The Hindu : Kerala News : When extremists make use of technology Law & order

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Sunday, Feb 17, 2008
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Kerala

When extremists make use of technology Law & order

Cutting-edge technology is being widely used by extremist organisations for carrying out subversive activities, writes Biju Govind

Extremist outfits operating in north Kerala are believed to be employing advanced technology, particularly in the telecommunications sector, for carrying out subversive activities. Cutting-edge technology is widely used by some of these organisations which are under surveillance, say senior officials attached to the Central intelligence agencies as well as the Special Purpose Cell (SPC) of the State police.

Religious outfits and organisations with extreme Left leanings are exploring all possibilities to make full use of the Internet.

Many of these organisations have developed strategies to propagate their ideals and communicate among themselves, they say.

Web sites dedicated to religiously motivated terrorism are also growing rapidly.

From a handful of users, their number is swelling with the increase in number of Internet users. The networking has enabled them to spread fast to grassroots users.

e-terrorism

e-terrorism is one of the methods they have developed to upgrade their logistics and intelligence networking.

Some of these fundamentalist outfits have attempted to use zombie servers allowing users to creep into other systems. A few others create fictitious e-mail addresses.

They create a common and protected user name and a password to save messages in the drafts folder.

Chat rooms of social networking groups, community portals and blogs appeal to sympathisers of these organisations and youths.

Cyber terrorism is mainly used for propaganda, gathering data, fund raising, recruitment and mobilisation, sharing information and coordinating activities.

Intelligence wing officials say that naxalites and religious outfits have infiltrated into software companies. Those recruited at Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) sectors are professionally qualified.

Companies warned

Software companies have been warned about sympathisers and members of the organisations sneaking into Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms, they say.

The police suspect that several organisations are using Very High Frequency (VHF) sets ranging from 30 MHz to 300 MHz.

Many have devised scanners to block intelligence agencies from spying on their activities.

Naxalite groups and extremist organisations have also set up FM stations in Naxalite-infested States. Most of the members use satellite phones.

Networking

The networking through technologically-enabled equipment has helped groups to organise camps in isolated destinations in the jungles in the State.

They say that the arrest of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) leader Malla Raja Reddy had revealed that he had visited the State not for treatment but to strengthen the organisation and coordinate activities with like-minded groups.

He had visited the State 20 times during the past three years.

His visits had helped to increase the presence of the organisation in all major towns of the State as well as in bases in 11 districts. Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, Wayanad , Kasaragod and Palakkad figure in the list of districts, they say.

Cadres of naxalite and Maoist organisations have infiltrated into many outfits. Members of religious outfits have also joined Naxalite organisations to get arms training and upgrading their intelligence network, officials say.

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