Counter-Terrorism: Terrorist Hacker Tells All

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March 8, 2009: A month before the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, the counter-terror police in that city arrested some key members of the Indian Mujahedeen (IM) organization. One of the three men taken was Mohammed Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, who turned out to be the chief hacker for the IM. Peerbhoy is the 31 year old son of a wealthy Moslem family, with a university degree from one of India's top schools (VIT), who had a highly paid job with Yahoo in India. Facing life in prison, Peerbhoy has been trying to gain leniency by cooperating. To that end, he has been demonstrating to the police the hacking techniques he used. In doing this, he has impressed the police with his ability to break into networks and manipulate what's there.

Fortunately, Peerbhoy only used his Internet skills for the IM for distributing information about the group. He belonged to a "media cell" of the terrorist organization. But the police expect to find out what, if any, Internet based attack plans the IM, and other Islamic terrorist, organizations might have had. Peerbhoy is one of the most skilled Internet specialists to be found working for an Islamic terrorist organization, and he is believed to have been consulted by the IM, and other Islamic terrorists, on the potential for Islamic terrorist attacks via the Internet.

 

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