Hijackers allegedly used unencrypted e-mail

[Q G Campbell]

As usual one should treat such reports with scepticism, but from=20
http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?threadid=3D115379

By Kevin Johnson=20
USA Today=20
October 01, 2001=20

WASHINGTON -- Federal authorities believe that some of the 19 hijackers
involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were using computers in
all-night Kinko's stores and cybercafes in South Florida to coordinate
their activities in the weeks before the assaults.=20

Investigators have amassed what they described as a ''substantial''
amount of e-mail traffic among the hijackers. Some of the messages were
exchanged in a mix of English and Arabic.=20

None of the communications, authorities said Sunday, involved the use of
encryption or other code to disguise the contents of the messages.=20

At least two laptop computers seized in the United States were being
examined closely by investigators. They hope to determine whether the
machines contained information that could help identify associates of
the hijackers in this country or provide leads about future terrorist
attacks, a senior law enforcement official said.=20

The disclosure appeared to be further evidence that the hijackers felt
free to conduct their business in the open without much fear they would
be discovered.=20

Late last month, law enforcement officials said they believed that the
hijackers or their associates did extensive scouting missions on various
airline routes before settling on flights originating in Boston, Newark,
N.J., and Washington.=20

Investigators said they believe that the hijackers selected the four
flights they commandeered Sept. 11 because passenger loads generally
were light and the fuel tanks on the jets, all on transcontinental
routes, were full.=20

Official interest in the hijackers' methods of communication comes as
the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history continues to widen.
The attacks left nearly 6,000 people dead or missing.=20


(c) Copyright 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.


Quentin
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