United States intelligence agents who examine the computer and storage equipment found in the residence of Osama bin Laden expect a "gold mine" of data that can uncover terror plots, the location of Al Qaeda figures, and sources of funding, according to several former U.S. officials on Wednesday (4 / 5 / 2011).
According to experts, 5 computers, 10 hardware, and 100 storage devices, which were taken away after Osama was killed in the attack on Sunday (05/01/2011), a dramatic breakthrough for U.S. intelligence in the war against Al Qaeda.
"I would be very surprised if this is not a 'gold mine' for us," said former CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin.
"I think we probably will find a report on the potential of planning. We probably will find something about funding. We can learn something about any relationship that he has made or not made by Pakistan. We will know about important aides," said McLaughlin told CNN, Thursday (05/05/2011).
U.S. officials said a special task force comprising experts from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency, the Department of Justice, and other institutions have begun to examine the equipment, a task that will last for months and possibly years.
"The search will focus on early detection of threats that exist and the information that points to other high-value targets in al Qaeda," said Chief Michael Leiter national counterterrorism center to National Public Radio.
"The U.S. government (probably) will add new names on terrorist watch list as a result of information obtained from the pile of computer Osama bin Laden," said Attorney General Eric Holder in a Senate meeting on Wednesday (05/04/2011).
Experts virtual device will first disarm the hardware, to determine the possibility of traps or triggers that can delete all files. Then, they will pull and copy all data stored, examined all temporary files, and tried to penetrate the secret code, according to many analysts.
"They will try to get every drop of this stuff. There is a first layer of data that may be obtained quickly, then there is an additional layer that will require more technical analysis," said James Lewis, a former official at the Department of Defense who work in the field of security and technology .
"It usually takes a long time to tear apart all this," said Lewis, an employee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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