It is always informative to engage in a retrospective assessment of the use of technology in a terrorist atrocity and see what we can do to make their activities more difficult (and prevent knee jerk reactions that only make the lives of law-abiding people more difficult). The first reports on the use of mobiles by suicide attackers of Mumbai are coming out:
Mr. Muzammil, who is the right-hand man to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakvhi, the operational commander of the group, talked by satellite phone to the attackers from Pakistan when the gunmen were in the Taj and Oberoi hotels, the Western official said.
The attackers also used the cellphones of people they killed to call back to Mr. Muzammil somewhere in Pakistan, the official said.
One use is clear: they killed people; took their mobiles and called the mastermind of LeT back in Pakistan. Nothing we can do about this, realistically.
The other is not as clear. So Muzammil uses a satphone in Pakistan. How does he talk to the cannon fodder? Did they carry satphones? If yes, why did they have to use the mobiles of the people they killed (saving money is not an issue when you are on a suicide mission)? If the raiders did not have satphones, did Muzammil call them through the Taj exchange (I am basing this question on the report that some of these murderers booked a room at the Taj and stayed for several days)?
Can someone shed light on these questions please?
2 Comments
deveniya
reportedly you need an identity card to purchase a sim card in Mumbai. If the attackers didn’t have any ground support for thier operation from Mumbai they have to rely on the mobiles of the victims (a roaming gsm from pakistan will expose thier connections) . Why didn’t they cary sat-phones…may be the outfit was not that sofisticated…..
Chanuka Wattegama
This is the first time I hear use of mobiles by Mumbai attackers.
Recovery of five satellite phones was reported earlier. So I guess they used satellite phones as primary communication means. They could not be that stupid to use only mobiles. A mobile network can be brought down. More difficult to block satellite channels.
So why they use mobiles? Dunno for sure. But guess only few are equipped with satellite phones. Others need some other mean, and why not use a freely available mobile? It might have been a bonus, not something planned.
Rethinking Sri Lanka’s Data Centre Hub Ambition
The idea of turning Sri Lanka into a regional data centre hub is an attractive one, particularly in the context of growing global demand for digital infrastructure and AI-driven services. However, it raises important economic questions, especially whether this is a viable and high-return investment strategy for a small, fiscally constrained economy like Sri Lanka.
Nepal’s digital crossroads: building a transparent data governance framework
Nepal’s evolving digital landscape highlights a growing tension between constitutional guarantees of privacy and access to information, and a fragmented, outdated data governance framework. In a recent article published in Republica on March 17, 2026, Avash Mainali, Country Researcher for Nepal for LIRNEasia’s D4D Asia project, argues that while the introduction of the Personal Data Protection Policy, 2082 (2025), marks a positive step, its impact will depend on whether it can move beyond aspirational language to enforceable rights.
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya Shares Insights on AI and Labour at ISLE Conference 2026
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming labour markets worldwide. In the Global South, however, these changes are unfolding unevenly, shaped by labour markets defined by high levels of informality, uneven social protection, and large skills gaps.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific