Will Your Mobile Phone Be Jammed Next Time Terrorists Attack?

from the what-good-will-that-do? dept

The Associated Press is running a story saying that police in LA are experimenting with a plan to jam mobile phone communications (which seems to be a violation of federal laws) in the event of a terrorist attack. The reasoning seems to be that, because some terrorists have been using mobile phone detonated bombs, this could be a method to prevent such a bomb. Of course, the havoc caused by not allowing mobile phones to work over a large region filled with panicked people (should a terrorist attacks till occur) seems particularly dangerous. Besides, imagine just how upset people will get if this jamming system is used in a false alarm? Anyone who pushed the button when it turned out to be a false alarm would clearly be risking their job. If anything, I'd bet the public admission of this plan is more to scare off potential terrorists from using such a bomb.
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  • identicon
    Mikester, 10 May 2004 @ 9:16am

    No Subject Given

    If anything, I'd bet the public admission of this plan is more to scare off potential terrorists from using such a bomb.

    ...that or the terrorists will come up with some other methods for remote detonation that doesn't use cellular, WIFI anyone?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Not A. Zealot, 10 May 2004 @ 10:00pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      or the terrorists will come up with some other methods for remote detonation that doesn't use cellular, WIFI anyone?
      Or the terrorists will implement a high-tech "deadman's switch", where if the cell phone attached to the bomb doesn't receive a call with a pre-arranged one-time-password within a given time, it detonates out of spite, sort of like a movie co-starring Sandra Bullock.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


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