TORONTO – News of two arrests made in an alleged al-Qaeda supported terror plot, set to take place on Canadian soil, sent shockwaves through the country Monday – just one week after a deadly bombing took place at the Boston Marathon.
Toronto area resident Raed Jaser, 35 and Montreal resident Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, were arrested and charged Monday for allegedly conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack on a Via passenger train. Charges against the men included conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group.
Read More: Train terror plot suspects appear in court
Authorities are referring to this as the first known al-Qaeda directed plot in Canada.
But how were the two men, living in Canada, communicating with members of al-Qaeda under the radar?
Terrorist organizations are known to use a variety of techniques to conceal their communications with both international and local cohorts.
According to terrorism expert John Thompson, al-Qaeda is known for using religious terms, along with code-words – usually referred to as veil speech – in their exchanges to try to dupe authorities. For example, they might use terms like “We would like a packet of marshmallows,” or, “What happened to that packet of marshmallows,” to describe explosives.
Language protection is a commonly used tactic said Thompson; for example, writing emails and website literature in Arabic, or other dialogs that may be harder to translate.
Jihadi websites also disguise text in Arabic, along with using URLs that change constantly and are often password-protected, making it difficult for Westerners to track.
Thompson said other forms of communications often include rotating computers, or using Internet cafes rather than their own computers and devices from home. This helps to prevent them being tracked by IP address.
Read More: How terrorists survive under the cloak of anonymity online
Multiple SIM cards are used in cellphones in hopes to decrease the chances of calls being traced. Thompson noted that one SIM card might be used for al-Qaeda communications and another for routine or personal operations.
SIM cards are often recycled and not used for very long to ensure they are not being tracked.
But Thompson notes that not all of al-Qaeda’s communication techniques are as secure as they like to believe.
“Al-Qaeda communications are kind of sloppy,” he said.
High security communications tactics are not usually instated for average participants.
“Occasionally, when al-Qaeda moves to greater security, they impose an electronic blackout – which is why Osama Bin Laden wasn’t using a phone or the Internet for years,” said Thompson, who noted this kind of action would only be taken for those with higher rankings in the organization.
But some of the organization’s communication methods have proven successful.
One of al-Qaeda’s techniques, the “dead letter box” system, consists of using a shared email account and leaving messages only in the drafts – therefore avoiding a physical paper trail of emails. This technique was successfully used by Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected head of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, to communicate with the global al-Qaeda network.
You can get more of Global’s up-to-the-minute coverage of the VIA Rail terror plot by clicking here.
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