Daily Intel Brief
Al-Qaeda kills 20 security force members in Yemen, the U.S. plans a new ICMB test, and Japan blames Russian-backed hackers in recent attack...
Counterterrorism
Al Qaeda militants killed some 20 Yemeni security force members in an assault in the southern Abyan province on Tuesday, a southern military spokesperson said, before all eight attackers were killed. The militants used rocket-propelled grenades, light and medium…
The defendants on trial for the 2016 Bastille Day truck attack in Nice that killed 86 people denied any links to terrorism and told the court Tuesday that they had been trapped or fooled by the driver at fault for the massacre. The driver, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel…
Military & Defense
The US military will test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced, in the second such practice operation of the country's nuclear defense in less than a month. "There will be an operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike…
Taiwan said its forces flew combat air patrols and readied surface-to-air missiles on Monday in response to approaching Chinese aircraft including a military drone, a sign that Beijing's frequent operations around the island are becoming increasingly complex…
Cybersecurity
A cyberattack targeting the huge Los Angeles school district prompted an unprecedented shutdown of its computer systems as schools increasingly find themselves vulnerable to attacks at the start of a new year. The attack on the Los Angeles Unified School District sounded…
Japan is investigating the possible involvement of a group supporting the Russian government in a denial-of-service cyberattack on government websites on Thursday, public broadcaster NHK reported. The attack temporarily blocked access to websites, including the…
Counterintelligence & Espionage
The United Nations on Monday condemned Gaza’s Hamas rulers after five Palestinian Arabs were executed on Sunday, two of them for helping Israel. “We condemn the execution of five prisoners in Gaza and urge the de facto authorities in Gaza to establish a moratorium on all…
A former housekeeper for Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz will spend three years in prison for allegedly attempting to infect the official’s computer with malware in exchange for cash from Iran-linked hackers. The cleaner, the BBC notes, agreed to a plea deal to avoid…
Transnational Organized Crime
While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are being increasingly used by criminals, the open nature of blockchain technology provides also provides authorities with a "key" new way to tackle organized crime. This was the general consensus among crypto specialists and…
Brazilian police have cracked down hard on contraband flowing into the country across the Friendship Bridge from Paraguay. But do such operations do anything to alter the factors behind the smuggling? During an operation that concluded on September 2, police carried…