The controversial e-mail spoofing by members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been described as "the work of amateurs with little or no understanding of technology" by Mervin Pearce, a member of the board of directors of the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium.
He was commenting on the report by the inspector general of intelligence (IGI) Zolile Ngcakani after an investigation into an alleged campaign by a suspended NIA agent to imply there was a plot within government to rid itself of supporters of former deputy president Jacob Zuma.
"A person with little knowledge is more dangerous than a person with knowledge. NIA often recruits 'professionals` to assist in `projects` however, more often than not, the people willing to assist are not really security professionals but rather those who enjoy `cloak and dagger` reality games," Pearce says.
Concerning the findings of the report, Pearce says they seem to be based on the mistakes in the headers and an analysis of the protocols.
"However, it does not say anything about the security of the computers themselves. For instance, how was the data accessed? This could taint the integrity of the data and so any admissibility in court," he says.
Pearce says the fact that spoof e-mails could have been generated through technology such as "anonymisers" - Web sites that help mask the original identity of the sender - or through an "e-mail impersonator" indicate the sender in this case had very little real knowledge about the Internet or IT in general.
Not true reflection
An analyst with the Institute for Security Studies, Prince Mashele, says while the e-mail spoofs can be described as amateurish, they do not necessarily reflect the true capabilities of the country`s intelligence organs.
"This seems to be more a case of lack of proper oversight and an attempt by certain people to promote their own political agenda," he says.
Mashele says the intelligence agencies, including the NIA, have been tasked to gather information on potential threats against the country and that includes monitoring Internet-based communications.
"However, they are only supposed to monitor such communications with a warrant issued by a court," he says.
Called "Project Avani", the e-mails were allegedly part of an intelligence gathering assignment by the NIA to monitor the SA political terrain.
Former NIA director general Billy Masetlha was implicated by the IGI`s report. He and businessman Muzi Kunene, who was allegedly hired by the NIA, face the possibility of charges of fraud and contravening the Regulation for the Interception and Monitoring of Communications Act.
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