In one of the strangest developments in the war on terror, terrorists in Iraq have begun making crank calls to the families of British soldiers using technology that hacks into their cell phones while they call home. The Times of London describes this odd tactic, which has their Defence Ministry steamed:

WIVES and family members of soldiers fighting in Iraq have received telephone death threats from insurgents. Their numbers were obtained by Iraqi hackers from soldiers’ mobile telephones using an electronic device.

Disclosure of the threatening calls emerged after an investigation by the Royal Military Police into complaints from soldiers. The threats range from claims that a husband or son is dead or will be killed in Iraq to verbal abuse, according to reports. ...

The extent of the problem emerged at the weekend in a restricted Army document issued to soldiers of the London Regiment, a Territorial Army unit that has soldiers in Iraq.

The document is said to warn soldiers preparing to take part in operations that insurgents have managed to obtain home telephone numbers of soldiers using an electronic intercept device that can hack into mobile telephone systems.

Perhaps the strategic thought behind these calls could be that it demoralizes the British families back home and makes them less willing to fight, but that seems like a rather stupid idea. If any of the terrorists had bothered to read about the Blitz, they would know that the Brits do not intimidate easily and react to threats with stoic resolve. It's difficult to take this seriously anyway; I mean, what will the terrorists do next, ask for Prince Albert in the can?

One also has to wonder about their tactical priorities. Here they have some interesting, if not terribly useful, technology. I doubt the British use cell phones to coordinate their missions, but the Iraqis could confirm it one way or another with this hacking device; at the least, they may be able to triangulate their position, but since the cell phones are probably only used in established FOBs, that has little value. So what do the terrorists do? Continue to spend their time playing with the hack device and then make time-wasting crank calls.

Don't get me wrong; I'd rather have them doing that than building IEDs. However, it seems to me that this indicates a lack of better options for some of the insurgents, which makes them look more pathetic than frightening.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Terrorists Use Crank Calls To Soldiers' Families:

» 'More Pathetic Than Frightening' from It Shines For All
"Wives and family members of soldiers fighting in Iraq have received telephone death threats from insurgents," the Times of London reports. Their numbers were obtained by Iraqi hackers from soldiers' mobile telephones using an electronic device ... The... [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2006 8:08 AM

» Equally Sick, Doubly Juvenile from Suitably Flip
Iraqi terrorists have begun crank calling families of British soldiers, to taunt and threaten their loved ones. [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2006 8:47 AM

» Now go away or I shall taunt you a 2nd time! from HiWired Blog
We've talked a little about about how the net is used in war. We've also talked about hackers used to get military info. But hacking phone numbers and cranking soldiers families? WIVES and family members of soldiers fighting in Iraq... [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2006 9:09 AM