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files and know they are an integral part of the Windows Operation System. Can
you tell the difference between these two files, win32.d11 .exe and
win32.dll.exe? The small font style almost obscures the difference in the actual
file names. The name is not totally legible and the look-alike file could be
anything someone installed on the machine. In this case all of the “L’s” were
substituted with “1’s”. When the computer user looks up the currently running
processes in his Windows Task Manager, the switched letters are not so
obvious. This program could be anything, from a keystroke logger, to a
“zombie” bot used for Denial of Service attacks. Another form of hiding in
plain sight would be if a person posts messages to a bulletin board that signals
some event to members of al Qaeda via simple art forms on the message board.
The person could change the position of an AK-47 on the screen or the
direction that a “white horse” (a white stallion, according to another source, is
purportedly the logo of al Qaeda) 108 is heading to signify the go ahead for an
operation. So, while law enforcement officials are looking for hidden text or
codes, the answer would be right there in plain sight.
The most clever example of how al Qaeda might mentally manipulate
law enforcement through the Internet is to allow (on purpose) some of its
messages to be intercepted by law enforcement agencies in order to do one of
two things: either divert attention to places specified in the messages and then
attack somewhere else, or to simply observe FBI warnings to see if someone
picked up on the message and is thus watching or monitoring Internet traffic.
Conclusions
The move from Industrial Age to Cyber Age warfare has changed the
speed and way wars are perceived. This results in increased mobilization
potential for insurgents. Industrial Age insurgencies were localized,
hierarchical, centralized, covert, and contained a single message. Propaganda
was for leaders, and agitation materials took the form of written or spoken
messages. Cyber Age insurgencies are global, networked, decentralized, overt
or covert, and templated at specific target groups. They use messages that
attempt to manipulate local Arab opinion with themes such as the humiliation
of male prisoners or the violation of human rights at Abu Ghraib. Cyber Age
insurgencies take advantage of instantaneous communications means (financed
and developed by governments) to deliver messages before governments can
block or challenge the statement except after the fact. Charismatic figures or
those in charge of a community of believers deliver propaganda, and the
108 Lawrence Wright, p. 50.
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