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Twitter Terrorists - Army Warns of Terror ‘Tweets’ Security Threat

Could Twitter become terrorists’ newest killer app? A draft Army intelligence report, making its way through spy circles, thinks the miniature messaging software could be used as an effective tool for coordinating militant attacks.

For years, American analysts have been concerned that militants would take advantage of commercial hardware and software to help plan and carry out their strikes. Everything from online games to remote-controlled toys to social network sites to garage door openers has been fingered as possible tools for mayhem.

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This recent presentation — put together on the Army’s 304th Military Intelligence Battalion and found on the Federation of the American Scientists website — focuses on some of the newer applications for mobile phones: digital maps, GPS locators, photo swappers, and Twitter mash-ups of it all.

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Terrorists haven’t done anything similar, the Army report concedes - although it does note that there are “multiple pro and anti Hezbollah Tweets.” Instead, the presentation lays out three possible scenarios in which Twitter could become a militant’s friend:

Scenario 1: Terrorist operative “A” uses Twitter with… a cell phone camera/video function to send back messages, and to receive messages, from the rest of his [group]… Other members of his [group] receive near real time updates (similar to the movement updates that were sent by activists at the RNC) on how, where, and the number of troops that are moving in order to conduct an ambush.

How Twitter could be a security threat - Terrorist tweets aplenty

Twitter is a micro-blogging service that has already gained a huge amount of fans amongst the tech community, and is currently trying to gain a foothold of popularity amongst a wider mainstream demographic. But that wider set of fans could include terrorists who would use Twitter to spread their message and even direct operations.

This warning comes from the U.S. army by way of an intelligence report 304th Military Intelligence Battalion. It was posted on the Federation of American Scientists website before Noah Shachtman brought it to the attention of the wider public on Wired.

The report identifies three new technologies as possible threats to national security. Alongside Twitter, Global Positioning System maps and voice-changing software are claimed to be “potential terrorist tools”.

Twitter is rapidly becoming an essential tool for many. Back in July, news of the Los Angeles earthquake rebounded around Twitter before the event was picked up by any news organisation. The Presidential candidates are also using it to keep up with their supporters. And in April, a man used Twitter to alert his friends that he’d been arrested in Egypt.

But these uses could potentially have a dark side, at least if you believe the scaremongering of the U.S. intelligence services. The report states:

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