Al-Qaeda Computer Hackers

Mohammad Afroze Abdul Razzak, age 25, is a captured member of the al-Qaeda terrorist network who says that terrorists infiltrated Microsoft and sabotaged their Windows XP operating system.

Razzak was arrested by police in Bombay, India on October 2nd. He admitted to helping plot terrorist attacks in India, Britain and Australia. During his interrogation, he also claimed that members of Osama bin Laden?s al-Qaeda network, posing as computer programmers, were able to gain employment at Microsoft and attempted to plant ?trojans, trapdoors, and bugs in Windows XP,? according to Ravi Visvesvaraya Prasad, a New Delhi telecommunication consultant.

Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said his claims about the company were ?bizarre and unsubstantiated and should be treated skeptically.? According to Desler, Microsoft put tough security measures in place during the development of Windows to ensure that the source code remains secret. Microsoft launched Windows XP in late October. While the company has already issued security patches for the software, there is no evidence of illegal hacking into the operating system.

Razzak told Indian authorities that he was part of a team of Al Qaeda terrorists that planned to hijack an aircraft in London on September 11 and crash it into the British House of Commons or into London?s Tower Bridge. British intelligence officials have dismissed the claims, according to a report last week in the British newspaper The Guardian.

However, American forces searching abandoned training camps near Kandahar for traces of chemical and biological weapons found a detailed plan in one of the camps about terrorist attacks in London. The information includes instruction on how to build a remote controlled van bomb, similar to those used by al-Qaeda in Kenya and Tanzania, which would be targeted on the financial Moorgate area, the equivalent of New York?s Wall Street. Razzak also told investigators the team planned a similar attack on the Rialto Towers, the tallest building in Australia.

Under interrogation, Razzak warned police that al-Qaeda was planning an attack on India?s parliament in New Delhi. On Thursday, terrorists stormed the Indian Parliament with grenades and guns, killing seven people and injuring at least 20. The five attackers were killed in the ensuing battle with security forces.

Razzak received training as a pilot in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. A defense attorney hired by Razzak?s father asked the court to allow his son to be examined by a psychiatrist, but his request was rejected. The Times of India says that ?official sources? believe he is ?very close? to al-Qaeda but authorities find some of his claims inconsistent and ?too theatrical to believe.?

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