Gallery: Tracking down the Times Square bomb suspect
by Andy Smith | May 4, 2010 11:32am PDT | Image 1 of 7
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All it took was a little hard work and patience - in four days FBI investigators were able to track down and arrest - from traces left behind by modern day technology - a man accused of planting a car bomb in New York City's Time Square. Surveillance photos show the suspect holding a briefcase in Times Square as he was setting up the attempted bombing. (left in the left photo and right in the right photo).Credit: FBI
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By comparing VIN on the engine block to VIN on the firewall and elsewhere, you can see whether parts were swapped out.
I think there are multiple VIN's on most cars....
Do you think it is actually a good idea to instruct other
potential attackers about what this one did wrong? Now they
know where to look for all the VINs in the car, for example.
potential attackers about what this one did wrong? Now they
know where to look for all the VINs in the car, for example.
I thought this comment indicated a lack of understanding on the commenter's part:
Do you think it is actually a good idea to instruct other potential attackers about what this one did wrong? Now they know where to look for all the VINs in the car, for example.
My question is: Did it ever occur to you that there are VIN locations that are only known to LEO's???
Do you think it is actually a good idea to instruct other potential attackers about what this one did wrong? Now they know where to look for all the VINs in the car, for example.
My question is: Did it ever occur to you that there are VIN locations that are only known to LEO's???
Thanks for your comments. You're both right. However, the VIN example
is just that: an example. While spelling out how authorities catch terrorist
might be used to deter people from trying, I think it will have the more
likely effect of educating them on how to avoid these mistakes. The VIN
issue is almost irrelevant. How about a stolen car? The VIN would lead to
practically nothing. Greetings!
is just that: an example. While spelling out how authorities catch terrorist
might be used to deter people from trying, I think it will have the more
likely effect of educating them on how to avoid these mistakes. The VIN
issue is almost irrelevant. How about a stolen car? The VIN would lead to
practically nothing. Greetings!
The VIN is etched ALL OVER the vehicle. It's literally impossible to remove ALL VIN's. It is in the engine block, the door frames, ALL over.
Do you think it is actually a good idea to instruct other
potential attackers about what this one did wrong? Now they
know where to look for all the VINs in the car, for example.
potential attackers about what this one did wrong? Now they
know where to look for all the VINs in the car, for example.
Bad guys do not ooze up out of the soil and self-assemble like horror movie zombies and start going about their bad guy business.
They are regular citizens who can read and learn same as everyone else. They, for one reason or another, decide to do something illegal and/or dangerous.
Get used to it.
It is how the real world works and has for all of written history. We can be confident that is how it worked before they wrote the history down.
"Let's make sure we restrict and self-censor every bit of knowledge we have that someone MIGHT use for bad things"....
... is the cry we too often hear when some naive individual is faced with a real world, real reality they failed to note before.
Yeah.. sure.. let us outlaw reading too.. and let us outlaw every industrial safety manual and chemistry book too... they tell us what horrific danger common objects pose.
Outlaw water... it can drown you... outlaw gasoline it can burn!!!
Outlaw physics courses.. somebody MIGHT use such knowledge for doing bad things.
We all know how much trouble Wile E. Coyote causes with just gravity and a simple iron anvil... prevent the spread of knowledge.. it is dangerous!!!!.
Let us outlaw brains while we are at it... lobotomize everyone at birth.. they MIGHT use their brain to do something illegal someday.
They are regular citizens who can read and learn same as everyone else. They, for one reason or another, decide to do something illegal and/or dangerous.
Get used to it.
It is how the real world works and has for all of written history. We can be confident that is how it worked before they wrote the history down.
"Let's make sure we restrict and self-censor every bit of knowledge we have that someone MIGHT use for bad things"....
... is the cry we too often hear when some naive individual is faced with a real world, real reality they failed to note before.
Yeah.. sure.. let us outlaw reading too.. and let us outlaw every industrial safety manual and chemistry book too... they tell us what horrific danger common objects pose.
Outlaw water... it can drown you... outlaw gasoline it can burn!!!
Outlaw physics courses.. somebody MIGHT use such knowledge for doing bad things.
We all know how much trouble Wile E. Coyote causes with just gravity and a simple iron anvil... prevent the spread of knowledge.. it is dangerous!!!!.
Let us outlaw brains while we are at it... lobotomize everyone at birth.. they MIGHT use their brain to do something illegal someday.
I fully support the idea of sharing knowledge and making it available for
everyone. However, there are bits of information that, under some
circumstances are better left unshared. For example, I am sure you do
not disclose your personal information to everyone. Is that censorship?
How about disclosing information on how to clone credit cards? Sure, it
will help some people to re-think their security systems, but in the
meantime... Come on, some information has to be reserved. OK; this
may not be the case - how about Mr. Obama's blackberry security
codes? For that matter, nuclear missiles launch codes. I guess you get
the idea by now. There is no clearcut answer: not yours, not mine.
Agreed?
everyone. However, there are bits of information that, under some
circumstances are better left unshared. For example, I am sure you do
not disclose your personal information to everyone. Is that censorship?
How about disclosing information on how to clone credit cards? Sure, it
will help some people to re-think their security systems, but in the
meantime... Come on, some information has to be reserved. OK; this
may not be the case - how about Mr. Obama's blackberry security
codes? For that matter, nuclear missiles launch codes. I guess you get
the idea by now. There is no clearcut answer: not yours, not mine.
Agreed?
@NetKey2010
having worked in security for several years, i've seen proven time and again that security by obscurity is worse than worthless as it gives a very false sense of security. my recommendation is to assume that aside from keys, your attacker knows as much or more than you do about your security system, and you should design your security with that assumption.
regarding the VIN locations, anyone with the patience can take a vehicle apart and look for them, so not disclosing the locations is rather pointless. some of the location are inside assemblies already, so disassembling the vehicle would be necessary to remove them all anyway. even then, there are multiple serial numbers embedded in the car's computer(s) that are also traceable, and modern cars won't run at all without the computer(s).
in short, the only way to avoid these traces entirely would be to custom build a vehicle from raw materials, and i think that would stick out in nearly any environment.
to those who choose to search for it, the how of virtually everything is available, and so should be readily available to all. the keys are what need to be kept private, and these are (supposed to be at least) unique to each individual.
regarding the credit card cloning idea, those who choose to do it already know how, and currently it really isn't difficult. what i would consider ideal is that the design of the "new future" credit cards is so secure that even an insider with full knowledge of the designs is unable to successfully clone someone's credit card. we aren't there yet, and i don't know if we ever will get there, but trying to hide it will only give people a false sense of security. if the general public really knew and understood how easy it is to clone a credit card, the general public could put pressure on the credit card makers and issuers to demand better security. right now, the general public simply doesn't know, and the few that do know aren't a large/powerful enough group to pressure the makers and issuers to do anything. it is currently less expensive to the issuers to ignore the problem and pay their fraud insurance bill on time.
having worked in security for several years, i've seen proven time and again that security by obscurity is worse than worthless as it gives a very false sense of security. my recommendation is to assume that aside from keys, your attacker knows as much or more than you do about your security system, and you should design your security with that assumption.
regarding the VIN locations, anyone with the patience can take a vehicle apart and look for them, so not disclosing the locations is rather pointless. some of the location are inside assemblies already, so disassembling the vehicle would be necessary to remove them all anyway. even then, there are multiple serial numbers embedded in the car's computer(s) that are also traceable, and modern cars won't run at all without the computer(s).
in short, the only way to avoid these traces entirely would be to custom build a vehicle from raw materials, and i think that would stick out in nearly any environment.
to those who choose to search for it, the how of virtually everything is available, and so should be readily available to all. the keys are what need to be kept private, and these are (supposed to be at least) unique to each individual.
regarding the credit card cloning idea, those who choose to do it already know how, and currently it really isn't difficult. what i would consider ideal is that the design of the "new future" credit cards is so secure that even an insider with full knowledge of the designs is unable to successfully clone someone's credit card. we aren't there yet, and i don't know if we ever will get there, but trying to hide it will only give people a false sense of security. if the general public really knew and understood how easy it is to clone a credit card, the general public could put pressure on the credit card makers and issuers to demand better security. right now, the general public simply doesn't know, and the few that do know aren't a large/powerful enough group to pressure the makers and issuers to do anything. it is currently less expensive to the issuers to ignore the problem and pay their fraud insurance bill on time.
The person in your first frame was wrongly identified, turned himself in(for his own safety!), and is not even a suspect! You are defrauding this individual!
Have you read the New York times? They are calling him a suspect, they show the same photo. http://www.nytimes.com/
He's admitted to the crime. So, I guess we'll leave the "defrauding" to the FBI and the Attorney General in NY...
He's admitted to the crime. So, I guess we'll leave the "defrauding" to the FBI and the Attorney General in NY...
He who lives by the bomb will die by the bomb. Only in this case it will be in prison for life.
Everybody knows there are multiple VINs on cars and trucks. I've seen three of them on my own vehicle (four, if you count the owner's manual in the glove compartment!) If there are secretly located VINs, they are just that: secret. As far as I know, there's never been a case in the U.S. where a vehicle could not be identified, so obviously they are pretty hard to get rid of.
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