Rohas Nagpal Asian School of Cyber Laws - Department of ...

Asian School of Cyber Laws
1.21 Use of encryption by terrorists
A disturbing trend that is emerging nowadays is the increasing use of
encryption, high-frequency encrypted voice/data links, encryption
software like Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) etc by terrorists and members of
organized crime cartels.
Strong encryption is the criminal’s best friend and the policeman’s worst
enemy.
Illustration 1
Leary, who was sentenced to 94
years in prison for setting off fire
bombs in the New York (USA)
subway system in 1995, had
developed his own algorithm for
encrypting the files on his computer.
Illustration 2
The Cali cartel is reputed to be
using
• sophisticated encryption to
conceal their telephone
communications,
• radios that distort voices,
• video phones which provide
visual authentication of the
caller's identity, and
• instruments for scrambling
transmissions from
computer modems.
Illustration 3
The Italian mafia is believed to use
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software
for symmetric as well as asymmetric
encryption.
Illustration 4
On March 20, 1995, the Aum
Supreme Truth cult dropped bags of
sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo
subway, killing 12 people and
injuring 6,000 more.
Members of the cult had developed
many chemical and biological
weapons, including Sarin, VX,
Mustard gas, Cyanide, botulism,
anthrax and Q fever.
- 36 - © 2008 Rohas Nagpal. All rights reserved.