TELECOM AND HOSTAGE CRISIS

S E C R E T LAGOS 000296 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE PASS DOE FOR DAS JBRODMAN AND CGAY STATE FOR DS/IP/AF, AF/EX, DS/IP/OPO, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/ITA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2036 TAGS: ECPS ECON EINV EIND PGOV PREL NI SUBJECT: TELECOM AND HOSTAGE CRISIS REF: LAGOS 225 Classified By: Acting Consul General William Howe for reasons 1.4 (D/E) ¶1. (S/NF) FBI and Econoff approached Starcomms Managing Director Maher Qubain February 27 to request data on an Internet Protocol (IP) address used by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to send email communications. Maher agreed to provide all data including uniform resource locators (URLs),emails, and any phone numbers traced to the global IP address. Subscribers are using mask routers to make it more difficult to track sources, he said. ¶2. (S/NF) Similar to the first hostage crisis, kidnappers and their sympathizers are finding ways to hide subscriber identities. They are using temporary subscriber identification module (SIM) cards to communicate via phone and hiding IP addresses. ¶3. (S/NF) Comment: Private Telecom Operators can play a key role in providing us with sensitive user information. Starcomms has intimated that they are willing to assist us. End comment. HOWE