jacks, viruses, etc.)
ZDNet Asia ^ | September 4, 2007 | Victoria Ho
Posted on 09/04/2007 3:54:15 PM PDT by bamahead
China is host to almost half of the world’s malware-infected Web sites.
According to a report released Monday by antivirus company Sophos, China—including Hong Kong—hosted 44.8 percent of the world’s infected sites in August. The U.S. ranked a distant second, hosting 20.8 percent of sites that contain malicious code.
The number of infected Web pages has also grown. Sophos said it detected an average of 5,000 new infected pages each day in the month of August.
The company warned that simply staying clear of sites hosted in the top three countries of China, the U.S. and Russia is not an effective method of avoiding malware.
“Hackers are hijacking Web sites around the world to make them point to malware on sites based in China, the U.S. and Russia,” Carole Theriault, Sophos senior security consultant, said in a statement.
Sophos also warned about a sharp rise in spam pointing people to these infected sites. Malicious senders, in an attempt to bypass attachment virus scanners, are using messages that direct people to Web sites with malicious code. Computers get infected when people click on the links in the e-mail message.
“Most malware writers...are using spam and the Web to infect users,” Theriault said. “Criminals are hard at work trying to slip past filters at the corporate gateway.”
June saw a spike in spam hosted on Chinese domains, when the figure rose from almost zero to 450 spam domains.
I think it is 90% smoke. Terror counts on altering people's attitudes and actions (PSYOPS). If that can be accomplished without exposing themselves to an attack, then good. The brouhaha is probably just a lot of hype. Now, with that said, there is an increasing probability of a 'quality' attack in order to maintain credibility of the AQ command's declarations. But if they choose to attack, it will be when they have all the pieces together and can execute it with a high degree of confidence of success. Heightened alert status in response to the net chatter makes executing an operation chancy.
Thanks, that sounds right to me.
We just keep waiting and watching I guess.
That's bizarre.
A bomb on a bus believed to be carrying Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission employees in the city of Rawalpindi killed at least 12 people, military and government officials said.
A second bomb went off on a motorbike in the city, where the Pakistani army has its headquarters, killing at least four people, police said.
Excerpted
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1318360/1334049
Security beefed up throughout Punjab including Islamabad Airport
Wednesday 05th September, 2007
ISLAMABAD: The security throughout Punjab including Islamabad Airport has been put on high alert following the twin bomb explosions in the Rawalpindi City. The security of the Governor House, Chief Minister House, important officials buildings public places has been increased.
Security officials at Islamabad Airport are conducting strict checking of the passengers with metal detective devices. All the routes leading to Airport have been put under strict observation and police is patrolling on the roads. Moreover, they have also banned entrance of non-passengers in the jurisdiction of Airport. Security in the Airport car parking lot area has also been increased. Similarly, all the public places, shopping centers, important official buildings and installment in the Lahore has also been increased.
http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=117474
Macedonian police arrest terrorism convict
4 September 2007
SKOPJE -- A special police unit arrested escaped terrorism convict Xhemail Iseini, alias Commander Jamie Shea, early Saturday. Police made an arrest in his house in the north-eastern village of Lojane, near Kumanovo, BIRN reported on Monday. Iseini escaped from Idrizovo prison near Skopje on August 19 during the funeral of his mother in Lojane, when he used a leave of absence to flee. He was serving a seven-year sentence for terrorism - for bombing the Skopje-Belgrade railway and planting a bomb in the centre of Kumanovo.
According to police, Iseini did not resist re-arrest. During the raid they found one grenade launcher with ammunition and filed a fresh suit for escaping from prison and for illegal possession of weapons. The government earlier removed the director of Idrizovo prison, accusing him of faulty judgement for granting Iseini leave of absence with only two guards to accompany him.
Excerpted
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/globe-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=09&dd=04&nav_category=123&nav_id=43495
When George W. Bush flies into Sydney tonight, one very awkward question will be in the minds of Australian security staff: where are the rocket launchers?
The failure to be able to answer that question comes at the end of one of the most extraordinary searches seen in this country - involving, at different times, up to 30 officers from ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police.
APEC has always been a deadline to find the weapons - people don't take rocket launchers to hold up the corner store so whoever knows where they are is almost certainly prepared to use them to cause major damage. Twenty world leaders are coming to Sydney for APEC. China's President Hu Jintao was the first to touch down, in Perth last night, while George W. Bush arrives in Sydney tonight. Each leader will have the use of a luxury sedan and a personal porter during their stay.
But the fact that there are nine rocket launchers believed to be in the vicinity of Sydney as a meeting of world leaders begins has meant in recent months this operation has become one of the highest priorities of ASIO. It is one of the reasons Australian and US security advisers are insistent that protesters will be at least 300m from the President at all times. Theoretically, the launchers can fire from that distance but an amateur would generally be able to fire them only 125m.
The most worrying aspect of the weapons is that they are concealable - when folded, they are about 67cm, which means they can fit into a backpack. They can be painted any colour to blend with carry bags. The M-72 launchers are designed to carry warheads that can cut through metal with a small hole then explode. The warheads are designed for a "blast effect". They are often used in warfare to attack bunkers, as they cause maximum damage. The nine rocket launchers were in a batch of 10 allegedly stolen from a private storage facility at Orchard Hills in Sydney's west in 2002. Security agencies believe they were then placed in PVC piping and buried in the national park between Sydney and Wollongong.
Excerpted
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22357222-2,00.html
Israel threatens to cut Gaza supplies over rockets
Tue Sep 4 2007
JERUSALEM - Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon on Tuesday threatened to cut electricity, water and fuel supplies into Gaza if militants in the Hamas-ruled territory continued to fire rockets into Israel.
On the eve of a meeting of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's security cabinet to discuss the situation in Gaza, other senior ministers also called for stepping up pressure on Gaza residents in a bid to stop the fire.
"It is unthinkable to continue to furnish Gaza with electricity, water and fuel while Israeli citizens are live targets of these rockets," Ramon, a close ally of Olmert, told the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily. "We have to draw a line for the Palestinians. We have to make it be known that for any rocket fire, we will cut for two or three hours the supplies of water, electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip," he said.
Excerpted
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