Israeli spies exposed Laptop threat

13 Jun 2017 2044 | Business & Trade Fairs

WASHINGTON, 13 June 2017: Israeli government spies hacked into the operations of Islamic State bomb makers to discover they were developing a laptop computer bomb to blow up a commercial aircraft, The New York Times reported Monday.

The Times said the work by Israeli cyber operators was a rare success of Western intelligence against the constantly evolving, encryption-protected and social media-driven cyber operations of the extremist group.

It said the Israeli hackers penetrated the small Syria-based cell of bomb makers months ago, an effort that led to the 21 March ban on carry-on laptops and other electronics larger than cell phones on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.

The Israeli cyber penetration was the source of US information about how the group was developing explosives that couldn’t be detected by standard screening because they looked identical to laptop batteries, according to the Times.

The intelligence was so good that it also included the detonation method for the bombs, the Times said, citing two US officials familiar with the operation.

Following the US laptop ban, Britain announced a similar prohibition for flights originating from six countries.

Israel’s contribution to the intelligence on the laptop bombs became public after President Donald Trump revealed details of the plot to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a 10 May White House meeting.