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'Motherlode' of Data Seized At Bin Laden Compound

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-saw-an-unclelode-once dept.

itwbennett writes "The raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan Sunday also turned up an 'intelligence harvest' of computer-based data that was described by an anonymous government source as 'the motherlode of intelligence.' The data is being sifted through at a secret site in Afghanistan. An unnamed official was quoted by Politico as saying: 'Hundreds of people are going through it now. It's going to be great even if only 10 percent of it is actionable. They cleaned it out. Can you imagine what's on Osama bin Laden's hard drive?'"

6 of 718 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Unfortunately... by brainboyz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Imagine the shitstorm if several names turn up from the recently re-established governments.

  2. It could be a trap by davidwr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If he's smart he would've not only encrypted everything but most of the information would be intentionally misleading or low-value, making whoever got it not only have to work to decrypt it but to have sort out what's real and useful and what's not.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  3. Re:Truecrypt by Cytotoxic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hopefully (if it were encrypted and we cracked it), we would continue to put out statements in the media that we couldn't crack it...

    (while we were kicking doors at his safehouses and rounding up the remainder of his minions around the world)

    Agreed! Didn't we learn anything from the whole "we tracked him by his cell phone" braggadocio fiasco? STFU about your intel sources. Sheesh....

  4. A selfish man who had others die for him. by MarkvW · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A selfish man who had others die for him is not likely to be overmuch careful about protecting the people who remain alive after he is dead.

    I bet he was really sloppy and undisciplined.

    1. Re:A selfish man who had others die for him. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A selfish man who had others die for him is not likely to be overmuch careful about protecting the people who remain alive after he is dead.

      I bet he was really sloppy and undisciplined.

      Yeah, that must be why he evaded the most powerful nation in the world for 10 fucking years... Sloppiness and lack of discipline.

      I don't agree with what he did. I think he was an 'evil' man. That being said, so are most of the political leaders in the USA. The biggest difference is, they try to hide it, while OBL was honest about his intentions.

      The problem I have with your statement is, you're doing what so many Americans do best. You falsely attribute negative qualities to someone you don't like, as if your insulting them somehow does good. Your statement is FAR more accurate if aimed at American politicians, and it's those very idiots who teach people to use the foolish tactics your comment is written with.

      Don't forget, your logic regarding a leader sending suicide bombers can be applied to the leaders of almost any country who send their soldiers to war.

  5. It's all about the money... by dtjohnson · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Osama Bin Laden's organization needed a LOT of money to keep going. Money to pay for food and housing for all of the thousands of followers who are not actually working or doing anything useful. Money for travel, equipment, supplies, bribes, etc. Those hard drives will probably show exactly WHO was supporting these terrorists. Which banks were laundering money money donations to make it available to Osama Bin Laden? Maybe JPMorgan Chase was Osama's banker like they were Bernie Madoff's banker. Who was issuing them credit cards? Which foreign governments were enabling them to travel by issuing passports, visas, and other documents? The Osama Bin Laden people were very sophisticated in how they approached their terrorist activities...that was OBL's 'innovation'...and now it may all come unraveled. There are plenty of young men with rifles running around the Afghanistan hills who hate the West...or what little they know of it...but that does not make them into terrorists capable of carrying out a sophisticated act of terror in another country. That OBL data may help ID a few new faces but mostly it will be the leads to the money trail that will bring the global terror activities to an end.