March 17, 2004
Terror's Latest Trigger: Cellphones
In a disturbing article, the WSJ reports that using cellphones to detonate explosives, as apparently happened in the Madrid bombings, is a phenomenon that is nearly impossible to stop from a technical standpoint. And the soaring use of cellphones that can't be traced back to their owners contributes to the problem.
"Vodafone Group PLC, the world's biggest cellular operator in terms of revenue, says 55% of its users around the world don't have contracts. The figures range as high as 82% in Egypt and 92% in Italy."
"Short of shutting down a country's cellphone network, there isn't much that can be done to reduce this risk. Indeed, the proliferation of radio devices -- in everything from cellphones to garage openers to hand-held devices that remotely unlock car doors -- means much of the modern world is virtually blanketed with wireless radio-wave technology".
How it works:
"A wire within a phone is connected to the detonator in a bomb. When a call is placed to the phone, an electrical circuit is completed, providing power to the detonator and setting off the explosive.
"You set up your explosive device in Berlin, or wherever. Now, you decide you don't want to be anywhere near that thing when it explodes, so you fly over to San Francisco and dial the number of the cellphone," said Greg Baur, former international director of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators. "That bomb goes off, and you're halfway around the world." [WSJ]
Related articles:
-- Cell phone detonated bombs in Madrid
-- Marriott bomb 'set off by mobile phone'
-- Bomb oustide Jakarta Hotel was detonated by a mobile phone
-- Cell Phones Triggered Bombs in Saudi Arabia
Related articles post-published:
-- IRA involved in cell phone bombs
-- Attack is inevitable, say the (London) police. So how can we stop it?
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