Al Qaeda: Hi-Tech and the Information War
The Washington Post newspaper has published a very interesting article about the use of high-tech by members of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization. It is not only about the most advanced computer hardware, Sony laptops, digital video cameras and strong cryptography using PGP, but also about the unique methods of online propaganda. Some of them are know-how in the field of hacking social networks. In fact, al-Qaeda perceives Western society, living in a dense information field, as one large, closely intertwined social network and skillfully manipulates it through carefully thought-out influences, including using YouTube, Wikipedia, and so on.
A good example of manipulation is the actions of one of the leaders of the organization, Ayman Zavahiri , for which Americans give $ 25 million for his head. After the start of this action in December last year, the terrorist received 1,888 questions from journalists and ordinary citizens. He diligently answers about one-fifth of the questions, including the hostile ones. Naturally, such a PR even from the enemy gives a stunning effect in a free Western society, which can not block counter-propaganda. Interviews with the enemy publish even the national media.
In fact, al-Qaeda has launched a very vigorous activity in recent years: for example, they shoot a bunch of documentaries, including posting versions for iPods and mobile devices. Last year, 97 original films were shot : six times more than in 2005. One of the masterpieces of terrorist propaganda was the 80-minute documentary “The Power of Truth”, released last September. Even Western experts recognize the skill of its creators.
The war against terrorism in our day has turned into a purely informational war of propaganda and counter-propaganda, a battle for hearts and minds, which takes place on the information field: on TV and on the Internet. In this case, al-Qaeda has become much more professional in recent years. Experts say bitterly that in this information war, Americans are still losing to their rival. In 2005, they dealt a powerful blow to the information distribution system, but so far the terrorists have been able to fully restore the damage and establish a new decentralized content distribution network, which they call al-Fajr Media Center. It includes about 50,000 people, including thousands of webmasters and specially trained Internet users who replicate information everywhere, even using YouTube, Wikipedia and other sites.
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According to the American intelligence services, the increased flow of digital content from terrorists is due to the fact that they managed to establish a powerful and well-protected base on uncontrolled lands in western Pakistan. Analysts claim that al-Qaida’s internal communications have improved so much that they are now virtually invulnerable. They use PGP everywhere and distribute textbooks on information protection (“Technical Mujahid” manuals) to employees.
Video recordings of Osama bin Laden and other executives are made in a safe place, after which the file is written to the flash drive and transferred to the courier. In several stages, a flash drive is delivered to an Internet cafe, where a person uploads a video to a password-protected website. Editors and producers process videos with the latest Sony Vaio laptops. The edited Bin Laden recording is published in the public domain less than a week after the recording. The process is adjusted to automatism, and all creative employees, apparently, work completely freely and without any special problems.
However, the US authorities carefully monitor all the records and try to kill every new person who appears in the frame. For example, in May 2007, one of the Taliban commanders was killed 36 hours after starring in such a film. Abu Musab Zarkawi, destroyed in June 2006, lived only two months after the shooting.
A good example of manipulation is the actions of one of the leaders of the organization, Ayman Zavahiri , for which Americans give $ 25 million for his head. After the start of this action in December last year, the terrorist received 1,888 questions from journalists and ordinary citizens. He diligently answers about one-fifth of the questions, including the hostile ones. Naturally, such a PR even from the enemy gives a stunning effect in a free Western society, which can not block counter-propaganda. Interviews with the enemy publish even the national media.
In fact, al-Qaeda has launched a very vigorous activity in recent years: for example, they shoot a bunch of documentaries, including posting versions for iPods and mobile devices. Last year, 97 original films were shot : six times more than in 2005. One of the masterpieces of terrorist propaganda was the 80-minute documentary “The Power of Truth”, released last September. Even Western experts recognize the skill of its creators.
The war against terrorism in our day has turned into a purely informational war of propaganda and counter-propaganda, a battle for hearts and minds, which takes place on the information field: on TV and on the Internet. In this case, al-Qaeda has become much more professional in recent years. Experts say bitterly that in this information war, Americans are still losing to their rival. In 2005, they dealt a powerful blow to the information distribution system, but so far the terrorists have been able to fully restore the damage and establish a new decentralized content distribution network, which they call al-Fajr Media Center. It includes about 50,000 people, including thousands of webmasters and specially trained Internet users who replicate information everywhere, even using YouTube, Wikipedia and other sites.
')
According to the American intelligence services, the increased flow of digital content from terrorists is due to the fact that they managed to establish a powerful and well-protected base on uncontrolled lands in western Pakistan. Analysts claim that al-Qaida’s internal communications have improved so much that they are now virtually invulnerable. They use PGP everywhere and distribute textbooks on information protection (“Technical Mujahid” manuals) to employees.
Video recordings of Osama bin Laden and other executives are made in a safe place, after which the file is written to the flash drive and transferred to the courier. In several stages, a flash drive is delivered to an Internet cafe, where a person uploads a video to a password-protected website. Editors and producers process videos with the latest Sony Vaio laptops. The edited Bin Laden recording is published in the public domain less than a week after the recording. The process is adjusted to automatism, and all creative employees, apparently, work completely freely and without any special problems.
However, the US authorities carefully monitor all the records and try to kill every new person who appears in the frame. For example, in May 2007, one of the Taliban commanders was killed 36 hours after starring in such a film. Abu Musab Zarkawi, destroyed in June 2006, lived only two months after the shooting.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/28194/
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