Details of Netanyahu's flight to Holland posted on websites

Just as I was browsing a new and important document on cybersecurity, I stumbled on an example of how careless online behavior might create real-world risks.

On Tuesday, one of the best informed websites on airplane spotting in the Netherlands carried details of the flight Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, would take to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport a day later. Scramble.nl, the website concerned, does a great job of informing its readers of upcoming interesting flights, but I guess there is such a thing as too much information.

Yes, those are details of Netanyahu's flight to Amsterdam under the link above. While other forum users claimed such details were "All Highly classified", YS11 saw no harm in posting this information, which is obviously sensitive in nature.

Now, let's just spend a few minutes contemplating what someone with bad intentions could do with these details.

Working with a site like flightradar24 or planefinder, it's quite easy to establish which runway Netanyahu's plane is most likely to land on.

For any bad guy this could be vital information, which is exactly why it should be kept secret. A terrorist could position himself miles from the airport and its security perimeter, but right below the approach path and successfully take down the aircraft with a missile.

Seems far-fetched? Ask the Israelis.

Back in 2002, an Arkia 757 was almost shot down by Islamic radicals right after departure from Mombasa, Kenya. Obviously, acquiring an anti-aircraft weapon is difficult, but not impossible as the Kenyan attack demonstrates.

Just as I'm reviewing this blogpost for publication, it turns out that Netanyahu's plane is not visible on any of the real-time flight tracking sites. Thus a bad guy would need a scanner and a good idea of the routing of different approach paths leading to Schiphol.

How could we track this flight? In this regard, the Israel Airports Authority provides an unexpected helping hand.

Let's recap.

By now we know Netanyahu's expected arrival time (1305), type of aircraft (Boeing 757), aircraft registration (4X-EBU) and parking spot at Schiphol (Y71). What we don't know yet is his flight number. Knowing his flight number would make keeping track of his flight with a radio scanner a lot easier. Can we find out? Yes we can, with a little nerdism..

Schiphol.nl (the official Amsterdam airport website) shows no scheduled flights arriving from Tel Aviv around 13.00. El Al's website (keep in mind, 4X-EBU is an El Al plane) is of no use either.

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport website (maintained by the Israel Airports Authority), gives us an idea. All departures to Amsterdam displayed on this site are easily identifiable as regular passenger flights. KLM 462 and El Al 337 are normal flights between the two cities. However, there is one extraordinary departure to Amsterdam mentioned on Ben Gurion Airport's website. Its scheduled departure time is 0900 (local time) and operates with flight number LY235.

A quick calculation leads to the conclusion that this might very well be the flight that brings Prime Minister Netanyahu to Holland. With a flight duration of approximately 5 hours, LY 235 should land in Amsterdam right around 1300 CET. Exactly the time indicated in the scramble forum. What's more, El Al typically uses a flight number starting with a 3 for all flights to destinations in Western Europe. This particular plane operates with a 200 series flight number, suggesting it is not one of the regular scheduled flights. The fact that it's not mentioned on either Schiphol's website, nor on El Al's site as a scheduled flight makes me feel that this could very well be the actual plane carrying Netanyahu to Holland.

Using this information, any aviation geek with bad intentions and specialized weapons could do real harm. Made easy by information posted on the internet. As simple as that.

Is this blogpost important, or *breaking* or anything? Not really. Public visits by dignitaries always carry some degree of risk that security services and police should mitigate. But just posting obviously sensitive and restricted information like this in an open forum seems like a very bad idea in my opinion.


NOTICE: I managed to compile this information about 15 hours prior to Netanyahu's scheduled arrival in Amsterdam. Obviously, I do not want anyone to be put at risk as a consequence of my blogging, therefore I decided to refrain from posting this piece until Netanyahu landed safely in the Netherlands.

Even though some might interpret this blogpost as a call for not posting information on the web, I actually hope it spurs some people to think more critically of what they decide to put online.

Obviously, it would be impossible to reduce the risk to any high-profile visitor to zero. However, that's not an excuse for posting sensitive information online without any particular reason.

There is absolutely no denying that there is a clear and ongoing threat to Netanyahu's life by a number of radical groups. These groups are not geographically confined to the holy land, but extend beyond and into Europe, as well. It's about time some people took note.

AQ Khan's ongoing Dutch liaisons

I was struck to read a letter written by the infamous AQ Khan to his wife "Khantje" (anyone knows her real name? SEE BELOW) today. The letter had been public for a few months, but I only read it now. An article in Playboy (yes, i know.. only for their great features :)) referred to this document.

The letter, dated 2003, contains instructions to his wife how to handle "If the [Pakistani, WvC] government plays any mischief with me". Khan writes about a number of scandals that he knows of, and which involve himself and the government in Islamabad.

Even though a lot of questions come to mind after reading the entire letter, the biggest issue plaguing my mind: Who is "the Telegraaf guy" who would have gotten a world exclusive interview with Ms Khan about all the mysterious dealings he was involved in?

Apparently, AQ Khan's personal ties still reach back to Holland, the country where he first obtained detailed knowledge of nuclear matters.

UPDATE 30 DEC 2011: Khan's wife first name seems to be Henny, according to various reports. Some reports say she holds a South African and British passport, while others claim she is a Dutch national. Afrikaans, one of the languages spoken in South Africa, is very similar to Dutch, which may explain the confusion. In any case, go to Fox News Insider for family pics and the original, handwritten letter, discussed above.
If anyone can shed light on the nationality question, please drop a note in the comments section.

Five months among a new Japanese elite

“Okimashoo!!”
Every weekday morning at 5.55AM a small group of students is woken up in Chigasaki, one hour South of Tokyo. In barely one minute's time, everybody gets dressed in a gymsuit and start running to the inner court, spurred by the beat of a J-Pop hit.

Welcome to the Matsushita Institute for Government and Management (japanese: Matsushita Seikei Juku), a private school where a new generation of Japanese politicians are trained for political leadership according to the philosophy and spirit of Panasonic-founder Konosuke Matsushita. The institute's alumni increasingly find their way into the highest levels of Japan's politcal elite. One its former students recently got the top-job when Yoshihiko Noda was installed by the Emperor as new Prime Minister on behalf of the Democratic Party of Japan. His main contender, Seiji Maehara also studied at the Matsushita Institute, as did a number of other senior politicians both in the DPJ and LDP.

During the five months I spent at the Matsushita Institute as an “overseas intern”, I managed to get a rare inside glimpse of the training centre that's normally fairly closed to outsiders. Having been dispatched to the Matsushita Institute as a participant in the Dutch government's Japan Prizewinners Programme. I didn't really know what to expect there, but soon found that the rigorous daily routine at the Matsushita Institute primarily revolved around Japanese self-conciousness and the value of “interhuman relationships”. In practice, this means that a lot of time is devoted to the minute details of Japanese tea ceremonies. The exact right way of holding one's teacup and sitting cross-legged (behind the back) are of tremendous importance and with muscle-aching consequence. All students are immersed in weekly kendo (martial art) classes and calligraphy lessons. As a clumsy Dutchman, I was occassionally the target of mild ridicule during those hours, as I never really understood how to properly handle the pencil or sword.

Inspirator Matsushita's writings are carefully read and debated by the Institute's students. His most famous work, Peace and Happiness through Prosperity, gives rise to particular admiration and discussion. Matsushita was strongly convinced that a sound body needs a sound mind. That's why every morning the campus is rigorously cleaned by the students – every stray leaf has to be swept away. After breakfast, all students and employees recite Matsushita's life mottos during the morning appeal. The daily ceremony concludes with singing the Institute song.

The institute was founded in 1979 when Matsushita was 85-years old. Japan's economic growth seemed unstoppable and managementgurus from the US and Europe wanted to learn as much as they could about the Japanese model. To them Konosuke Matsushita was the undoubted managementgod. From a shed near Osaka, he started selling lamps and managed to expand his company to an electronics giant with tens of thousands of employees around the world.

Even though Japan experienced economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s, Matsushita reckoned the country's politicians were too stubborn and lacked adequate foresight. In Matsushita's opinion, Japan urgently needed more innovative political leadership. His aim was to open up political discourse from partisan and factional deadlock into a more productive debate focusing on the future and real solutions for the people. With a new generation of ambitious and smart future politicians, he wanted to explore questions like: can a country exist without imposing taxes, and what should be the role of commercial enterprise in wider society.

The March 11th tsunami and ensuing Fukushima nuclear disaster provide the Matsushita Institute-trained Prime Minister Noda with an opportunity to put some of Matsushita's ideals into practice. When the nuclear reactor went out of control, owner TEPCO's board of directors decided to provide only few details to the government in Tokyo about the gigantic problems at its facility. As the risk to ordinary people across the country increased, international and Japanese observers criticized Japan's closed managementstyle, which - as is often asserted - stifles crisismanagement and rigorous decision-making when it's most urgently needed.

As ciriticism against Japan's management style mounted both inside and outside of the country, the call for a new form of leadership has the potential to resonate stronger than ever. Perhaps more than in previous years, the enormous disaster that struck Japan last March and the resulting popular demand for reform, could spur real change in Japan's management style. Noda could be in a position to achieve some real progress. However, since he is the fifth Prime Minister in six years time, it remains to be seen whether he will have the political endurance to bring serious change to Japan's political system and its decision-making culture.

**
Wouter van Cleef, September 2011

Cyber Command? Niet nodig! Wouter van Cleef en Sebastiaan van der Lubben in Trouw

Shameless self-promotion. A piece I wrote together with Sebastiaan van der Lubben in Trouw [in Dutch, major national daily newspaper] on 10 September 2011. It deals with cyberthreats and how to respond to such attacks.

TROUWFINAAL

Israel to establish embassy in Juba, South Sudan

I just read on Foreign Policy's Passport that Israel and South Sudan have announced their intention to establish full diplomatic relations.

This is a mutually understandable move. South Sudan basically welcomes everyone who's willing to embrace their sovereignty and independence. The same goes for Israel, even though the state of Israel has obvioulsy been around for much longer than South Sudan. Israel recognizes it can sometimes benefit from unexpected allies in forums like the UN General Assembly.
Another element that might have come into consideration on the Israeli side is that the American christian-right, who love Israel, also adore South Sudan. Sarah Palin's visit to Juba as the nation declared independence is testimony to this general sentiment.

More important however could be Israel's need for a strategic listening post in the area. In recent years, Israel has been suspected of launching a number of air strikes on targets in Sudan.

As far as I can recall, the first recent air strike in Sudan that was alledgedly carried out by Israel came in January 2009. As Israel was engaged in operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, intelligence indicated Iran might be transporting weapons on a ship to Port Sudan, which would then be trucked to Gaza through Egypt and Sudan. Because it would be politically impossible for Israel to attack a convoy in Egypt, the Air Force was apparently asked to carry out a raid on the convoy while it was still in Sudan. In the lingo of special operations, Israeli PM Olmert confirmed nor denied Israeli involvement, but did get a message across.

A few months later a somewhat similar story emerged. A ship alledgedly carrying Iranian weapons destined for Gaza sank as a result of an explosion, whether it was a torpedo or aerial attack seems unclear. A similar pattern emerges: Sudan blames Israel, which only responds by saying it will act against terror worldwide.

In April 2011, another mysterious attack hit a Sudan. This time, a lone car carrying "an Islamist responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas" was targeted. Sudan was quick to blame Israel, which once more confirmed nor denied involvement.

As far as I know, these are all the incidents in recent years on Sudanese territory that were blamed on Israel. These reports don't seem entirely incredible. Should anyone know of more incidents, do drop a note in the comments..!

With these allegations of Israeli attacks in Sudan in mind, an official Israeli presence in Juba could be of tremendous value for Israeli intelligence gathering in the region. And with the Israelis potentially thinking of getting some arms deals done with the South Sudanese, there's even the prospect of a military-to-military cooperation which would really add weight to Israeli significance in the region.

In sum, even though Israel and South Sudan are just beginning to cuddle up, we could see some seriously interesting developments in their relationship and in the region in years to come!