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SILICON
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
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Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
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2 Silicon Chip
Publisher’s Letter
Technology is fighting the
war against terrorists
No one can fail to be alarmed at the recent terrorism
attempts against Glasgow Airport and a number of
London night spots. It was only by very good fortune
that the car bombs failed to explode and the attack
at Glasgow was stopped at the last moment. Even
more alarming are the reports that some of the people
involved are foreign doctors who have attempted to
gain entry to Australia to work in our hospitals.
Some people have implied that the terrorists
were inept because the bombs did not work. It would
have been a different story if they had exploded, as they could normally have
been expected to. Then the terrorists would have been regarded as successful,
of course. After all, the car bombs used the same methodology as has been used
with monotonous regularity in Iraq and other parts of the world. So people in
the UK have been truly fortunate.
The good fortune was extended because the unexploded car bombs revealed a
great deal of forensic information, especially from the mobile phones which were
to be used as the triggers. It turns out that the phones were rung several times by
the bombers, to trigger the explosions. All of this information and a great deal more
has been gleaned from the phones, including some of the links to Australia.
Even if the bombs had gone off, it is likely that the authorities would have
been able to retrieve the SIM cards in the mobile phones and their investigation
would have progressed rapidly from that point, as phone call and SMS message
records on them were all linked up. And even without the phones, the authorities
would have been able to make quite a few connections back to the bombers via
the vast number of CCTV cameras which are used throughout London. Not only
would these cameras have been used to reconstruct the bombers’ car journeys to
their final destinations but many of these cameras would also have number plate
recognition to make the job easier.
Even so, it would presumably have been a monumental task even with the
assistance of sophisticated computer technology. No doubt face recognition technology would also have been used as well, so ultimately, the terrible web woven
by these evil people would have been unravelled.
In case you are wondering, while not in the same quantities as in London
and other major cities worldwide, there are now considerable numbers of CCTV
cameras employed around major Australian cities. You would hope that, with the
strong connections that Australian anti-terrorist authorities have back to the UK,
they could be used to detect or unravel a terrorist attack here as well. It seems
likely that an attempt could be made at some time in this country. Let us all hope
that no attempts are made.
Lest anyone rest easy that the authorities are on top of terrorists, nothing can
be further from the truth. Would-be terrorists can be expected to learn from past
mistakes and they are likely to take more precautions against any detective efforts after their attempts. If you want evidence of that, one only has to see how
people robbing auto teller machines have adopted masks and other measures to
prevent identification from the inevitable camera surveillance. Terrorists will
do the same.
As one who finds the increasing camera surveillance throughout our cities and
on the roads disquieting and a challenge to individual liberties and privacy, I have
to admit that this “big brother” technology can have a good side if it prevents the
carnage that occurs when terrorist attacks are successful.
Leo Simpson
siliconchip.com.au
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