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Smash and grab
February 20, 2002THE persistent theft of components from one of Britain`s largest academic super-computers is taking a sinister turn. A scientist is warning that thieves might be selling the computer`s brainpower to Iraq or al-Qaida for clandestine weapons research.
"These computers are perfect for weapons research," says Carlos Frenk, director of Durham University`s Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC). "There`s clearly something going on here that should be of great concern to political authorities."
The computer in question is the ICC`s £1.5 million Cosmology Machine, which began work in July 2001. It was designed to simulate how the Universe evolved as galaxies formed and clustered together, and could perform a mammoth 456 billion calculations every second.
On 18 December last year, thieves broke into the ICC and ruined four of the computer`s 12 hefty circuit boards while trying to prise them out with a screwdriver. Initially, Frenk thought that the thieves were clueless opportunists who hoped the boards might have resale value, not realising that their botched attempt would make their haul useless anyway.
But when the thieves returned, suspicions grew that the boards were being stolen to order for a particular client. On 22 December, they escaped with four boards after being chased by a security guard. A third attempted burglary in January this year failed (New Scientist, 12 January, p 13).
The ICC replaced some boards and upgraded security measures. But about eight robbers broke in again on 3 February, this time bagging all the circuit boards, including previously damaged ones that were awaiting repair. When challenged, they threatened to shoot a security guard.
Frenk says the pattern gives cause for concern. The repeated break-ins suggest the thieves are willing to risk long prison sentences and that they have already been able to sell the boards on. No legitimate organisation would buy such unique and identifiable stolen goods.
The thieves are also taking boards that they know to be damaged. So their client must have enough electronics and engineering expertise to repair them and construct the complex supporting frames needed to operate them. "That`s one reason I started to think there`s something very sinister about this,"says Frenk.
He concludes that the hardware might be sold to terrorist organisations, or states such as Iraq that covet nuclear technology, for weapons research. Supercomputers are used to simulate the ignition and evolution of nuclear reactions. "If you want to simulate a nuclear explosion, this is exactly the sort of computer you would use," Frenk says.
The world`s fastest computer, for example, carries out virtual testing to allow the US to maintain its weapons stockpile. Known as the ASCI White, it covers an area the size of two basketball courts and performs 12 trillion calculations per second at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
Computers like the ICC`s are also used for air-traffic control and code breaking. Another possible use is predicting the outcome of bioterrorist attacks, by simulating the spread of infection throughout a population.
"Today you cannot have a vigorous weapons programme-biological, nuclear or chemical-without lots of computing power," says Frenk. He adds that computer thieves probably view universities as a soft target because they don`t have the fortress-like security of military labs.
But Daryl Landeg of Britain`s Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston says weapons developers probably wouldn`t go to all this trouble. "There are easier things they can do," he says. Although some of the most complex studies of weapons design require specialised machines, much of the work could be done with off-the-shelf computers. "You can buy a bunch of PCs, link them together with decent networking, then use open-source software to run them as a parallel computer," says Landeg.
But Frenk says that even if there`s a small chance his hunch is correct, there is cause for concern. "But as far as I can tell, this is being treated as a sort of low-level crime."
Durham police say they`re keeping an open mind. They are working on the case with London`s Metropolitan Police and don`t want to discuss their lines of enquiry. "Our main concern is to try and identify who`s organising it," a spokesman said. "If there was further concern about using these computers for weapons control or something, that would be an issue for another agency, such as the Foreign Office."
Author: Hazel Muir
http://www.newscientist.com">New Scientist issue 23rd February 2002
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com"> http://www.newscientist.com
New Scientist
On 18 December last year, thieves broke into the ICC and ruined four of the computer`s 12 hefty circuit boards while trying to prise them out with a screwdriver. Initially, Frenk thought that the thieves were clueless opportunists who hoped the boards might have resale value, not realising that their botched attempt would make their haul useless anyway.
But when the thieves returned, suspicions grew that the boards were being stolen to order for a particular client. On 22 December, they escaped with four boards after being chased by a security guard. A third attempted burglary in January this year failed (New Scientist, 12 January, p 13).
The ICC replaced some boards and upgraded security measures. But about eight robbers broke in again on 3 February, this time bagging all the circuit boards, including previously damaged ones that were awaiting repair. When challenged, they threatened to shoot a security guard.
Frenk says the pattern gives cause for concern. The repeated break-ins suggest the thieves are willing to risk long prison sentences and that they have already been able to sell the boards on. No legitimate organisation would buy such unique and identifiable stolen goods.
The thieves are also taking boards that they know to be damaged. So their client must have enough electronics and engineering expertise to repair them and construct the complex supporting frames needed to operate them. "That`s one reason I started to think there`s something very sinister about this,"says Frenk.
He concludes that the hardware might be sold to terrorist organisations, or states such as Iraq that covet nuclear technology, for weapons research. Supercomputers are used to simulate the ignition and evolution of nuclear reactions. "If you want to simulate a nuclear explosion, this is exactly the sort of computer you would use," Frenk says.
The world`s fastest computer, for example, carries out virtual testing to allow the US to maintain its weapons stockpile. Known as the ASCI White, it covers an area the size of two basketball courts and performs 12 trillion calculations per second at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
Computers like the ICC`s are also used for air-traffic control and code breaking. Another possible use is predicting the outcome of bioterrorist attacks, by simulating the spread of infection throughout a population.
"Today you cannot have a vigorous weapons programme-biological, nuclear or chemical-without lots of computing power," says Frenk. He adds that computer thieves probably view universities as a soft target because they don`t have the fortress-like security of military labs.
But Daryl Landeg of Britain`s Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston says weapons developers probably wouldn`t go to all this trouble. "There are easier things they can do," he says. Although some of the most complex studies of weapons design require specialised machines, much of the work could be done with off-the-shelf computers. "You can buy a bunch of PCs, link them together with decent networking, then use open-source software to run them as a parallel computer," says Landeg.
But Frenk says that even if there`s a small chance his hunch is correct, there is cause for concern. "But as far as I can tell, this is being treated as a sort of low-level crime."
Durham police say they`re keeping an open mind. They are working on the case with London`s Metropolitan Police and don`t want to discuss their lines of enquiry. "Our main concern is to try and identify who`s organising it," a spokesman said. "If there was further concern about using these computers for weapons control or something, that would be an issue for another agency, such as the Foreign Office."
Author: Hazel Muir
http://www.newscientist.com">New Scientist issue 23rd February 2002
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com"> http://www.newscientist.com
New Scientist
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