September 2002

LOOSE THOSE HACKERS UPON THE TERRORISTS
By Dr. David Currie

If you believe all of the recent hoopla suggesting that terrorists are using Internet sites to spread secret coded messages around the globe via the Internet... and there is no reason not to believe this is the case since Internet access is fast, easy and cheap... you might also recognize that not a lot is being done to stop such use of the Internet.

Those claiming that terrorist organizations don't use the Internet because Internet access is not readily available outside of the US are way off base... anyone in their right mind would rather send an e-mail in Europe, for example, than to try to make a phone call between two European countries.  Claims that Congress will tighten security on the Internet if software manufacturers fail to do so are totally bogus... while software manufacturers can do a lot to improve encryption methods, and possibly to reduce firewall breaches and information retrieval from remote locations, there is little or nothing they can do to prevent anyone from burying secret messages within websites.

Regulations, for example, that make it more difficult for someone to determine your Visa Gold Card number, for example, don't hamper terrorists at all... because terrorists are not using the Internet to obtain your credit card numbers.  Nor can software manufacturers realistically prevent terrorists from putting encryption software to their own use, despite regulations intended to prevent sale of such software abroad.

So what is the solution.  Open a new branch of the NSA called HAT... Hackers Against Terrorism... gather together a group of hackers from among the famous, infamous and sometimes clandestine hacker organizations known to operate within the US... set them up with some powerful equipment, provide them with some information to get started (they probably don't need much help), and let them start tracing terrorist communications and financial activity on the Internet and shutting them down.

Remember, hackers aren't out to reap huge financial awards... their reward is in the "hack," so imagine how effective they would be at interfering with not only terrorist organizations on the Internet, but also running interference in networked communications and government business and financial operations in targeted countries... say, Iraq for example.

The five arguments I hear against letting hackers work for the government are...

1. Hackers may not be loyal Americans; there is absolutely no foundation for such an assumption...

2. )Hackers may attack American interests on the Internet; guess what everybody, hackers are doing this anyway, but not with the intention of putting American out of business... they are generally working within a greater philosophical framework intended to improve software, hardware and network security...

3. The government cannot support illegal (eg. Hackers Against Terrorism) activities; hey, since when has counter-terrorism been illegal?

4. Everyone has the right to free speech; if you have not already realized it, the use of the Internet to plot terrorist activities constitutes war rather than free speech and so there is no need for anyone to try to protect the terrorists' right to free speech on the Internet... give me a break!

5. Terrorists do not use the Internet to communicate; wake up media people - some of my colleagues in the Internet press continue to perpetuate this falsehood... there is overwhelming evidence that individual terrorists use e-mail, chat rooms and web pages, the same way that they use snail mail, telephones, radios and telegrams... all the stuff you use... and we also know that they go to flight school (and are probably currently enrolled in other academic and vocational programs), eat at trendy restaurants, date, hang out at strip clubs and do a bunch of other stuff we don't immediately associate with terrorists.

And now, my 5 reasons for wanting to see the NSA put hackers to work against terrorism...

1. Hackers don't work from 9 to 5... they hack around the clock until the job gets done...

2. Hackers have a proven ability to work in groups and to effectively be able to target, access and manipulate networks...

3. Hackers have a special sense (or knack) for what they do... just as some people have a special knack for woodwork or drawing...

4. Hackers are a misunderstood, underutilized resource... put a group of them to work for the benefit of the country... something akin to the movie portrayal of the original "Dirty Dozen," except that they would do combat from a computer terminal rather than from a tank...

5. True hackers aren't reined in by all of the traditional societal boundaries... such as, gee, it looks like this bank is dealing with this terrorist organization... do I need to get mom or dad's permission before I go after the bank?

Final recommendation to the Feds... find the finest among America's hackers and put them to work against terrorist communications on the Internet.  Give them leave to monitor, disrupt and plant false communications.  Give them further leave to interfere with financial transactions involving any and all organizations or government bodies involved with terrorist activities aimed against the US and her allies.  And don't sell their potential to help the country short!

Dr. W. Dr. W. David Currie