Counterterrorism

Nigerian Army Eliminates Dozens of Terrorists in Mandara Mountains

The Nigerian Army on Monday eliminated dozens of militants allied to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist group in the Mandara mountains region near the border with Cameroon, the army said. "Based on an intelligence report, today members of…

ISIS Supporters in the United States Urged to Join ‘ISIS North America’

A video posted online urges followers of the Islamic State to help form a province of the terror group in the United States called ISIS North America. The video is dated “new 2022” in the first frame and was posted on a file-sharing site this month. It consists of simple white…

Indian Court Sentences 38 People to Death Over 2008 Ahmedabad Bomb Attack

An Indian court on Friday sentenced 38 Muslim men to death and ordered life in prison for 11 others for a series of bomb blasts in 2008 in the city of Ahmedabad that killed more than 50 people, lawyers said. The 16 synchronized explosions had badly shaken the western state…

Military & Defense

Russia Recognises Ukraine Separatist Regions as Independent States

Russia's Vladimir Putin says he is recognising breakaway rebel regions in Ukraine's east as independent states. The self-declared people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are home to Russia-backed rebels who have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014…

Iran-Backed Attacks are Further Driving UAE-Israeli Defense Tech Development

The United Arab Emirates and Israel are expected to boost security cooperation and further joint defense-industrial ventures in the wake of several attacks by Iranian proxy forces, experts have told Defense News. The UAE and Israel in September 2020 signed the Abraham…

US Navy Plans Launch of Middle East Drone Force with Allies

The United States Navy announced the launch of a new joint fleet of unmanned drones in the Middle East with allied nations to patrol vast swaths of volatile waters as tensions simmer with Iran. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads the 5th Fleet, said 100 unmanned drones…

Cybersecurity

Chinese Hackers Linked to Months-Long Attack on Taiwanese Financial Sector

A hacking group affiliated with the Chinese government is believed to have carried out a months-long attack against Taiwan’s financial sector by leveraging a vulnerability in a security software solution used by roughly 80% of all local financial organizations…

DC Transit Authority Social Media Accounts Hacked with Obscene Twitter Posts

Social media accounts for Washington, DC's transit authority were hacked Monday morning and those accounts have now been secured, a spokeswoman for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority confirmed. In the early morning, a series of lewd tweets and photos…

Expeditors Shuts Down Global Operations After Likely Ransomware Attack

Seattle-based logistics and freight forwarding company Expeditors International has been targeted in a cyberattack over the weekend that forced the organization to shut down most of its operations worldwide. With annual gross revenue of around $10 billion, Expeditors has…

Counterintelligence & Espionage

Russia Has Been Laying Groundwork Online for a ‘False Flag’ Operation, Misinformation Researchers Say

At the White House this week, President Biden said the United States had “reason to believe” that Russia was “engaged in a false flag operation” to use as an excuse to invade Ukraine. A new report by the European Expert Association, a research group that focuses…

All The Presidents’ Spies: The Secret (Agent) History of Our Presidents

The White House has long had a connection to the intelligence community (IC), and in fact, it dates back even before there was a White House. The first true American spy was believed to be Nathan Hale, who during the Battle of Long Island, volunteered to go behind enemy lines…

Bank of Spies: Gen Zia's Aide Siphoned CIA Cash Meant for Afghan Jihadis

The 'Suisse Secrets' data reveals that 15 intelligence figures from around the world, or their close family members, have held accounts at the Zurich-based global investment bank, Credit Suisse. The accounts, many of which had very large balances, raise due diligence questions…

Transnational Organized Crime

Graham Potter: One of Australia's Most Wanted Men Arrested After 12-Year Hunt

Australian police have arrested one of the country's most wanted fugitives following a 12-year manhunt. Graham Potter, 64, had been on the run since 2010 after he failed to show up in court to face conspiracy to murder charges in the state of Victoria…

Comment: Organized Crime in Serbia Is a State Affair

For the last ten years or so, Serbia has been experiencing a mutant expansion in the construction industry, a branch that, due to poor regulation and almost no control, is perfect for laundering illegally acquired capital. It is impossible to talk about organized crime…

The Birth of the MS13's Mexico Program

On March 2, 2021, El Salvador police announced an unexpected arrest: that of Hugo Armando Quinteros Mineros, alias "Flaco." His capture took authorities by surprise. For they believed Flaco was abroad, running one of the MS13's most ambitious projects: the Mexico…