Counterterrorism

UN Peacekeeper Killed In Mali 'Terrorist' Attack

A UN peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded Wednesday in a "terrorist attack" on their convoy in Kidal, northern Mali, the MINUSMA mission said. The casualties were members of the mission's Jordanian contingent, a security official said separately on…

Militant attack on bus kills 3, wounds 21 in eastern Syria

Militants attacked a civilian bus in eastern Syria on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 21, Syrian state TV reported. The TV said the bus was attacked near a village in a desert area of the province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq. It did not say whether the bus…

Military & Defense

Canada says China 'buzzing' military flights in Asia

Canadian military aircraft operating in Asia have been repeatedly "buzzed" by Chinese jets at dangerously close distances, Ottawa says. Canada says that its aircrews have had to alter their path to avoid collisions while operating in international airspace near North Korea…

Ukraine war: Zelensky says Russia controls a fifth of Ukrainian territory

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Russian forces have seized 20% of his country's territory, as Moscow's invasion nears its 100th day. Addressing lawmakers in Luxembourg, he added that the front line extended for more than 1,000km (621 miles)…

Cybersecurity

Iran exiles claim disrupting Tehran's surveillance cameras

Government-run surveillance cameras around Iran's capital reportedly were “disrupted” Thursday, while an exile group claimed it hacked into over 5,000 cameras around Tehran ahead of commemoration of the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic…

US Sanctions Force Evil Corp to Change Tactics

Sanctions that the US government imposed on Russia-based crimeware gang Evil Corp in 2019 appear to have forced the threat actor to change tactics to remain in the cybercrime business. New research into the group's activity by Mandiant shows that after the sanctions…

Counterintelligence & Espionage

Report: IRGC eliminated commander suspected of espionage

Iran International, a news website affiliated with the Iranian opposition, reported on Thursday that a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force unit 840 died under suspicious circumstances in Karaj. Sources in Iran told the news website…

Alleged spy extradited to Germany over 2017 kidnapping

The Vietnamese suspect is accused of taking part in the high-profile abduction of fugitive oil executive Trinh Xuan Thanh in Berlin. The alleged spy was detained in Prague earlier this year and is now in German custody. A Vietnamese man believed to have been involved in a…

Transnational Organized Crime

Ex-Marine turned cartel confidant sentenced for smuggling tons of cocaine into the U.S.

Angel Dominguez Jr., grew up in the border town of Roma, Texas after his family migrated from Jalisco, Mexico when he was 8 years old. Along the way, he got dual citizenship and joined the Marine Corps after high school. While stationed in North Carolina in November…

US Telecom Giant: Most Data Breaches are the Work of Organized Crime

Four out of five data breaches are the work of organized criminal groups, the U.S.-based telecom giant Verizon revealed in its 15th annual Data Breach Investigation Report. The financial sector continues to be victimized by financially motivated organized crime, often…