Six Really Cool Reasons Why You Shouldn't Turn Off A Tweeting Hijacker's Phone

Pittsburgh police and SWAT members escort a suspect, center right, from a hostage-taking on the 16th floor at Three Gateway Center to a police van on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in Pittsburgh. Klein Michael Thaxton, 22, surrendered just before 2 p.m., and the man he took hostage was unhurt, Police Chief Nathan Harper said. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Last week, there was a hostage situation in Pittsburgh that garnered the attention of the national news media.  The subject stormed a building and held a business owner hostage with a knife and hammer while sending "status updates" via Facebook.  It had all the makings of a really bad B-rated movie with your favorite 1990's action hero.  What caught everyone's attention was the status updates during the standoff by the perpetrator.  The police allowed him to communicate via the social networking site to allow him to communicate to them (This is the Pittsburgh Police....We have you surrounded....Please accept our friend request) and his family and friends who they assumed may have better luck at deescalating the situation.  They got fed up finally or were finally able to get Facebook to cooperate and shut down his account.

You might be wondering, as was I, if that was such a great idea.  Here's probably why not and why you shouldn't:

1. In some situations, you may not have any "eyes and ears" inside.  For hours, the Pittsburgh PD thought they had a bomb-making veteran with some serious PTSD issues.  You can have all the technology in the world but it's worthless if you can't get inside.  Without any further information disclosed, this appears to be the case here.  His status updates can provide information on his mental health status, number of other hostages, weapons, personal contacts he will listen to, etc.
   

   

   Screenshot of Facebook "status update" of Pittsburgh suspect

2. Depending on the device being used to make the "status updates", you may have an opportunity to gain a unique perspective about what's actually happening.  My hacker friends know exactly where I am going with this.  The wonderful thing about modern laptops, smartphones, and tablets is they almost always come with video and audio capabilities.  This is where it might behoove some departments to recruit people with these skill-sets.  A hacker or a trained cyber operative (I know it's cheesy and way too Hollywood) could easily exploit any existing security vulnerabilities the device could be susceptible to and exploit them to gain access to an internal microphone or camera.  With an active Internet connection, you could then transmit what the audio/video components were capturing in real-time.
3. If a guy's talking, that means he's not dead.  I know - it's bad taste.  Hear me out.  If your perpetrator is still making status updates, that means you have a live bad guy and probably live hostages.  It also means he may not have time to set booby traps if he's overly consumed with clicking "like" on his comments.  
4. Allow him to believe you have no clue about his Facebook statuses.  Seriously.  Play dumb for as long as you can.  Don't get me wrong - this can and will expire soon.  However, at the offset, it may be wise to play dumb.  You don't want the laptop or cell phone off for any reason.  Remember what I said about "eyes and ears".
5. Communication with personal contacts.  When looking at the Pittsburgh perpetrator's "status updates", one can't help but notice how he interacted with those who really knew him.  Suppose you get his mom to get out to talk to him/her and it goes bad, who else do you call?  Mom may be out of tune or clueless about his closest friends or even his current relationship status.  Facebook, as we all know, does this for you.  I have LOADS of friends on Facebook.  If you wanted any idea as to who I'm closest to other than my wife and parents, my Facebook interactions would certainly clue you in to some extent.
6. You have no idea what this situation is about but I bet Facebook will.  People often tell their life stories on Facebook.  They have fights with spouses, girlfriends/boyfriends, parents, assorted family members, friends, and co-workers.  They discover cheating, fraud, and various ethical improprieties.  ALL on Facebook.  What better way than to listen and learn to what's going on in your perpetrator's life and of those in his/her inner circle.  A great example is the screenshot below.  Check out his friend, Markus' post.

As you can see there are many reasons why law enforcement should consider allowing hostage-takers to continue making "status updates".   Remember it is easy in any situation to see only your limitations and pitfalls.  However, a reexamination could prove you have more tools at your disposal than you previously realized.

Terrorist Group of the Week - The Haqqani Network

Back by popular demand: TERRORIST GROUP OF THE WEEK!!

This week we'll be featuring the Haqqani Network.  So let's start by answering a few questions:

In this Aug. 22, 1998, file photo, Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the militant group the Haqqani network, speaks during an interview in Miram Shah, Pakistan. The Obama administration faces a weekend deadline to decide whether the Pakistan-based Haqqani network should be declared a terrorist organization, a complicated political decision as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and pushes for a reconciliation pact to end more than a decade of warfare. (AP Photo/Mohammed Riaz, File)

1. What is the Haqqani Network? Quite simply, they are an insurgent group working in Afghanistan against US/NATO interests.  
2. So they're the Taliban? Not exactly.  They're aligned with the Taliban much like the US is aligned with NATO.  They run similar operations (kidnappings, bombings, etc) and share a common enemy.  As you might imagine, they've also been designated as a terrorist organization courtesy of the US Congress and Barack Obama when they signed the aptly named "Haqqani Network Terrorist Designation Act of 2012"
3. Who are their leaders?  Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son, Sirajuddin "Siraj" Haqqani are currently the leaders.  Mawlawi was the military commander of the Taliban and is widely believed to be responsible for the escape of Osama bin Laden into Pakistan.  Allegedly, Sirajuddin is a particularly lucky soul as unnamed US authorities recently divulged they had an opportunity to end his life.  Their reason for not taking him out - the presence of women and children where Sirajuddin was located.  I'm somewhat skeptical of this as the US government has often terminated many terrorists in the presence of the families (Osama bin Laden).
4. Where do they operate? They operate primarily in the Warziristan region of Pakistan, a small hideaway spot bordering Afghanistan.
5. Wait. So the Pakistanis have a terrorist organization inside their country that openly attack NATO and American interests and assets and they allow that? The Central Intelligence Agency along with others in the Intelligence Community have always speculated both publicly and privately that the Pakistani intelligence agency (ISI) has not only known but in some ways supported the Haqqani Network.  This is the primary reason the US conducts drone operations in Pakistan - to counter and destroy the Haqqani threat.
6. So what are we doing to counter this threat?  One word - drones.  Some could say the raid on Osama bin Laden was a watershed moment in US/Pakistani relations and greatly limited further covert operations by the US in Pakistan.  The Obama administration has always preferred drones to risking American lives in operations where success was not always certain.  Let's be honest - there is one thing more deadly in Pakistan than a really corrupt Pakistani general - US drone strikes.  If you're the "Number 2 Guy" in AQ or the Haqqani Network, you're not in that position for long.  The US also continues to put pressure on the Pakistanis to do all they can to mitigate the threat as well. That pressure may be having some effect because in September 2011, Sirajuddin Haqqani claimed during a telephonic interview to Reuters that the Haqqani network no longer maintained sanctuaries in northwest Pakistan and the robust presence that it once had there and instead now felt more safer in Afghanistan: "Gone are the days when we were hiding in the mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Now we consider ourselves more secure in Afghanistan besides the Afghan people."
7. What attacks have they carried out? According to Wikipedia, the following attacks have been attributed to them:

• 14 January 2008: 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack is thought to have been carried out by the network.
• March, 2008: Kidnapping of British journalist Sean Langan was blamed on the network.
• 27 April 2008: Assassination attempts on Hamid Karzai.
• 7 July 2008: US intelligence blamed the network for 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul.
• 10 November 2008: The Kidnapping of David Rohde was blamed on Sirajuddin Haqqani.
• 30 December 2009: Camp Chapman attack is thought to have been carried out by the network.
• 18 May 2010: May 2010 Kabul bombing was allegedly carried out by the network.
• 19 February 2011: Kabul Bank in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
• 28 June 2011: According to ISAF, elements of the Haqqani network provided "material support" in the 2011 attack on the Hotel Inter-Continental in Kabul. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
• 10 September 2011: A massive truck bomb exploded outside Combat Outpost Sayed Abad in Wardak province, Afghanistan, killing five Afghans, including four civilians, and wounding 77 U.S. soldiers, 14 Afghan civilians, and three policemen. The Pentagon blamed the network for the attack.
• 12 September 2011: US Ambassador Ryan Crocker blamed the Haqqani network for an attack on the US Embassy and nearby NATO bases in Kabul. The attack lasted 19 hours and resulted in the deaths of four police officers and four civilians. 17 civilians and six NATO soldiers were injured. Three coalition soldiers were killed. Eleven insurgent attackers were killed.
• October 2011: Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security said that six people arrested in an alleged plot to assassinate President Karzai had ties to the Haqqani network

How the Benghazi Attack Occurred

This is a near-perfect timeline from CNN of how the attack in Benghazi occurred.  I will post a more in-depth analysis once I get to my normal workstation.  Stay tuned.