The Big Bad Reveal

Technology has given us the few glimpses of brutal Syrian repression we have from smart phone-collected imagery, generated by protesters in the streets and bold journalists sneaking into the country and Skyping or “phoning” their reports back to their media outlets’ headquarters. BlackBerry Messenger allowed opposition forces to gather and protest, coordinating the downfall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt. Technology is truly a force against brutal repression and an enabler of populist causes. But aside from simple overall repressive technological responses – such as Iran’s closing its Internet reach at its borders and tracking key word to find dissidents – the very technology that has enabled such pervasive journalism is now being used to track and kill them where they stand.

The old standard, arresting/detaining or expelling journalists, has given way to a different governmental quest where death is the goal. In the third week of February, four journalists – including world-famous Marie Colvin (from the Times of London) and French photojournalist Rémi Ochlik – lost their lives in a Homs neighborhood (Baba Amr) as pinpoint artillery shelling found its mark, taking out an opposition media center with clinical precision. The tell-tale signs of electronic communications probably left easily-traceable finger prints that gave away the location as if it were clearly identified on a map... which in fact was the ultimate result.

Electronic communications can be traced. Start with Skype, which is a bandwidth hog, and so in the middle of an intense attack, if someone is consuming massive Web capacity when everyone else is ducking for cover, finding the user is pretty easy. Colvin was particularly fond of sending in her reports via Skype, which she felt was more secure than cell phones. The media center also provided a VSAT satellite hook-up for reporters, but the Syrians were well-equipped with state-of-the-art technology to hone in on that link that was a huge easily-tracked electronic beacon. The Syrian government has clearly dedicated the manpower and commitment to technology to undermine efforts to communicate the horrors of their actions by crushing the ability to send signals overseas. For those with the willingness to prioritize such efforts, the ability to crack down is clearly available.

“A 2011 report from the Horst-Goertz Institute for IT Security in Germany found serious flaws in satellite phone cryptography. The vast majority of satellite phones--even those used by war reporters--send GPS info up into orbit. Security researcher Jacob Appelbaum of Tor told the Electronic Frontier Foundation that it’s easy for satellite phone providers to accidentally disclose the location of users. In addition, technology is also commercially available that lets governments eavesdrop on satellite phone conversations and locate individual users. American government agencies are particular fans of the Portable Thuraya monitoring system for satellite phones, manufactured by Polish firm TS2.... What is known is that the Syrian government does have sophisticated surveillance equipment. Last year, American firms Blue Coat Systems and NetApp were caught violating embargo laws by selling monitoring software to the Syrian government.” FastCompany.com, March 6^th.

Journalists are finding ways to wear flak-jackets, and where their media won’t fund that costs, there are agencies “lending” such equipment to reporters heading into the field. There are other defensive responses as well: “Nonprofit organization MobileActive recently launched a project called SaferMobile that provides various encryption and anonymizing apps for mobile phones. SaferMobile’s toolkit is directly intended for use by activists and journalists working under the noses of repressive regimes around the world. Funding for SaferMobile is provided by the U.S. State Department, Google, and a number of other donors...One of the longest-running advocacy groups around, the Committee to Protect Journalists, runs an education and training program for journalists in dire situations, including financial and logistical assistance in going into exile if necessary. The CPJ is currently warning journalists in Syria not to use satellite phones.” FastCompany.

Syria’s efforts are extremely focused. When a local makes waves, he or she seems to be signing their own death warrant. “Rami al-Sayed, the best known Syrian war video blogger, hosted his footage and livestreams on Bambuser's website. [In early March], al-Sayed was killed in a government shelling attack in Homs, shortly after his footage was used by Al Jazeera, the BBC, and Sky News.” FastCompany. As Syria’s brutal repression, mindlessly taking out civilian targets and decimating its own people, it seems as if this rage against civilians looks more like genocide and less like civil war every day.

I’m Peter Dekom, and these words sung by the late Janis Joplin ring in my ears: “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose...”