Software Company tied to Terrorists

[NavyDave]

And of course a main suspect is from Saudi

Friday, December 06, 2002

BOSTON — Federal agents late Thursday night raided a Quincy, Mass., company that provides critical software to major U.S. agencies and is suspected of having ties to Usama bin Laden and Al Qaeda terrorists.

But shortly before noon Friday, the government said Ptech Inc.'s software was safe, after studying its code for evidence it might do anything other than advertised, such as allowing insiders to read or steal sensitive data.

Ptech's clients include the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Energy Department, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Naval air systems, the U.S. Air Force, NATO, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Department of Energy and the agency that handles nuclear weapons security, according to its Web site.

The FBI, for example, has used Ptech's software for financial tracking and internal budgeting, officials said.

Officials had suspected "back doors" may have been built into Ptech software that could enable terrorists to access federal computers.

"That wouldn't surprise any of us today," Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, told Fox News on Friday morning. "That is a problem we'll have to deal with in the future."

But later in the day, the White House was satisfied that the software never had been used in any sensitive government systems, a law enforcement official said.

Another official said there was no evidence of any compromise of government computers or any coding embedded in the software sold to the government that would benefit terrorists.

What apparently triggered the investigation was the suspicion that a Saudi businessman named Qassin al-Kadi may secretly be a part-owner of Ptech. Al-Kadi is associated with charity groups that are suspected of funneling millions of dollars to Al Qaeda.

Al-Kadi has repeatedly denied any connection to bin Laden, but he is on the U.S. government's so-called "dirty dozen" list of leading terror financiers who are being investigated by the CIA. His accounts have been frozen by the United States.

American officials say al-Kadi and the other businessmen on the CIA list all have business and personal connections to the Saudi royal family.

"It would be a big catch" if it turns out the suspicions are true, Shelby said. "I think it points out that anybody that’s in the software business and especially dealing with sensitive agencies of all kinds … we've got to know who owns these businesses. It just can't be somebody overseas, an absentee owner. It's too important for that."

Ptech's CEO, Oussama Ziade, who is well-known in the Quincy community, agreed to the Thursday night search and is not the focus of the investigation.

"There was no veneer there at all" from Ziade, said John Estrella, business editor for the Patriot Ledger in the area. "He was out there in front and didn't have anything to hide."

Estrella said Ptech has won local awards for being a high-growth tech company that could provide many jobs.

"There's absolutely nothing there" in terms of a link to Al Qaeda, James Cerrato, the company's chief product officer, said as he walked into the office Friday morning. "I think as soon as the investigation concludes, that will put a light on things."

ABC News, which first reported the raid, said it was the culmination of a top-secret investigation coordinated with the White House.

But White House officials on Friday denied they had directed the search and said the FBI had coordinated the raid. The White House's cyber-security office did play a part, however, in maintaining the integrity of the company software, according to some administration officials.

The network showed footage of agents inside the Ptech headquarters, searching the offices and going through the company's computers.

The agents brought their own computers with them to download files from the firm's computers.

"What we have to do now is a damage assessment" of what computer systems and software may have been compromised to prevent further loss, former FBI terrorism expert David Cid told Fox News. "Even the most innocent of information can be exploited."

Cid said seemingly mundane information such as how many FBI employees are on vacation during Christmas can be used against the United States by a good intelligence analyst.

"I think it reminds us of the sophistication and reach of our adversary," Cid said.

The raid was part of Operation Greenquest, a federal counter-terrorism financial crimes task force, and was carried out by agents from various federal agencies including the IRS, FBI and Secret Service. The operation is run by Treasury and has been investigating the funding of terror groups.

In recent months, there has been squabbling between the FBI and Customs Service over who should control these investigations.

Although the investigation is currently the responsibility of the Treasury Department, sources told Fox News that if the terrorism allegations are serious enough, the matter will be turned over to the FBI.

No arrests have been made or are contemplated in the near future, said a law enforcement official, but the investigation is continuing.

[Kilmer17]

One day our country will wake up and realize that our main enemy is Saudi Arabia and the Muslims that run it.

[BG]

at least they're trying