Daily Intel Brief
A new al-Qaeda affiliate emerges in Bangladesh, Eritrean authorities increase military mobilization, and the FSB arrests 8 people allegedly involved in the Crimean bridge blast...
Counterterrorism
On October 6, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police, arrested seven members of a new militant organization, Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya. While members of the group have been active since 2017, it was only…
As Indonesia marks 20 years since the Bali bombings, some of those convicted in connection with the attacks, which killed more than 200 people, say they have renounced their hardline leanings, drawing renewed attention to the country’s deradicalisation efforts. Umar Patek…
Military & Defense
North Korea has test-fired a pair of long-range strategic cruise missiles, with leader Kim Jong Un lauding another successful display of the country’s tactical nuclear strike capability. The test took place on Wednesday and was aimed at “enhancing the combat efficiency and might…
Eritrean authorities have intensified military mobilisation and are hunting down draft dodgers across the country, as the war in neighbouring Ethiopia escalates, multiple Eritrean sources have told the BBC. The latest round-ups are the worst so far as women have not been…
Cybersecurity
The advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Polonium attacked more than a dozen organizations using at least seven custom backdoors since September of last year, according to a new report from ESET. The Slovakia-based cybersecurity firm found the group focused…
Election workers in US battleground states have been hit by a surge in phishing and malware-laced emails in the run up to their primaries and the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. That's according to Trellix security researchers, who said malicious emails sent to Arizona…
Counterintelligence & Espionage
Russia’s domestic intelligence service said Wednesday it had arrested eight people in connection with a blast that damaged a key bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, blaming Ukraine for the incident that dealt a high-profile blow to President Vladimir Putin…
Ukraine’s swift counter-offensive owes much to U.S. weapons, planning, and intelligence help. But the U.S. Army is benefitting as well: by learning how to move intelligence much faster from satellites to ground units. Part of the answer is planning: making sure satellites are…
Transnational Organized Crime
The U.S. Treasury imposed on Tuesday sanctions on three Burmese businessmen and their company for allegedly supplying Russian-produced arms to Myanmar's military, which seized power following last year’s coup. “Today we are targeting the support networks and war…
The US and Mexico have agreed to a plan that allows some Venezuelan migrants to enter the US - but those who arrive illegally will be sent back to Mexico. It is hoped the deal will ease pressure at the US-Mexico border, where a steady flow of Venezuelans continue to arrive as…