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U.S. GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATORS raided a Quincy, Massachusetts, software firm with alleged ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network Thursday night, according to Paul Bresson, a spokesman in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Washington office.

Ptech, which counts as clients sensitive U.S. government bodies such as the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Naval Air Systems Command, is believed to be secretly owned by Saudi millionaire Qassin al-Kadi, according to a report published on Abcnews.com, which called him one of 12 Saudi businessmen accused of funneling millions of dollars to al-Qaeda. The company's Web site also lists the Federal Aviation Administration, NATO, and the FBI itself as customers.

The firm, which is privy to top-secret U.S. government information, is allegedly under investigation for funnelling millions of dollars to al-Qaeda.

Bresson would not comment on the details of the raid, which was carried out by customs agents and coordinated by the White House, according to published reports, but said that Ptech was informed of the government's intention to search their offices and consented to it.

Multiple phone calls to the Ptech offices Friday morning were not returned.

Ptech was founded in 1994 by its current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Oussama Ziadé, along with James Cerrato, the company's chief product officer and Hussein Ibrahim, its vice president and chief scientist.

Ziadé holds a Masters degree in science and software engineering and is said to have "participated in the Ph.D. program in high energy physics" at Harvard University, according to the Ptech Web site.

The company provides so-called "knowledge management" software and services that enable managers at large organizations to visualize complex business organizations and formulate strategies, according to Ptech.

The company's products include KnowledgeBase, a central repository that captures, links and visually depicts relationships between a company's business strategies and its capabilities, as well as analysis and reporting tools that allow customers to test different business scenarios.

According to the company's Web site, Ziadé has raised more than $20 million in investment for the privately-held company.

In addition to its links to the federal government, the company also has high profile business partners, including management consulting firm Booz-Allen & Hamilton and IBM.

When asked Friday about investigator's raid of Ptech and the firm's alleged link with al Qaeda, IBM Spokesman Jeff Gluck said the company was "surprised."

"If called upon by officials, we will cooperate," Gluck said. However, the spokesman added that IBM had no knowledge of the allegations.

According to a report published by Abcnews.com Friday, the probe has recently been given the highest priority inside the U.S. government, and agents have been secretly searching the company's software to see if there were any bugs or back doors that would make it easier for terrorists to hack.

However, reports later in the day indicated that no arrests were made in the raid and the software was deemed safe.

Still, news of the investigation prompted the House of Representatives to perform an internal review of its Ptech software, said Congressman Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio.

According to Ney, the House contacted its Inspector General, who talked to several employees and examined the House's computer systems, Ney said. The inspector felt confident after the review that the systems were safe.

The software work that Ptech performed for the House was minimal and did not give them access to sensitive information, Ney said.

The congressman could not confirm the status of the government's investigation into the software firm. By Scarlet Pruitt and Paul Roberts, infoworld