How Tiny Swiss Cellphone Chips Helped Track Global Terror Web

[demdave]

ONDON, March 2 — The terrorism investigation code-named Mont Blanc began almost by accident in April 2002, when authorities intercepted a cellphone call that lasted less than a minute and involved not a single word of conversation.

Investigators, suspicious that the call was a signal between terrorists, followed the trail first to one terror suspect, then to others, and eventually to terror cells on three continents.

What tied them together was a computer chip smaller than a fingernail. But before the investigation wound down in recent weeks, its global net caught dozens of suspected Qaeda members and disrupted at least three planned attacks in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, according to counterterrorism and intelligence officials in Europe and the United States.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/international/europe/04PHON.html?ei=5062&en=95d360567b8043ea&ex=1078981200&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=

[rfkrocks]

1. Rats!

I got rid of "swatches" in the 80s

[Moderator]

2. Kick!

:dem:

[LONG-LINER]

3. info is good .. !

Thank You.

Info is always good .. ! So what is their Plan??

[newyawker99]

11. Hi LONG-LINER!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. I'll bet this is complete BS

[demdave]

5. That, of course, must be "Obvious" to you.

:bounce:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. Let's see...it's the NY Times and a discussion about how we've been....

...tracking members of Al Qaeda. And how long did they say this has been going on? And the source for this story is who?

Go ahead and believe what you want, but Osama's still out there, isn't he?

[demdave]

7. You missed the pun.

"Obvious to even the most casual observer".

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. Look, anytime there is a report

about how there is some secret plan or method that is doing a lot of good, where historical facts show that nothing has been done, it can immediately be rejected as BS out of hand.

[Voice_of_Europe]

9. It really happened BUT..!

This really happened...
BUT it is not something to be proud of!

Mobile phones in Europe work with a SIM chip only. You get this chip from your phone company (unlike maybe Japanese system where you get the phone itself from the phone company and cant use it with any other company)
The chip carries your phone number, so you just have to switch the chip if somebody else wants to use the phone with his number...
Now usually you have to have a contract with the phone company and give your name and address and you receive the phone bill after one month...

But with those prepaid chips you just put the chip into any phone and you are anonymous.. nobody knows who uses the phone or who pays for the calls because you pay by buying a code at any street vendor which you enter and then get 10$ credit.

Of course this system is very attractive to criminals (not only terrorists ^_^) since you dont have to give any ID.

So in fact the chip didn't really HELP catching them but the chip caused the problem itself!
But THEN after finding a way how to know who abuses them they could track down some criminals (and terrorists).

[gandalf]

10. Anonymous?

But with those prepaid chips you just put the chip into any phone and you are anonymous.. nobody knows who uses the phone or who pays for the calls because you pay by buying a code at any street vendor which you enter and then get 10$ credit.

In which country do you live? Certainly not in Germany. Here, you must identify yourself with your ID even if you buy a prepaid card. Our government does not want us to use phones anonymously.

You can buy "anonymous" cards via ebay, though.