Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., December 27, 2008 Kislev 30, 5769 | | Israel Time: 15:07 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 15:06 27/12/2008
Terrorists go digital, using iPhones, Google to coordinate attacks
By Yossi Melman
Tags: terror, google earth 

In Egypt, the GPS utility on the iPhone has been banned from the general public and is restricted to military use.

The restrictions stem from fears Cairo has that terrorists can utilize the mapping tool to coordinate attacks, and Apple, which developed the popular gadget, has acquiesced and removed GPS devices from iPhones sold in Egypt.

Their fears are not unfounded. Last month terrorists attacking Mumbai used Google Earth to plan the blitz, according to findings from India's security services.
Advertisement
Colonel (Res.) Moshe Maroko, who was head of an Israel Defense Forces technological unit in the 1980s, is not surprised by terror organizations' increasing use of sophisticated technological devices freely available to anyone.

"Any technological invention that was originally made for military use over time becomes available on the civilian market," Maroko said.

Like computers or the Internet, GPS - the initials stand for Global Positioning System - was originally developed by the United States Army for its own purposes. Over time, the U.S. decided to loosen restrictions on its usage and make it available to everyone with only a few limitations.

The decision to introduce the device to the public was made after much deliberation due to fears that hostile factions might make use of them. Some 10 years ago - before the September 11, 2001 attacks - U.S. intelligence and security forces drew up a nightmarish scenario in which terrorists navigated an unmanned boat laden with explosives toward New York City's harbor using a GPS device. Only recently, Defense Minister Ehud Barak repeated his fear of this scenario, which might also affect Israel.

Though some restrictions remained in place, U.S. authorities reached the conclusion that use of the technology could not be denied the public.

Washington has banned the sale of images from civilian satellites with an accuracy of less than two meter's resolution.

"But a two meter resolution is sharp and clear enough," Maroko said. "Identifying objects of up to two meters is sufficient to give users much valuable information."

The nuclear reactor at Dimona or the base near Beit Shemesh where, according to foreign media outlets, Israel is storing its Jericho ballistic missiles, can be clearly seen using Google Earth's two-meter resolution.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, hijackings by Palestinian terror organizations led by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were routine. Still, few terror experts predicted something on the scale of the hijackings that occurred on September 11, 2001 when terrorists turned civilian aircraft into flying bombs. Al-Qaida has since been at the forefront of technological usage. Its operatives use the Internet and e-mails, turning them into one of their key tools for seeking recruits, disseminating their ideas and transmitting coded messages.

No sign of surrender

"The relative ease of sending coded messages on the Web greatly affects intelligence services," Maroko said. "Contact with agents is easier, but so is the work of terrorists."

Many Israeli companies started by former members of Israeli intelligence units have developed successful deciphering systems to defend information security.

Palestinian terror organizations have also learned from Al-Qaida. In the past they have used e-mails to track Israelis targeted for assassinations and have blown up explosives using cellular phone remote-operated devices.

But Maroko is optimistic and doesn't concede that terrorists have won in the technology arms race.

"We haven't lost yet," he said. "In my day, we faced some intelligence challenges that seemed lost that we found original solutions for."

Related articles:
  • India police: Mumbai attackers were part of larger terrorist cell
  • Report: Militants using Google Earth to pick targets in Israel
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Top dog
    An Israeli plan to use DNA to track dog feces was noted by the NY Times Magazine.
    Linking with the left
    An Israeli Arab party met a leftist Palestinian faction led by a convicted terrorist.
      1.   Not just GPS 09:38  |  Egyptian 25/12/08
      2.   gps 12:52  |  artur 25/12/08
      3.   terrorists taken Apples favorite saying & made it their own 15:16  |  zionist forever 25/12/08
      4.   Free world invents only while the terrorists attack only 15:31  |  in 25/12/08
      5.   GPS on cellphone 16:19  |  Gilbert 25/12/08
      6.   great advertising slogan for apple and google 19:39  |  PalestiniansRmyth 25/12/08
      7.   Knock Out Arab Sattlelites 19:56  |  Baruch Gold 25/12/08
     Read & React
    Sources: At least 155 dead, over 200 hurt in IAF Gaza strikes
    Responses: 82
    Palestinian rocket accidentally kills 2 young Gaza girls
    Responses: 123
    ANALYSIS / A hard look at Hamas' capabilities
    Responses: 89
    Israelis voice horror at rejection of Arab child from Jewish daycare
    Responses: 116
    Report: Iran preps humanitarian aid ship to Gaza Strip
    Responses: 89
    Benjamin Weinthal: Berlin conference dangerously equates anti-Semitism with Islamophobia
    Responses: 71


    More Headlines
    14:58 Palestinians: At least 155 dead, over 200 hurt in IAF Gaza strikes
    14:12 One Israeli killed, four injured by Palestinian rocket in west Negev
    14:47 Hamas: Gaza war is like Second Lebanon War
    12:58 ANALYSIS / Israel wants to teach Hamas a lesson, but not to reconquer Gaza
    11:48 Peres: Israel has no plans to enter Gaza, won't ignite regional war
    19:13 Palestinian rocket accidentally kills 2 young Gaza girls
    07:26 Report: Iran preps humanitarian aid ship to Gaza Strip
    10:20 Arab journalist blasts Egyptian FM for failing to censure Livni Gaza threats
    22:23 Israeli Arab party meets leftist Palestinian faction led by convicted terrorist
    01:40 Elie Wiesel charity vows to fight on despite being swindled in Madoff affair
    09:59 NY Times Magazine honors Israeli dog mess DNA bank initiative
    13:53 Did Holocaust survivors really fall in love through a concentration camp fence?
    13:25 Rightist MK Eldad: Barak must face trial for aiding an enemy
    15:22 'World Orgasm Day' orgy for peace canceled due to threats
    10:24 Israelis voice horror at rejection of Arab child from Jewish daycare
    04:03 ANALYSIS / A hard look at Hamas' capabilities
    18:39 Palestinian 'Santas' do battle with Israeli security forces over West Bank fence
    05:40 After 61 years, pilot who defied law to help Israel's birth receives pardon
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Summer in Israel
    Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
    SURF RAMBAM
    Keep current about new-wave medical care, education and research.
    Summer Camp in Israel
    The best place for your children this summer
    Academic Studies in Israel
    All the Q & A at the IDC HERZLIYA Open House, January 9,2009
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Car rental in Israel
    Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved