Taiwan tracking IP of terror threat e-mail

Source: etaiwan
Law enforcement authorities are tracking the Internet Protocol (IP) of an e-mail received by Taipei police Wednesday that threatened to attack skyscrapers in Taiwan's two biggest cities, Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah said Friday.

"Based on previous experience, the terror threat will most likely turn out to be a hoax, but we are still following standard operation procedures to tighten security at places mentioned in the e-mail and investigating whether the message came from a terrorist organization," Jiang said.

Because an initial investigation showed the threatening e-mail came from abroad, Jiang said law enforcement authorities were seeking foreign assistance in tracking the e-mail's IP.

The message, received by the Taipei City Police Department, was signed by a sender calling itself "Aryan Nation" and said "flammable chemicals" would be placed in four of Taiwan's tallest buildings -- Taipei 101 and Shin Kong Life Tower in Taipei, and the Chang-Gu World Trade Center and Tuntex Sky Tower in Kaohsiung.

The roughly 100-word e-mail in English was supposedly sent from the United States.

Asked whether any domestic high-rise commercial building had purchased insurance against terrorism, Jiang said his ministry was not authorized to demand commercial building owners to buy such a policy.

"What we are doing now is asking buildings mentioned in the e-mail to heighten their alert and strengthen security while directing local police bureaus to assist the buildings' managements in tightening security both openly and covertly," Jiang said.

According to the minister, Taiwan's police agencies tend to receive several terror threats each year, mostly claiming to target airports, aircraft and noted commercial skyscrapers. Three such threats have been received so far this year, he said.

Those threats were hoaxes, Jiang said, and the government has no plans at the moment to raise the domestic terror alert to the levels adopted in countries that have suffered terrorist attacks in the past, such as the United States and Britain.

"Overreaction could exert a high cost on social stability. Nevertheless, police will cautiously deal with every threat and will not overlook any clue," Jiang said