Al Qaeda Seen Using Web to Regroup

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: bob <bob () globaldevelopment org>

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=667436#

Al Qaeda Seen Using Web to Regroup, NY Times Says [Reuters]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Newly detected Internet traffic among al Qaeda
followers, including intercepted e-mail messages, indicates that
elements of the organization may be trying to regroup in remote parts
of Pakistan near the Afghan border, the New York Times reported on
Wednesday.

U.S. government officials say they have found new Web sites and
Internet communications that appear to be part of an effort to
reconstitute Al Qaeda and reestablish communications after the war in
Afghanistan, the Times said.

Officials said the new communications traffic was a serious concern
because they feared that Al Qaeda could use the Internet to launch new
attacks against the United States, but the content of the intercepted
cyber traffic has not indicated specific threats, the Times reported.

Al Qaeda operatives often check messages in public places around the
world, making them hard to track, the Times said.

At least some of the communications can be traced back to Pakistan,
said a senior law enforcement official told the Times. American
officials believe villages in the Baluchistan province of Pakistan,
and perhaps others in the disputed Kashmir region, could be serving as
new sanctuaries for Al Qaeda members, the Times said.

It is unclear whether the communications signal leadership trying to
control various elements of the organization or simply members
speaking to each other, the Times said. So far, there is no sign of
Osama bin Laden or other top leaders communicating with followers, the
Times said.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, investigators found that the hijackers
communicated with each other in hundreds of e-mail messages often sent
from public places, the Times said.



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