Terrorists Used Google Earth During Mumbai Attacks

[ihost 0]

Hey,

Apparently,

the terrorists that recently attacked various locations in south Mumbai used digital maps from Google Earth to learn their way around, according to officials investigating the attacks.

So I think that the use of google earth might be kinda questionable.

Investigations by the Mumbai police, including the interrogation of one nabbed terrorist, suggest that the terrorists were highly trained and used technologies such as satellite phones, and global positioning systems (GPS), according to police.

Which would mean that any terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda might be using those technologies in order to organize perfectly, or nearly perfectly any attack in any country.

Google Earth has previously come in for criticism in India, including from the country’s former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Already, in 2005, Kalam warned in a lecture that the easy availability online of detailed maps of countries from services such as Google Earth could be misused by terrorists.

(But as you can notice, some areas of google earth are not opening, most likely because of different military bases).

Indian security agencies have complained that Google Earth exposed Indian defense and other sensitive installations. Other nations, including China, have made similar complaints regarding military locations.
However the places attacked by terrorists last week did not come under the category of defense or sensitive installations. The information available to the terrorists on Google Earth about the locations they attacked is also available on printed tourism maps of Mumbai. The locations included two hotels, a restaurant, a residential complex, and a railway station.

So yes, as you can see, google earth might get into serious problems in the next few months/years. It is a really useful service to be used, but there are limits I think and some actions has to be applied.

Notice from truefusion:

Quote all things copied. Paraphrasements aren't allowed either.
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

[OpaQue 15]

All I would say... Information and Fire are alike. Its up to us to use it first for the good cause :-)

[ihost 0]

All I would say... Information and Fire are alike. Its up to us to use it first for the good cause :-)

Hey,
That is so true; actually, information seems to be the most dangerous tool we have here, because it procures power and power is even more dangerous than money... kinda scary no?

Tim.

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

All I would say... Information and Fire are alike. Its up to us to use it first for the good cause :-)

Google earth is a very helpful tool, yet it can be used for eveil things like this. If I remember right, it was also used on 9-11 as well. Don't get me wrong here but I honestly feel as Google should rethink the whole google earth program. True on the free one it is not updated that offen. and not owning the paid I do not know how offen it is updated. but with how things are in this world with terroriest. Such info should not be made to the public, and if it is, have a way to track them and what they are looking at. I know that sounds harsh and big brother like. But and this is a big but. Something must be done and done now. You had too many innocent people killed.

[freeflashclocks 0]

That is not bad news, it is just news because anyone can use a program in a computer, and if they did not use the google earth program, they would use another program, there are several of its kind and purpose.The main issue and problem was what they did, their terrorist acts, not if they used a program to help in their actual execution plan, and i can not even understand why the officers gave that information, and i do not understand how they actually traced it, unless they have their laptops!

[mahesh2k 0]

Well even if Google and other Map location services goes paid even then terrorists can purchase subscription 25$ or so for access. So free or paid access can't stop this. But yes, subscriptions can monitor the accounts how users are using the service etc. This way can be useful for such service providers to see if anyone is misusing the service.But don't think this way they can completely achieve control over terorists. If country like pakistan is behind terrorism then they can use satellite of their own for such purpose, so 3rd party service control can't be always monitored.

[buxgoddess 1]

Another good thing misused my mankind. It is now a common fact that almost all the features and things that can be brought to good use are being used for some bad motives. It is a common thing tha t almost every movie seems to show at some stage or other, be it a social thing or scientific tool, being used as a threat to homans and ill judgement of miscreants. The Mumbai blast is a clear show that directly pionts to the ill motives of some people i n fuakistan - a muslim country which is not able to tame butchers. Most militant groups inclusing AlQaida aer hiding in the fuak terriotory and the fuak government has tried all its tactics to reduce the kafirs, but failed even to acknowledge that the kafirs are mocking at them.If the prime minister of fuakistan today said that they have captured the leader of the kandhar plane hijack mastermind, he immidiately denied the detainment and handing over the most wanted criminal terrorist over to India. Surely they fear that fuakistan will revolt against the government if they hand over the terrorist to India.These are my personal views and does not mean to hurt any people at large. The use of google earth is just so easy that tomrrow a full fledged government may try to use the tool to spy or attack.

[xpress 0]

Well even if Google and other Map location services goes paid even then terrorists can purchase subscription 25$ or so for access. So free or paid access can't stop this. But yes, subscriptions can monitor the accounts how users are using the service etc. This way can be useful for such service providers to see if anyone is misusing the service.

Yes...I agree. Paid or free doesn't matter for them. Even though these services are paid and strictly monitored they can easily
misuse other innocent people's accounts or in some other way. They had managed to get 33 SIM cards at Kolkata with the help of local people(hmm...local is not correct word for the people helping these terrorists. Even though they born and live in India, they are not true Indians...not humans at all ) They used 3 of those in Mumbai attacks.

If they can get SIM cards with that much ease...getting a paid online account is dead easy for them. As mahesh told..until some countries stop supporting these terrorists this type of attacks will continue. Even if Google or some other map service stopped their services...they can get details of their targets with the help of spy sattellites of these supporting countries...
So we can't blame Google earth. It is helping a millions of people daily to find their way or some other thing.

Technology is everywhere...and is a double edged sword. It can be used for good purposes as well as evil purposes...it just depends on the person using it.

[Baniboy 3]

Always when something bad happens, people just want to blame someone. I'm not saying if someone is guilty or not, but it isn't google earth's fault, you can use papermaps as well. And the idea of monitoring what people do is ridiculous, AGAINST THE PRIVACY OF PEOPLE. PERIOD! The terrorists can just go online, they don't even have to download and install anything, you just fill the fields and it shows the way on map. And like I said, they can just look up a regular map where they want to go. Or they can use GPS navigator, damn you don't need to use even a computer for that. The point is that they would have done it anyway, I'm not gonna say get over it, but accept it.

[mahesh2k 0]

@Daniboy:you're right they can use map & GPS. but they tried to use local resources like SIM cards/satellite phone to hide the fact that they were from pakistan but usage of Satellite phone and call from karachi on that proved that they were from pakistan. so technology in future will be more dangerous if it falls into religious & irrational people.

[mbafactory 0]

It is the dual nature of the information, you just have it; use depends on you. Whether you will use it for destructive purpose or something else pertains to the hands it is in. We can easily say, google is to blame for all the terrorist attacks on the earth; but then consider the following arguments: 1. People should not come out of their houses for they might be victim of some similar tragedy, 2. Internet is the root to all the evil pertaining to high end technology, it should be banned thereby. 3. For the fear of death tomorrow we should stop enjoying our lives today.Hope no one will agree with the above logic, for we make rules to facilitate the life on earth while developing various tools to make it more comfortable. Development is a phase which comes at the cost of learning with such incidents. No one is to blame for these incidents, but rather we should learn how to prevent these things from happening further.

[contactskn 2]

Yes dear friend google earth or any other utility as such which is being started for good in this world, are in one way or other misused by the evil people out there wheather they are terrorists or any other person or organisation who don't enjoy living in peace and don't even let others live in peace, what to do people with such bad tendency will be there in one ways or the other.

[triplebtalk 0]

Google Earth is an amazingly useful tool banning it would be absolutely ridiculous. These people are the reason that people can no longer know the truth. The terrorism that is so emminent around the world is the reason that hundreds of thousands of Afghanis, Iraqis, Inidans, Pakistanis, Arabs and Kurds are living in fear everyday. They think that because there "God" told them to do it, it is right, I just wan't to make one thing clear to anyone (it doesn't matter: Extremist Christian, Extremist Catholic, Extremist Hindu, Extremist Muslim, Extremist Buddhist etc), killing someone in the name of your "God" does not make the killing lawful. I agree that people are just trying to blame the Mumbai attacks on something, and taking out Google Earth is WRONG, this service is exactly the same as a map or an aerial photograph, we are not going to ban them I hope (hopefully not in Sydney, traffic is already bad enough). Then trying to put it down to a GPS styled piece of equipment, again designed to make our life easier, what do you think, Glass Bottles were made to drink out of it, some people stab people with them, same with chainsaws, made to cut down trees, can be used to kill people, it just depends who you are, and suddenly you can change a completely innocent item into a violent weapon (yes, Google Earth is a "weapon of the mind" for some people).

Edited January 19, 2009 by triplebtalk (see edit history)