--- From: "Richard M. Smith" <rmsat_private> To: <declanat_private> Subject: Calling all amateur codebreakers Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 08:49:45 -0400 Hi, USA Today just ran an article about Al Qaeda allegedly using steganography to communicate via Web sites using hidden messages in ordinary MP3 and JPEG files. I have attached the relevant sections of the article. Does anyone on the Politech list want to take a crack at locating one of these files with a hidden message? Extra credit is given if the hidden message can be decrypted! According to USA Today, the files are located at ebay.com and azzam.com. The New York Times also did a nice article last fall on steganography: Veiled Messages of Terrorists May Lurk in Cyberspace http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/science/physical/30STEG.html Thanks, Richard M. Smith http://www.ComputerBytesMan.com ======================================================== Militants wire Web with links to jihad http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/07/10/web-terror-cover.htm Lately, al-Qaeda operatives have been sending hundreds of encrypted messages that have been hidden in files on digital photographs on the auction site eBay.com. Most of the messages have been sent from Internet cafes in Pakistan and public libraries throughout the world. An eBay spokesperson did not return phone calls. The volume of the messages has nearly doubled in the past month, indicating to some U.S. intelligence officials that al-Qaeda is planning another attack. ... U.S. officials say azzam.com contains encrypted messages in its pictures and texts - a practice known as steganography. They say the hidden messages contain instructions for al-Qaeda's next terrorist attacks. Mathematicians and other experts at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md., are using supercomputers to try to break the encryption codes and thwart the attacks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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