Corbett: Was 9/11 Caused by Cyberattacks and PTech?

I have learned more about enterprise architecture in the last few weeks than I ever could have imagined. Conceptually, the idea is not that complex, but I never could have believed that this type of technology really exists. However, it is 2009 and not 1979. Therefore, I would expect the technology to match the year.

It is argued that various elements had access to certain enterprise architecture programs residing on government computers on September 11, 2001 which would have allowed these elements real time access to certain FAA computers. This access would have given them complete control over everything. The Corbett Report analyzes this possibility and discusses whether the real "cyber 9/11" happened on 9/11.

“Enterprise architecture software” refers to a computer program that allows someone to look at all of the data produced throughout an organization’s structure in real time. This effectively gives the program user a god’s-eye view of an enterprise, allowing for the mapping, visualization and analysis of all transactions, interactions, systems, processes and personnel in the entirety of a business or agency. This type of software could, for example, be used for robust business modeling, allowing for extremely detailed and accurate projections of how changes in an organization’s structure or processes would effect a business’ bottom line. What would happen if two departments were merged, for example, or if a business were to outsource one of its processes.

As this software began to mature in the 1990s, however, it went from a merely useful tool to something truly incredible. Sophisticated enterprise architecture software could, for example, examine all of the transactions taking place across a financial institution in real time and examine that data for possible money laundering operations or rogue traders. Such software could even have potentially detected and identified the insider trading leading up to 9/11. Combined with rudimentary artificial intelligence capabilities, such a program would not only be able to alert the appropriate personnel about such transactions, but even stop them as they are happening. If the software were sophisticated enough, it may even be able to identify the possibility of such transactions before they happen.

The utility of such software for organizations of all stripes should be obvious enough. It is unsurprising, then, that numerous government agencies and powerful corporations were hungry for this software in the 1990s. A surprising number of them, including DARPA, the FBI, the Secret Service, the White House, the Navy, the Air Force, the FAA, NATO, IBM, Booz Allen Hamilton and Price Waterhouse Coopers (amongst many others) turned to a small New England-based software firm called Ptech.

Source: The Corbett Report