WASHINGTON (AP) - Osama bin Laden was in hiding and had no Internet access, but still managed to be a prolific e-mailer.

Two people with knowledge of the investigation into information from bin Laden's compound have told The Associated Press that a careful system was set up that allowed him to leave no digital fingerprints.

The two officials say bin Laden would type a message and put it on a flash drive that was given to a trusted courier. The courier would go to a distant Internet cafe and send it out. The process was reversed for incoming e-mails.

The AP has learned that the system has left behind a mountain of data, including thousands of messages and potentially hundreds of e-mail addresses.

 

 

Associated Press