Scientist Warns of “E-Thrax,” and Other Cyber Terrorism
BERKELEY (Disassociated Press) April 8, 2003 -- Bartholomew J. Sneed, a leading Professor of Science of the University of California at Berkeley, has an alarming warning regarding the Pentagon’s recent request of Americans who wish to show their encouragement to U.S. Troops in Iraq to e-mail those wishes, rather than send letters or physical packages. The Pentagon issued this request due to the possibility of terrorists sending anthrax and explosives disguised as gifts.
“Unfortunately, the Pentagon has overlooked a potentially grave problem,” reports Sneed, “which is the possibility that terrorists may encode digital transmissions to carry ‘cyber’ form of anthrax through the e-mail, which might be released through a laptop’s speakers, or other orifices, when the e-mail is opened, with potentially catastrophic results.
Sneed warned of additional potential cyber terrorist acts, as well. “The binary code of an e-mail might be designed so as to explode a laptop upon the opening of an e-mail, sort of a cyber form of Suicide/Homicide bombing, as it were.”
The Pentagon has thus far not commented on Sneed’s warnings.