Jungle Telegraph

21st February 1999

Psy wars and cyber hacks

Has the 'info war' or 'cyber war' reached the military establishment in Colombo ?

Computer experts there are talking about two separate attempts by hackers to break into a public web site managed by this establishment. There is increasing concern since the site itself is a counter psy war campaign against Tiger guerrillas. A probe is now under way to ascertain whether this attempt, declared as the first such hacking recorded locally, originated locally or abroad. Threats of dedicated computer hackers getting into computer systems to carry out sabotage has become a serious threat in some parts of Europe and America.

The dangers posed by these technological capabilities have, funny enough, acquired a new acronym 'Weapons of Mass Disruption' like its well known equivalent Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

Soliders and parcels

The household of a leading legal eagle were both baffled and shocked when a group of Army men in uniform delivered a parcel. Both the soldiers and the parcel were never expected.

So the legal eagle, whose job it is to deal with those who are on the wrong side of the law, immediately raised the issue with the top brass. Quite naturally, he was perturbed about the whole episode. Why should armed men bring in a suspicious parcel to his house ? It turned out that the soldiers had gone to the wrong household. The correct recipient, who held the same name, was some distance away. The parcel of course contained some clothes.

Attacking themselves

CCMP boys (Corps Ceylon Military Police as they continue to be called) have arrested 24 soldiers and launched a top level inquiry.

Their charge ? An alleged attack on their own camp at Wilgamvehera. Even the young commanding officer of the unit is reportedly injured in the incident.

Bravo Seals

Top officials at AHQ remain tight lipped about the cause for the incident. They do admit it had no connection with any guerrilla attack.

A United States Navy SEALS commando teaching his local counterparts their finer art somewhere in the deep south showed his mettle as a good samaritan elsewhere. The man was on the beach at Hikkaduwa on holiday when he saw a group of thugs harass a woman tourist. Things were turning out to be crude and ugly when he barged in and saved her.

A case of a US commando saving an Aussie girl on Sri Lankan soil !!

Special Assignment

Editorial/Opinion Contents