Using intermediaries and inexpensive computer disks, Osama bin Laden managed to send emails while in hiding, without leaving a digital fingerprint for U.S. eavesdroppers to find.
His system was painstaking and slow, but it worked, and it allowed him to become a prolific email writer despite not having Internet or phone lines running to his compound.
His methods, described in new detail to The Associated Press by a counterterrorism official and a second person briefed on the U.S. investigation, frustrated Western efforts to trace him through cyberspace. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence analysis.
Bin Laden’s system was built on discipline and trust…
From Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110513/ap_on_re_us/us_bin_laden