The Gadgets of the Mumbai Attacks

[Eugen Leitl]

(it smells a bit like a false flag, especially with all the ties to UK but
I'm reserving judgement for time being)

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/12/the-gagdets-of.html

The Gadgets of the Mumbai Attacks

By Noah Shachtman December 01, 2008 | 9:39:23 AMCategories: Gadgets and Gear,
T is for Terror  

The Mumbai terrorists used an array of commercial technologies -- from
Blackberries to GPS navigators to anonymous e-mail accounts -- to pull off
their heinous attacks.

For years, terrorists and insurgents around the world have used off-the-shelf
hardware and software to stay ahead of bigger, better-funded authorities. In
2007, former U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid complained that,
with their Radio Shack stockpile of communications gear, "this enemy is
better networked than we are." The strikes that killed at least 174 appears
to be another example of how wired today's "global guerrillas" can be.

As they approached Mumbai by boat, the terrorists "steered the vessel using
GPS equipment," according to the Daily Mail. A satellite phone was later
found aboard.

Once the coordinated attacks began, the terrorists were on their cell phones
constantly. They used BlackBerries "to monitor international reaction to the
atrocities, and to check on the police response via the internet," the
Courier Mail reports.

    The gunmen were able to trawl the internet for information after cable
television feeds to the two luxury hotels and office block were cut by the
authorities.

    The men looked beyond the instant updates of the Indian media to find
worldwide reaction to the events in Mumbai, and to keep abreast of the
movements of the soldiers sent to stop them.

Outside of Leopold's Cafe, "one of the gunmen seemed to be talking on a
mobile phone even as he used his other hand to fire off rounds," an
eyewitness told the New York Times.

The terror group then took credit for the bloodshed with a series of e-mails
to local media. They used a "remailer" service to mask their identities;
earlier attacks were claimed from cyber cafes.

[Photo: AP; plugged in: CA, Giz]