IETE APEX FORUM

KOLKOTA

16 FEB 2002

TECHNOLOGIES FOR COMBATING TERRORISM

BACKGROUND PAPER

                                                                                         -     Yashwant Deva

 Dedicated to the Jawan of the security forces of India,

who gave his today to make our tomorrow terror-free.

 General

     This paper has been prepared with a view to defining the scope of the discussion and motivate Indias techno-elite to lend their scholarly and innovative expertise and talent to the global war against terror. This is based on surfing and yet-to-be-actualized ideas that I have formulated during my service in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam abroad, and J&K, Nagaland and Manipur within the country as well as extensive writings on the subject. I acknowledge invaluable contributions from Dr J H Agarwal and  Sh Dilip Sahay and  help from Col N C Pande in preparing this paper and those of Sh U V Warlu, Gp Capt M Mukutmoni and Maj Gen K B Jhaldiyal in organizing the meet. The staff of the IETE, who have painstakingly downloaded material, made newspaper clippings, and compiled information, particularly that pertaining to the recent forays by terrorists and macabre happenings of 11 September and 13 December 2001, deserve a pat with wholesome words of appreciation.

    The Federal Research Division, Library of Congress in September 1998 has published a Bibliography on Future Trends in Terrorism. There are 295 monographs and journal articles surveyed in this bibliography. An article by me, Threats to Cyber Security in the Wake of Pokhran II Indian Defence Review (New Delhi), 13, No 2, April-June 1998, pp. 47-53 has been included. I have extensively drawn from this voluminous work. It is my firm view that bibliographic research is an essential agenda for any down-to-earth erudite endeavour and the IETE is most suited for taking on this responsibility.

    The bibliography on terrorism is being enriched at a phenomenal rate. A lot has been written on the shape of things to come in the wake of the 2001 attacks. We have received short papers from the participants to the Forum meet, which are being circulated. Of particular mention is the paper from Sh Dilip Sahay who has invited attention to a host of technologies point-wise for further delving and discussion. All the papers will be acknowledged in the compendium that we intend issuing after the Forum meet.  

     Combating terrorism is a generic description of the subject. It includes rubrics of terrorism, antiterrorism and counter-terrorism i.e. coverage spanning both defensive and offensive facets of prevention, detection, surveillance, monitoring, terror-hunting, counter-hijacking, destruction and use of clandestine means to wipe off the menace. The scope of technologies and a posteriori our own mission is therefore limitless. 

  Scope

    Only some aspects have been covered in this paper and it is an uncompleted staff work. Its purpose is to initiate debate, not to limit it. Fresh ideas, add-on explanations, comments, suggestions and addenda are therefore welcome.

 Paradigm Shift

    There has been a paradigm shift in the nature and modus operandi of terrorism and of significance in the application of technology. As to the former, terrorism has become highly technology savvy besides changing colour as a pastime of the rich and power-grabs.

    Is a terrorist-initiated chemical or biological attack inevitable? A report by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee says, Yes and amplifies, "It is not a matter of IF, but rather WHEN such an event will occur. Many of the terrorist groups of today appear more and more likely to utilize weapons of mass destruction." That report was released in March 1996 and the attacks though not employing WMD, but of no less intensity were launched on WTC and Pentagon in September 2001 and on the Parliament of India in December 2001.

    The Chairman of the Forum Meet, Sh K Santanam showed me a video titled Merchants of Mass Destruction. It sent chill down my spine, self-condoling civilizations inevitable march to doom. We have arranged a showing of this twenty-minute coverage of hell-market that prospers in our neighbourhood, ominous and revealing as the prospects are, should we remain complacent.

     The New York Times held an online Dialogue with techno-elite after 11 September disaster with a pertinent poser, Is Technology an ally? I quote Ray Kurzweils response to the poser whither technological innovation,      From centralized technologies to distributed ones and from the real world to the virtual ones. This then is the nature of the technology paradigm shift the very rate of which has been doubling every decade, further compounded by the perspective of its deeply intertwined promise and peril.                   

     Dilip Sahay rightly quotes that future terrorist attacks will not be a repeat of the ones that we witnessed last year. He writes, The first thing it seems is that various means to counter terrorism under development in the US and elsewhere could not have been utilized to protect 11 September attacks.  Neither airport detectors that sense plastic weapons and explosives nor state-of-the-art sensors that ferret chemical, biological or nuclear material of mass destruction would have revealed presence of murderous fanatics armed with box cutters, familiar with airline cockpits and determined to exchange their deaths for many more lives.  Thus a new reality has dawned in which terrorism is demonstrated to be far more determined, adaptable and resourceful than was previously imagined. Nevertheless, that revelation does not suggest it is time to abandon or even curtail work on technical aspect of counter-terrorism.

    Of certain there shall be novelty, more so in terms of technical ingenuity. The terrorists are learning faster than we, the civilized, motivated as they are and benumbed by trauma, if not callous and emotionally unconcerned as we are.   

 Remote Control Technology  

    Rather than a recent phenomenon, terrorism has existed for thousands of years. What is significant about modern-day threat is its remote control nature. We have no precise knowledge, let alone evidence as to who drives the terror wagon. Remote-controlled bombs, remote-controlled intelligence operatives, remote-controlled communications and remote-controlled means to counter remote controlled space-based communications and sensors are the methods and tactics adopted and practiced by the terrorists. The technology is fast becoming easier to access by the terrorists. It too is a gain because of remote controlled means and methods, employed surreptitiously. Proxy operations make it possible for terrorists to escape or die without leaving telltale evidence about the hands that guide terror.

    Let us take a hard look at the various facets and nuances of this technology for exploitation as also counter-exploitation. 

 Electronic Eyes and Noses

    Sensors, scanners and sniffers are a gift of the technology to keep the terror-wielders and the recalcitrant under watch and bounds of law. It is ironic that the terrorists and the brigands beyond the pale of law avidly and virtually savour the fruits of technology, highly updated as they are on its boons and blessings. Varied technologies interlaced with ingenious techniques are employed, the sophistication of which has no limits. That is true of the civilized too, yet we have taken a beating.

    There are plenty of areas in which we have perpetually floundered, and call for a security overhaul based on a. survey of the state-of-the-art in intelligence-gathering and security-check operations.      

      Airport Security. Sniffer dogs have been extensively employed for explosive detection in Europes larger airports e.g. Heathrow and Frankfurt. In view of more sophisticated concealment methods, an example of which is Richard Reids escapade with explosives hidden in his shoes, a pertinent question arises whether dogs can do a fail-proof job. That is no reflection on canine whose qualities of lead and loyalty are unparalleled, and a squad of which proudly passed out at Chennai on January 31, 2002. Can electro-technology or biosensory systems help, where canine slip up? Some such research is planned by Bofors of Sweeden on artificial nose. Reportedly, highly refined, dynamic screening systems adaptable to different threats and suitable and specific to conditions at a particular airport have been approved and installed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Examples are CTX 5500 of InVision Technologies, Z-Scan 7, and TSS 2000.  Kuala Lumpur International Airport has purchased six of the first mentioned explosive detection systems. German Heimann Systems Company has developed a  "smart" explosive detection system to cater to the ever-sophisticated needs of the commercial airports for hundred percent x-ray screening of baggage. Technologies for sniffing explosives in luggage holds and carry-on baggage that call for in-depth investigation, suitability probing and indigenous development are: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Quadruple Resonance (NQR) Scanning. The products are particularly designed to identify ammonium nitrate, black powder, and PETN  (pentaerythrityl tetranitrate). The challenge of plastic knives and explosives is another area, which needs to be probed. Apparently a sophisticated imagery system is the answer, but it too may be easily defeated. Airport and aviation security have become highly bionics conscious. The measures that are being tried out are:

    Cockpit Security. Cockpit security has been frequently violated and this is a serious matter. Once a hijacker takes control of the aircraft, he wrests initiative and dictates terms. Use of laser-based system that temporarily blinds cockpit-intruder and air filters to prevent contamination of the cabin and obviate spread of spores have been suggested. Care has to be taken that the systems are not only fail-proof, but also false-alarm proof.

    Tunnel Hunting. The coalition forces tried out motley of sensing gadgetry. One such method used for identification is body odour. It is believed that the US forces employed devices that detect body smells coming from the tunnel holes. The remote sensors used for detection are claimed to be highly sensitive in that they can distinguish smells of different ethnic groups because of their food habits. It appears that odour detectors have come a long way since the Vietnam days. Called peoples sniffer, the device, which I had the opportunity to see in Saigon in 1971, was rather a crude one. It could not discern ammonia excreted by humans from that by cattle, a fact the Vietcong soon learnt and exploited to advantage. Other devices, which the Americans deployed to ferret out Osama bin Laden and his ilk, are:

     Ferreting Improvised Explosive Device (IED). A large number of casualties in terrorist-prone areas are due to IEDs planted at unobtrusive spots and ambush sites.  The toll taken by this menace is heavy indeed as has been our experience in Operations Pawan and Rakshak.. Remote controlled IEDs are a major threat, although the terrorists of the type Jehadi and Tamil Tigers have shown proclivity for suicidal human bombs too. Many counter-measures have been experimented with. We had some successes in convoy protection during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka by prematurely detonating the device through sweep jamming the frequency-band. However a fail-proof technology has yet to be evolved and exploited. A helicopter-mounted contrivance is needed that can ferret and abortively destroy the IED.        

    Prototypes and Products on the Anvil. Some gadgets, which are on the anvil for sniffing illicit material are listed below. The downloaded paper   Some high-tech devices/technologies showcased by labs for combating terrorism has been sent by Dr J H Agarwal for further reference and research:

   Immigration and Border Crossing. One of the major problems that we confront is that of duplicates (reportedly bin Laden has quite a few) and hidden-faces behind wigs and beards. Identity usurpation is a common practice in the underworld of terror and crime. Most illegal violations happen because of connivance of security and custom personnel. Technology can not only intercept intrusions but also keep a check on the recalcitrant employees.  

  WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction)Terrorism and Counter Technologies

      Anthrax has been the most notorious biological agent. It was in the news in 1998.and again hogged the headlines in 2001. It was the second lead story of the year with 11 September topping the list. However, it is just one of many potential weapons of the biochemical terrorism. Others include bubonic plague, ricin, sarin, vesicants, and Zyklon-B.

      Biological weapons are relatively inexpensive and are easy to produce. The formulations are of two types, liquid or dry. The dry formulation stores longer and disperses better when used. There are three ways of delivering it, viz. contamination of food and water, release of infected vectors like mosquitoes or flies and creation of aerosol cloud. It is the last one, which is the most effective and efficient. However in India the water purification and storage system being as it is, it may not be that difficult to contaminate water as in the developed countries. Although the highly sophisticated variety employing a combine of various agents require scientific expertise and elaborate lab facilities, a cruder version can be produced in a backyard with limited facilities. In his article, "Targeting Sudan: Why We Bombed Osama bin Laden's Shadowy  World of Intrigue," Soldier of Fortune, 23, No. 12, December 1998, pp. 48-51, Al J.Verner suggests that the U.S. bombing of Khartoum's Al Shifa Pharmaceutical factory was probably a mistake. Nevertheless, he avers that the soil sample clandestinely removed from the factory's rose garden did present incontrovertible evidence of EMPTA, a precursor for manufacture of deadly VX nerve gas.

     In his statement before the joint Economic Committee of the US Congress on May 20, 1998, Dr Kenneth Abilek, former Deputy Director of the Soviet Biopreparat highlights the need for heightened awareness through a number of steps:

     It would be desirable if the IETE is entrusted with some of these responsibilities and lends its expertise to the endeavour as part of national agenda.    

     Chemical Detectors (CDs) are appreciably more developed than Biological Detectors (BDs).  CDs are able to provide information about chemical agents within seconds or minutes, in near real-time. They generally use transducer technologies including electrochemical, piezoelectric, colorimetric, and optical systems. Because of the heightened awareness of chemical and biological weapons, worldwide spending on chemical-biological (CB) defense equipment continues to rise. The world demand for chemical warfare agent detectors is estimated to grow an average of 12 percent through the forecast period 1998-2005, comprising the majority of the overall market in CB warfare agent detection.

     Compared to CDs, few BDs are commercially available.  The current biosensor technologies are inherently bulky, complex, and relatively laggard in detection. Technological challenges include: firstly, the development of sensor technology with sufficient sensitivity and discrimination to detect, identify, and quantify presence of biological agents without false alarm, and secondly, integration and development of sensor technologies to permit rapid, automatic collection, collation, dissemination and display of biological-hazard information. Panacea lies in MEMS, described later in this paper.

      Britain's Ministry of Defence has accepted a vehicle-mounted Prototype Biological Detection System (PBDS), which is reportedly an improved integrated version of basic Biological Detection System (BDS) used during the Gulf War. The PBDS provides field commanders with information to institute protective and medical countermeasures.

Cyber Intelligence (CYBERINT) 

     Intelligence gathering is no more a cloak and dagger affair. It is scientific, it is precise and it is technology-driven.

     Whereas human operatives tell lies, the computer does not and that is what makes TECHINT (technology intelligence) superior to HUMINT (human intelligence). Undoubtedly, the latter can be spoofed, spied and spin-doctored, as the former duped and corrupted

    It is widely known that Al Qaida terrorists and others of their ilk hunt for information on the Internet, often leaving valuable clues while surfing and communicating. Therefore it is logical that the civilized look for and pursue them at their haunt rather than go on wild tunnel-hunting missions. Adam Pasik writes in Sifting Through Data to Detect New Attacks, (infowar.com) The problem is that intelligence and law enforcement agencies are searching the worlds biggest haystack - untold exabytes, or quintillion of bytes of data stored on computers across the globe to uncover a few dangerous needles. 

   I reproduce a message that I picked up on the Web in early 1999 for a presentation on, Making Intelligence Smart at Jullunder on the occasion of Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Vajra Corps in 2000; later repeated at the United Services Institute, the College of Combat and the Defence Services Staff College.

   I carried out an analysis in 1999, which revealed the following, (extract from the presentation Ibid.):

   1.                 Suhail is one of the principals in the real Muslim Hackers Club.

  2.                 Message signed by Ibn X refers to Bilal Ibn Batuta.

  3.                 Suhail Abu Osman and Bilal Ibn Batuta work with Mohammad al Massari in the UK. Masari 
             is a spokesman for Osama bin Laden.

  4.                 Batuta is a computer expert.

  5.                 MHC has set up computer hacking centres in Kabul and Kandhar

  6.                 Hacking training is organised by the ISI in Pakistan. Fair degree of expertise in phreaking and 
             spamming has been acquired.

  7.                 Membership of MHC is limited to US, UK, Pakistan and Malaysia.

  8.                 Membership is restricted to Muslims. Vetted regularly.

  9.                 Group trains Muslim Ninja assassins in Pakistan and Malaysia

  10.            The group is setting up own chat rooms, BB and communicates through ICQ pages.

  11.            They use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy)  

     This is a hard piece of intelligence. My hopes that the intelligence agencies will take on these random bits and pieces from the Internet more seriously were belied. Let the subsequent events speak for themselves.

 Psy and Techtronic Terrorism

    A paper on psychotronic terrorism has been circulated. Terrorism is more of a psychological warfare. Therefore, profiling terrorist in a scientific way helps. The profiles along with biometric data can be archived and retrieved when required. Whereas knowledge helps in fighting gripe and fear, in its different manifestations it spawns the very tools of terror. Writing critically  about profiling in his paper Terrorism and Surveillance: Security, Freedom, and Justice after September 11, 2001 David Lyon has this to say, Some limitations on wiretaps have not only been lifted, but also extended to the interception of e-mail and to Internet clickstream monitoring. In Canada the Communication Security Establishment (This is a counterpart of US National Security Agency and is a partner in Project Echelon) will be able to gather intelligence on terrorist groups, probably using profiling methods to track racial and national origins as well as travel movements and financial transactions. Several countries have proposed new national identification card systems, some involving biometric devices or programmable chips.   

  Databank Management: Sifting, Archiving and Mining Data 

           The most important aspect of technology in combating terrorism is in creating effective and responsive databanks. David Lyon writes, The kinds of technologies sought iris scans, face recognition, smart cards, biometrics, DNA rely heavily on the use of searchable databases with the aim of anticipating, pre-empting, preventing acts of terrorism by isolating in advance potential perpetrators. The true management of databases is in their integrity and availability of processed information in real time. That calls for a fail-proof and a spoof-proof system for sifting, archiving and mining data.   

     At the time of September 11 attacks, there was affluence of helpful scraps and snippets, e.g. e-mail intercepts, telephone calls, car rentals, airline reservations, financial transactions, casino winnings, immigration records and plenty more. During attack on our Parliament too, the terrorists have left pertinent pieces, both physical and informational, such as a laptop, which has been reportedly sent to Microsoft for analysis, and vital information about terrorists hawala links and ISI connections garnered from cellular numbers called by the terrorists. These are a great help in profiling and call for meticulous sifting and storing. Two examples are sited of the kind of products that the technology has to offer: 

  Info-Terrorism

     Terrorism has prospered with high technology and so have the means to counter it. The ways in which the police and the courts are responding to crime by gathering and presenting digital information as evidence for prosecution, suggest all-pervasive dependence on technology.   Cyberterrorism, cyberwar, IT-enabled terrorism, digital terrorism and a host of other terms and expressives have made the encyclopedic vocabulary more prolific and picturesque. The growth of encryption and increase in available processing power have made it difficult to crack messages of on-line criminals, while simultaneously opening up possibilities for interception by the terrorists for blackmail and other abuses. In the ongoing battle between cryptography and cryptanalysis, the edge and advantage has shifted to the former, as K Santhanam puts it. The trans-jurisdictional nature of the Internet impedes effective responses by national authorities.

     The cyber terror tactics are not confined to Al Qaida or its sister organization MHC. Other groups too have indulged in it. The Institute for Global Communications (IGC) in July 1997 was hit with hundreds of electronic-mail bombs and other denial-of-service attacks because it hosted a site that promoted Basque independence. Aum Shinrikyo, the terrorist cult of Japan maintains encrypted Web sites and recruits young scientists, engineers, and other well-educated people. LTTE has shown a marked command over cyber propaganda and communication spoofing and interception. Their exploits are chronicled in Gen Depinder Singhs book, IPKF in Sri Lanka and the Jain Commission Report. The ISI sponsored G Force has been very active in defacing our Web sites with ribald and obscene writings and audio and video morphing. Significantly their hacking forays have appreciably decreased after 11 September attacks, apprehensive as they are on being caught and linked to Al Qaida or MHC.

     Impact of terror in the information age is decidedly more severe and pronounced than it was in earlier times. Over the years, threats posed by cyberterrorists have become more intense and varied, e.g. system penetration, sabotage, virus attacks, fraud, theft of proprietary information, and S abuses, viz. spying, spoofing, spinning, sleazing, spamming and sabotaging. The new breed of terrorists is adept at paralyzing financial systems and causing ghastly accidents with a few keystrokes. According to the Times of London, several London based financial institutions had paid as much as 400 million pounds in 1996 to fend off extortionists using software programmes that trigger systematic errors. There are no laws to protect banks, which are victims of cyberattack, as cyberspace cuts across national boundaries.

   A California-based computer consultant found a major flaw in a computerized security system used in some U.S. and British airports, according to a story in the New York Times datelined February 7, 1998. The glitch would allow terrorists to penetrate security in airports. The system, made by Receptors Inc. in Torrance, California, used electronic badges to limit access to secured areas in airports and other institutions. The consulting firm, MSB Associates, determined that the system could be manipulated by an intruder via telephone lines or a computer network. By dialing into the system's central computer, a person could create unauthorized badges and erase evidence of their use. The same technique could be used to unlock doors to secure areas. Vulnerabilities, risks and threats are on the increase.  So are the security measures, viz.:

After-Strike Operational and Civic life Continuity

   Maintaining normal civic life in peace and operational efficiency in war in the event of a disaster is critical to any society or organization.  As our reliance on information systems to propel variegated elements  and ambient factors of social existence continues to grow, a lag in system-restart following a terrorist strike could well prove to be fatal. Greater the disruption more the perceived success of the terror mission.  The focus of disaster recovery and disaster planning should therefore, be fused with recovery from bombing, NBC strike, cyberattack and psychotronic mayhem. In this regard. We have much to learn from the Americans. Their recovery operations at WTC were executed meticulously. We need to investigate the role technology can play in organizing and executing civil defence plans and accomplishing recovery in real time while maintaining sustained social, economic and security activity.  This needs to be seen both from the military and business perspectives with the aim of structuring and maintaining an effective continuity plan. Of greater consequence is an implicit faith in technology, be it electrtechnology, be it infotechnology, be it biotechnology or for that matter any other manifestation of it. 

   The most pressing problem involving WMD, e.g. release of a chemical or biological agent, is that of identification. As was the case in Bhopal gas tragedy, and is true of every accident involving industrial hazardous-material, the first priority in the management of the incident involves ascertaining the properties of the substance that had been released. You may recall that Dr Mashelkar described this challenge vividly at the Apex meet on Technologies for Disaster Management. It is the start-point for all rescue and emergency work and the challenge for the engineering community. It is only after  identity of the pathogen, toxin or other agent has been established that effective steps can be taken to neutralize the effect, decontaminate the area, and execute emergency evacuation, damage control, medical treatment and environmental preservation plans. The entire gamut of  the civil defence must be technology-centred. Information plays an important part and when chips are down, technical information is difficult to come by. This truism sets our agenda.    

Technology Thrust Areas

     Surveillance. Coverage of all technologies relevant to surveillance would clutter the paper. So only pertinent ones are discussed. The most pressing problem has been to precisely locate the terrorists hiding in tunnels, jungles and buildings. We need a comprehensive and dynamic wherewithal system. Radar technology has come a long way. During recently concluded IRSI (International Radar Symposium of India) meet, Prof RP Shennoi advocated FOPEN Foliage Penetration radar that can ferret out the likes of Veerappan. A variety of radars are being used to locate buried cities and archeological sites. There are Ground Penetrating Radars (GPR) to detect buried objects in any non-metallic material using radio waves.  The type is also sometimes called a ground probing radar or geo radar. It is based on non-invasive, electromagnetic, geophysical technique for subsurface exploration, characterization and monitoring.  Its usage amongst others is for landmine detection and tunnel hunting.  It may be terrestrially deployed by hand or vehicle, seeded in bore holes or between bore holes, or it may operate from an aircraft or satellite.  Resolution is controlled by wavelength of propagating electromagnetic waves.  Depth of investigation varies from less than few meters to more than 5000 meters in polar ice. There is also a requirement to engineer radar-based systems that would stop an airline from being flown into a building.

     Biometrics. Short papers written by Dr J H Agarwal, Prof Mandal and self on biometrics have been circulated. Biometrics is a time-worn technology, now a digitally-rejuvenated emerging science of automatically recognizing a person using distinguishing traits. Some of the physiological and behavioural characteristics are unique to an individual and can be scanned, scaled and scrutinized.  The physical ones include fingerprints, retinal and iris peculiarities, hand geometry, voice patterns, and facial recognition; whereas the behavioural variety  includes gait, speech, handwriting, signatures, mannerisms, and gestures. A fingerprint is biometric so is DNA. A human face has 80 landmarks e.g tip of the nose, shape and size of the mouth, eyes and cheekbones. Face recognition technology needs only 14 to 20 of these to compare. At a scan rate of 15 faces per second, a database of million faces can be matched to spot a terrorist that the authorities are looking for. Biometrics has many potential applications. Of significance are ATM machine use, workstation and network access, e-business transactions over the Internet, particularly digital signatures, biometric-embedded credit card, key encryption security enhancement, digital water-marking, detection of banking frauds, hawala tracking, illicit drug trails and above all voice verification for telephone conversations. Biometrics is a sure transition from science fiction to a vibrant, over-the horizon technology. Let us create public awareness of it and get down to some serious R&D.

     Genetics. A paper written by self on Gene Warfare has been circulated. It paints an ominous scenario of internecine terror that may well wipe out the human race and confine the human species to extinction. The technologies that have created ripples in scientific circles encompass cracking of the human source code, development of biocomputers and biochips, and a host of bionic creations like first artificial brain, the mind-reading Adaptive Brain Interface (ABI)  sensing crossbred, e.g., light-tracking fish-machine hybrid, intelligent robot, human cloning and cyborg to name a fewEqually significant breakthroughs are fertilization of human eggs using genetic material from any somatic cell in the body and production of made-to-order human parts, using a few day old embryonic stem cells.. These are promising as well as disquieting. Genes have everything to do with racial characteristics, and there is a lurking fear that racial cleansing may become burden of a superior race or a crusade of the bigoted a la Aum or al Qaida. If ethno-bombs can be produced, surely we can gather evidence and call Pak bluff to scientifically establish ethnicity and show whether a marauder is a local Kashmiri or a foreigner. We must track these technologies even if we doubt human intransigence to self-destruct. There is also a compelling need to create DNA databanks to store genetic information capable of identifying known terrorists.

     Steganography and Stegananlysis. Two papers, viz. Steganography Based Information Security by Sh Ram Ratan of Scientific Analysis Group and by self have been circulated.  The word steganography is derived from the Greek word steganos, which means secret or concealed and graphy, which means writing or drawing. The state of art steganography is anchored on digitized imagery and sound. It works on the principle that such files contain certain insignificant bits and bytes that can be altered without affecting their functionality, quality and meaning. These alterations are not easily discerned by human sensory system and this is true of a 16-bit sound or even a 24-bit imagery. We plan to cover this subject in detail during the forthcoming Mid Term Symposium along with technologies used for water marking. We will draw on the expertise available with SAG.

      Virtual Environment and Intelligence Analysis. In combating terrorism, most significant and major part is paid by the intelligence agencies - internal, external and investigative.  With exponential growth in technology we have the ability to transfer more information at a much faster pace than hitherto to more people and in a customized manner than ever before. Virtuality, intelligence gathering, data processing, data diffusion, and real-time presentation when culled  and aggregated, lead to virtual intelligence scenario-building.  The terrorists rely on each one of these components in acquiring intelligence and more pertinently, defeating our counter intelligence operations. I reproduce a paragraph from a paper on The Challenges for Acquisition, Analysis and Dissemination of Intelligence in Early 21st Century,. presented at the USI Seminar and published in USI National Security Series - 1998, pp. 119-174. Sophisticated interfaces that incorporate advanced cognitive ergonomic design concepts will certainly make a debut. The advances in Human Computer Interface have enabled Social User Interfaces (SUI) that anticipates information requirements depending upon the types of problems that are being worked on, the context and past requests. ----- Alexander Chislenko suggests that it seems possible to augment human senses with transparent external preprocessors. He calls it Enhanced Reality (ER for short) It could act as a highlighter, whereby an object of potential interest could be made to stand out from its environment to catch attention----. We maybe at the threshold of an era of comprehensive and conscious self-engineering ----. With ER , TECHINT will acquire a new face and emerge as the most sought-after intellectual pursuits. Today hacking and cracking is popular, tomorrow it shall be the VR (Virtual Reality) and the ER analyses. The virtually trained terrorists have proved the point at the ground zero.   

     Artificial Intelligence and Knowbots. This audience fully  understands the principles of artificial intelligence and robotics and appreciates their potential. I need not dwell on it. Knowbot on the other hand maybe a new term, another of similar meaning is moneybot. Knowbot is a software that greatly simplifies the use of information technology. It acts as a template that filters the information in accordance with the prescribed rules and criteria. They are not just text retrieval processes but focus on concepts. Most of the knowbots are active even when the user is not logged in. 

     Data Fusion. This is a high-end technology which aims at derivation of a cognitive intelligent picture from scrambled data collected by a multi-sensor system. An example is Nemesis Fusion System of UK which produces a fused and blended RAP an acronym for Recognised Air Picture in real time, culling inputs from a wide variety of combat systems.

     MEMS. MEMS stands for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. It is a frontier technology that may well herald a second semiconductor revolution, with a magnitude equaling if not surpassing the first. It has yet to explore domains of which sensors and scanners so small that they are imperceptible to human eye, is one with possibilities galore. Sky is the limit for its impact on terror-killer munitions and other applications that demand stealth. Institute for Defense Analyses (US) has a MEMS Technology Transition Programme that explores location, evaluation and initiation of MEMS insertion opportunities within the DOD (Department of Defense). DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) too is investigating innovative approaches that enable revolutionay advances in this emerging science. CEERI Pillani has undertaken  MEMS development Programme in a big way. I am sure other labs in India must be planning likewise. Assembling microparts into microsystems is an area that is receiving resolute attention, For instance, Micromachine research project by the Japanese aims at creation of a desktop factory. The IETE can be the front door to usher in the revolutionary age which the MEMS promises and a motivated facilitator for our soldiers pursuing its agenda of taking technology from the lab to the trench. We plan to take it up under our CASET (Centre for Advance Studies in Emrging Technologies) Progamme with thrust areas on emerging technologies. The applications that I have visualized for counter-terrorism are in the following areas:

          -      Chemical sensors    
          -      Thermal sensors   
          -      Mechanical Sensors    
          -      Radiation sensors     
          -      CCDs (Charged Couple Devices)     
          -      Pyroelectric sensiors     
          -      Integrated optics
          -      Magnetic sensors   
          -      ISFET sensors
          -      Enzyme-based biosensers     
          -      Micrelectrodes for neurophysiology 

  Conclusion

     If the international community regards terrorism immoral, there will be little room for terrorists to act. Their success lies in unity of effort of which the have given a commendable account, whereas ours has been deplorable. While they put their act together, we the civilized are perpetually at each others throats.

     Amongst others, terrorism is a war between technology and anti-technology. The former has a social purpose, the latter is merely theory and technique sans ethics and humanism.  Technology has to be shared. There is no room for denial regimes and sanctions.  Let that message be loud and clear.

     With virtual offices, desktop factories, home deliveries, e-trading, and visit-less banking who needs WTC? I hope the votaries of bricks and mortar would have second thoughts on where to put their venture capital and I hope this paper would inspire R and D establishments to take on studies and research in over-the-horizon technologies .Finally it is our burden to show direction and put in selfless effort. The IETE is destined to play a lead role in taking technology to the trench and to the other side of the divide.