Source: 2.7 terabytes of data recovered from bin Laden compound

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20060493-10391695.html

Source: 2.7 terabytes of data recovered from bin Laden compound
Posted by Emily Rand


A law enforcement source tells CBS News that 2.7 terabytes of data were recovered from the laptops, computers, hard drives and other storage devices seized from the bin Laden compound. It's unclear whether all of the 2.7 terabytes are original files or if there are multiple copies of files. To put the amount of data recovered in perspective, just one terabyte of data could hold about 2,000 hours of audio or 220 million pages of text.

Intelligence officials have not said how they are analyzing the data, but a DOD computer forensic analyst who works on computers captured on the battlefield tells CBS News forensic analysts are most likely using search indexing tools and software to rapidly analyze seized electronic devices to locate information of interest to the intelligence committee.

Sources said much of the material seized in the daring raid was encrypted so the messages could not be read if they were intercepted.

Among the material confiscated was al Qaida propaganda material including al Qaida messaging strategies to inspire and recruit new Jihadists. There is some indication that bin Laden was continuing to develop his strategy to utilize homegrown operatives that were intimately famiilar with the countries in which they lived. There was also material on current events, in an apparent effort to keep bin Laden abreast on news from around the world.

snip//

Sources say it could take weeks or months to get a handle on what the U.S. has and what the value of it is.

CBS News' Pat Milton contributed to this story

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20060493-10391695.html

Clearly the fucker got lazy.

Newegg currently has 3.5Tb drive for $159, for comparison.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=15&name=Hard-Drives

NYT details the data collected thusly:
"the team found a trove of information and had the time to remove much of it: about 100 thumb drives, DVDs and computer disks, along with 10 computer hard drives and 5 computers. There were also piles of paper documents in the house."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/us/politics/05binladen.html?_r=1

Oh, and actually, you want to "count" operating system files as well (as data can be tucked in there) along with "empty" space (as encrypted volumes can be hidden in there).

But then again, this info probably goes back many years. It'll be interesting to find out what they've uncovered. Hopefully this will lead to destroying various sleeper cells around the world.

It's kind of hard to get Windows in that part of the world.

And probably a cracked copy of Lord of the Rings, too.

:evilgrin:

:thumbsup:

:rofl:

I wish it had been about this rather then the yarn about him using his wife as a human shield. Then again who am I to second guess, I doubt I could have done better.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/3/worldupdates/2011-05-03T052636Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-567208-2&sec=Worldupdates

Well I think this probably explains why they said it in the first place. Tell a lie and then walk it back quietly and most people will only ever hear the propaganda rather then the truth.

though I guess it doesn't much matter at this point.

:hide:

The American public, meanwhile, will get a peek at bin Laden's life inside the secret compound in Abbottabad on Saturday, according to U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the data has not yet been released.

New, unreleased bin Laden propaganda tapes as well as footage of him moving about the compound are expected to be made public, officials said. Still cloaked in secrecy, however, are photographs of the dead terror leader, who was shot once in the head and once in the chest by the Navy SEAL team that swept into the compound in the dark, early morning hours Monday local time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bin_laden_al_qaida

..... someone's got a lot of BS to sift through.

IIRC, the e-mail system was outsourced and the e-mails were never recovered.

This story is an example of bullshit journalism at its best.

I have 2 TB on my home desktop PC.

Great news to hear.

The remaining 100 gigs are an intelligence treasure trove though!

and your henchmen need to download the latest viral videos to show you.