Counterterrorism

Federal Jury Convicts High-Level ISIS Member of Providing Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, Including Two Counts Resulting in Death

A New York man was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn, following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and five substantive counts…

'Base' leader Watkins gets prison time for Tuscola County crimes

Justen Watkins, self-proclaimed leader of the white nationalist group, The Base, was sentenced to up to six years in prison on charges of conspiring to train for civil disorder and felony firearm on Tuesday in a Tuscola County courtroom. Watkins faced charges for his…

Military & Defense

Russian parliament scraps age limit for army recruits

Russia's parliament approved a law on Wednesday in double-quick time removing the upper age limit for contractual service in the military, amid heavy casualties in Ukraine. Lawmakers in the State Duma lower house approved the bill in three readings in a single session, with the…

M23 rebels advance on major military base in eastern Congo

Fighters from the M23 rebel group advanced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday and were locked in heavy fighting with the army outside the region's largest military base, security sources and the local park director said. After several days…

Cybersecurity

Notorious Vietnamese hacker turns government cyber agent

At the height of his career, Vietnamese hacker Ngo Minh Hieu made a fortune stealing the personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans. Now he has been recruited by his own authoritarian government to hunt, he says, the kind of cyber criminal he once used to be…

Alleged leader of Nigerian email fraud group has been captured, Interpol says

Interpol said Wednesday that it struck a major blow against a cybercrime group known for business email compromise (BEC) scams aimed at stealing money from companies around the world. The international law enforcement agency announced that the cybercrime unit of…

Counterintelligence & Espionage

NRO strikes multibillion-dollar deals with BlackSky, Maxar and Planet for spy satellite imagery

Three satellite imaging companies are in line to receive billions of dollars from the National Reconnaissance Office over the next decade, thanks to a string of contracts announced today. The companies are the same satellite operators who won study contracts from the NRO three…

Brexit website ‘linked to Russian hackers’ leaked former MI6 spy chief’s emails

A website that published leaked emails from leading figures involved in Brexit has links to Russian hackers, according to Google. The website - called “Very English Coop d’Etat” - claimed to have published emails from the former head of the MI6 Richard Dearlove…

Transnational Organized Crime

Student arrested at Texas high school with pistol, rifle in his vehicle

Texas police reported on Wednesday that a high school student had been arrested after having what appeared to be a pistol and rifle in his vehicle just one day after an elementary school in the state became the scene of a mass shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead...

US Treasury sanctions international oil smuggling network linked to Iran

The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced the latest round of sanctions targeting an international oil smuggling and money laundering network linked to Iran. In a statement, the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that a group of Iranian Revolutionary…