Feds Raid Boston Area Computer Firm Suspected of Links to Al Qaeda

ABC News ^ | 12-6-02 | Brian Ross

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Dec. 6 — Federal agents have raided a Boston-area computer software firm looking for evidence that the company, which does business with key government agencies including the FBI, might have links to Osama bin Laden's terror network.

The Quincy, Mass., firm, Ptech, makes software and is allegedly secretly owned by Qassin al-Kadi, one of 12 Saudi businessmen accused of funneling millions of dollars to al Qaeda. U.S. government investigators told ABCNEWS' chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross that there are fears al Qaeda may have had access to some of the government's most closely held secrets through the company, which provided computer software for the FBI, the Navy, the Air Force and the agency that handles nuclear weapons security.

Just before midnight Thursday, in a driving snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast, a team of U.S. Customs agents raided the firm's Quincy offices.

The raid was the culmination of a top-secret investigation coordinated with the White House amid concerns that the company was secretly owned and controlled by al Qaeda activists or sympathizers.

The agents brought their own computers with them to download files from the firm's computers.

Agents could be seen inside the Ptech headquarters, searching the offices and going through the company's computers.

The company's Web site reveals a list of customers that is a who's-who of sensitive government agencies, including the Naval Air Systems Command, NATO, the House of Representatives and the Department of Energy, which handles security for nuclear weapons and material.

Looking for a ‘Back Door’

Officials believe Ptech is linked to one of bin Laden's alleged money men, a Saudi multi-millionaire named Qassin al-Kadi.

Al-Kadi has repeatedly denied any connection to bin Laden, but he is on the U.S. government's so-called "dirty dozen" list of leading terror financiers who are being investigated by the CIA, and his accounts have been frozen by the United States.

In an interview last year with ABCNEWS' John Miller, al-Kadi denied sending any money to bin Laden. "To hear such an accusation had been put on myself, this is a complete mistake, a big one," he said.

American officials say al-Kadi and the other businessmen on the CIA list all have business and personal connections to the Saudi royal family.

The Customs investigation has been given the highest priority inside the goverment and for the last few weeks, government agencies have quietly been searching their computer software to see if there are any hidden bugs or "back doors" that would make it easy for terrorist hackers to break in.

[swarthyguy]

Bump for keeping track of all these links and connections.

[Lion's Cub]

Wouldn't you think that the Feds would have enough brains to do background checks on entities that are hired and entrusted to process such critical data??

This was 1994. People worked at the WH without any security clearances. Read Gary Aldrich's book sometime if you haven't already. The Clintons and their cronies systematically dismantled almost all security. People weren't even allowed to wear security clearance badges in places like the DOE because they might get the idea that they weren't all equal.

[lelio]

To add to your post: maybe the company was legit in 1994, and then they started outsourcing their work to Pakistan and the like. Then they brought in someone to handle the programmers who's an al-Qaeda plant. Eventually takes over the company.
Granted that reads like fiction, but it isn't that far-fetched. It only takes one high level employee to steer things his way, to insert spy-code into security software, etc.

[Lion's Cub]

Thanks for the link--it had most of the same info that was on that old thread!

[marty60]

As you are aware, The Thing made a memory lane tour of Czech republics. Arafat and the fellow travelors made numerous visits to the old Soviet territories for training and instructions. Clinton was making his training and instruction visits at the same time late 60's.

But made this will help clarify my premise. 1974: "The postwar period saw no diminishing of the terrorist campaign, but it did witness a certain easing of Egypt's position on the cont. existence of Israel and a willingness, under the influence of Kissinger, to negotiate at least a partial settlement. Arafat and the PLO gave lip service to a plan that might possibly include a Pal. State on the W.B. and the G.S. ......and would undoubtedly have become a staging round for terrorist attacks on Israel, MANY WESTERN LIBERALS found it worth discussion. (no one took it seriously, which included the Iraqi wing of the PLO called the Arab Liberation Front)

The battle has been joined. All of the recruiting, political manuevering and traitorous leaders we have had, has brought us to this point. Now we all must fight to save our fredoms and lives. NOT just the Israelis.

[cgbg]

What the HECK is going on?

Under the Clintoon administration the contracts went to the highest bidder. :-(

[marty60]

Why do you keep leaving out the obvious. Crowe publically endorsed and even campaigned with......THE THING. (aka Clinton)

[archy]

Thanks for the link-- it had most of the same info that was on that old thread!

But who would delete such a useful source of information, thereby giving aid and comfort to Bin-Laden and his terrorist associates and/or financial allies...and their paid-off partners in this country? Remember too, *You're either with us, or against us....*

[swarthyguy]

You're either with us, or against us

Depends what the meaning of 'us' is.

[holyscroller]

Oussama Ziadé, Chairman and CEO, established Ptech in 1994 and has over 15 years of professional experience. He is the chief architect and the driving force behind the company. One of the key attributes of Mr. Ziadé is his ability to sense market direction and play early on into potential markets while still in their infancy. He is a proponent of co-opetition, customer-partnering, and value-oriented solutions. His philosophy of management is based on the balanced involvement of customers, management and employees in the operation of the company to create value for all stakeholders, while creating a culture of innovation and focus. He has raised over $20 million in private investment for Ptech. Prior to launching Ptech, Mr. Ziadé was Chief Executive Officer at Associative Design Technology and previously held a series of progressively responsible management positions in software development. Mr. Ziadé holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and participated in the Ph.D. program in High Energy Physics at Harvard University. In addition, he holds a Master of Science in Software Engineering from Boston University. Mr. Ziadé has appeared on several TV shows and is a published author in industry leading publications, appearing on the cover of several magazines.

Hussein Ibrahim, Vice President and Chief Scientist, has been with Ptech since its inception in 1994. Dr. Ibrahim has more than 20 years of experience in enterprise architecture and business consulting. He oversees the innovation and creation of new domain specific add-on solutions. In this capacity, he acts as lead consultant, advising customers in the modeling of technology and human capabilities aspects of an integrated eBusiness architecture. Dr. Ibrahim taught computer science at Columbia University, where he also led a research team in a computer vision research project funded by the United States Department of Defense. Dr. Ibrahim completed his undergraduate work in Computer Engineering at Ain-Shams University, and received his Master's and Doctorate degrees in Computer Science from Columbia University. Dr. Ibrahim has had many articles on computer science published in leading professional magazines.

Hope they check THEIR computers thoroughly!

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Where are the AMERICANs that work for these companies?

Where are they? I don't know...but I'm sure they're too busy learning about tolerance, diversity, and why Heather has two mommys than enterprise software development.

[Gritty]

Would anyone care to explain why our government would even consider giving a software contract to a Saudi-allied computer firm ??

P-Tech was started in 1994. Most of the named system are developed systems, and have probably been in place in these Agencies for some time. Who was President of the USA in those years? Who was his (deceased) Secretary of Commerce in those years? Note most of the major Agencies mentioned are all key Executive Branch functions. Now,... connect the dots.

See? That wasn't so hard, was it?

[FormerLurker]

FWIW this is why software dev and test will not move overseas in the long run.

Both Intel and Microsoft have R&D facilities in Communist China..

[genefromjersey]

Oh-oh-oh ! That is just so ( Sob ! ) unfair !!

I'm sure The New York Times will have a more (Sniffle !) acceptable explanation !!!

[Lion's Cub]

FAA, FBI, IRS, NATO, NAVAIR, US Air Force, US Department of Energy, US Department of Education, US Department of Veteran Affairs, US House of Representatives, USDA Forest Service, US Postal Service

Does each department dispense its own checks? Or do all payments have to go through the GAO?

I'm asking because I remember that nearly every department had millions of dollars in missing funds every year. With a back door into these systems, the US taxpayer might have been funding the terrorists as well as certain politicians...

For example: THE WAR ON WASTE - Rumsfeld Says 2.3 Trillion Dollars Missing
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/620276/posts

I don't have a link, but it seems to me that was something like 600M missing from the Department of Education.

[swarthyguy]

Someday, perhaps, the full extent of Saudi infiltration of this land will become clear.

[FormerLurker]

Where are the AMERICANs that work for these companies?

I was going to say that more than likely there AREN'T any, but in doing a LCA search for foreign workers at Ptech, it appears that they only have THREE. Something tells me that the rest of their employees can't all be US Citizens though...

---

Case Search Results

Records Matching your Search: 3

CertCode	EmpName	EmpEIN	WageRateFrom	RatePer	BeginDate	NumImmigrants	JobTitle	WorkState_1	PrevWage_1	PrevWagePer_1	WageSource_1	OtherWageSource	DetDate
C	PTECH INC	043223676	0055000.00	Y	6/15/01	001	SOFTWARE ENGINEER	MA	0048200.00	Y	O	THE SURVEY GROUP	6/15/01
C	PTECH INC	043223676	104000.00	Y	10/5/01	001	VP PROFESSIONAL SERVICES	MA	89565.00	Y	O	OES SOC WAGE DATA SURVEY	10/2/01
C	PTECH INC	043223676	104000.00	Y	10/5/01	001	VP PROFESSIONAL SERVICES	MA	89565.00	Y	O	OES SOC WAGE DATA SURVEY	10/11/01

[Grampa Dave]

I believe that they dispense the checks under the chain of command.

Then the GAO does audits. However, the guy in charge of the GAO was appointed by the Clintoon, and he was a major partner with Arthur Andersen. That raises many flags with me.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks, for this data. Each day I continue to be impressed with knowledge level and search capabilities based on those knowledge levels by our good Freepers.

Your data in this reply is one of those reasons why I prefer to get my news and the input and analysis on Free Republic.

Re US citizens: A young relative of mine and his wife are in the computer programming industry in the SF Bay Area. Both are conservatives and since 9/11 with young babies, they are even more conservative.

He fears that stuff like this goes on all the time with no problems with the mass of hate America home grown pro terrorists in the Bay Area. He is, also, concerned about all the foriegn born programmers in many of these companies.

I think that this anti American feeling is as strong in Boston among called Americans as out here on the left coast.