Terror’s ‘Shopping List’The U.S. Customs Service has...
Terror’s ‘Shopping List’
The U.S. Customs Service has identified about 100 key technologies, weapons and other items that make up a “shopping list for terrorist organizations,” and is asking businesses to help prevent such items from falling into the wrong hands.
The list has been shared with U.S. intelligence agencies and the Defense Department.
“A lot of this is dual-use technology so it has a legitimate use for certain purposes, but it can be used for weapons or weapons systems by terrorist organizations,” Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner said.
Although he wouldn’t identify the items on the list, he said some were related to producing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The list also includes technology that terrorists might use to evade capture.
Bonner called it “a shopping list for terrorist organizations.”
“Minor technological goods could easily become the necessary components for major weapons development by terrorist groups of rogue nations,” the agency said as it announced its “Project Shield America.”
For example, one chemical used to produce dyes and inks also is a key ingredient for making mustard gas, Customs spokesman Dean Boyd said. High-speed timing devices called “krytrons,” used in photocopiers, also are ideal for triggering nuclear warheads.
Under the new program, Customs field offices will contact firms that manufacture or distribute the items on the list and warn them about materials sought by terrorists.
Associated Press
Motorola, AOL in Deal
Motorola Inc., the second-largest maker of wireless phones, will include AOL Time Warner Inc.’s Instant Messenger e-mail service on its mobile devices and advertise through the biggest media and Internet company.
The companies didn’t disclose terms of the “multimillion-dollar, multiyear” agreement.
Instant Messenger allows users to send e-mails that pop up immediately on the recipient’s screen.
Motorola will license content from AOL Time Warner’s Warner Bros. movie studio, including Looney Tunes characters, for ring tones, screen savers and wireless games on phones and pagers in Europe, the companies said.
Motorola also will advertise on AOL Time Warner properties, including the Turner television networks, Time Inc. magazines and the America Online Web service.
Two weeks ago, Motorola said it would work with America Online to add Internet services such as e-mail and instant messaging to its cable television set-top boxes.
Bloomberg News
High-Tech Military Wear
Consulting firm Arthur D. Little won a $1.4-million contract this week to develop the next generation of high-tech ideas for what the 21st century warrior should wear into battle.
The Army’s idea of a smart outfit has nothing to do with lines or style and everything to do with increasing a soldier’s ability to kill and survive in all types of combat and climate, said Linda Pensotti, who is managing the program for the Cambridge, Mass.-based consultant.
“It’s more than just a uniform,” she said. “This is the ultimate in” wearable computers.
The firm’s work will build, at least in part, on the Land Warrior, a high-tech system developed by another contractor that is being field-tested by the Army.
The Land Warrior’s assault helmet can stop a 9-millimeter round and transmit digital radio signals. A helmet-mounted eyepiece allows a soldier to see video and thermal images.
A computer rests inside silicon gel in a sealed metal pack that the soldier carries on his back.
The Army expects to equip an infantry regiment or brigade with the Land Warrior equipment by 2004.
Reuters
S-Box to Thwart Hackers
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., which makes computer-security software for big companies, unveiled a new product for consumers who use high-speed Internet connections.
Through its SofaWare Technologies subsidiary, Check Point introduced the $299 S-box, which it said contains software that can block hacker attacks. It’s the first consumer product from Check Point and the company’s first device.
The S-box is aimed at consumers who have several computers and devices linked to the Internet through high-speed connections, said Chief Executive Gil Shwed. Fast connections are especially vulnerable to attack because most users seldom turn them off, making them a constant target for hackers.
Other companies that make similar devices include SonicWall Inc., WatchGuard Technologies Inc. and closely held NetScreen Technologies Inc.
Check Point’s S-box initially will be available through resellers that distribute the company’s corporate software.
Resellers also will offer it to companies with employees who frequently log on to corporate networks from home.
Check Point also intends to sell the product through providers of high-speed Internet access, though it has yet to confirm any such agreements, Shwed said.
Bloomberg News
