ROUND UP THE USUAL INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS

BY JUDITH HANEY

(USNewsLink)/ September 20, 2001

Correct me if I'm wrong BUT, isn't it common knowledge among Internet users that the CIA, FBI, and local law enforcement agencies have known for YEARS that the Internet was fertile ground to plow in the identification and apprehension of terrorists and criminals?

International terrorists and domestic criminals have employed high-tech devices for years to carry out their crimes. If I didn't know that the Internet was originally built for military use, I would think high-tech was invented for the use of criminals given the degree to which they utilize it as a tool for organization, planning and implementation of their various crimes.

Can you tell by reading this that I'm angry? Hang on, it gets better!

Now, all of a sudden, AFTER THE FACT, the FBI is combing and analyzing computer email messages between the 19 hijackers who drove our planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon last week. (Read: FBI Obtains Terrorist E-Mails)

"They used the Internet and they used it well," an FBI official said of the 19 men who hijacked four passenger airliners last Tuesday, steering three of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The official, who is heading up the cyber-portion of the investigation, told reporters the bureau had obtained hundreds of unencrypted e-mail messages exchanged by the hijackers and their associates, dating as far back as 30 to 45 days prior to the Sept. 11 attacks. (Read: The Terrorists Are Winning the Cyber War)

The official said the terrorists used computers in public libraries as well as personal computers to gain access to the Internet, adding that Internet service providers (ISP), along with banks and airlines, were cooperating fully with the investigation and had quickly turned over information and records requested by the FBI.

I'm a privacy advocate. However, Internet service providers have a legal responsibility to report unlawful activities by persons who use their services.

So why didn't they?

The fact that ISPs and law enforcement and our intelligence community did not identify the hijackers and intercept their deadly plan before they killed nearly 6000 innocent Americans does not pass the smell test!