Silent SMS track terrorists

Dutch tabloid De Telegraaf reports that 12 Somalis picked up in Amsterdam over Christmas were located using secret SMS messages, apparently bouncing back their GPS coordinates for the authorities. The Register reports.

The 12 suspects were arrested on Christmas eve following a tip-off that they were planning some sort of terrorist attack, but now De Telegraaf reveals that in order to make those arrests the local security forces relied on a hitherto secret capability to track mobile phones through the use of silent SMS messages.

Using the still-secret capability apparently required special permission – provided by Intelligence and Security Department – and enabled the security forces to send out SMS messages to the suspects' phones, which helpfully reported back with their GPS coordinates and enabled swift arrest.

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emily | 5:08 PM | Technology |
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