Daily Intel Brief
Sri Lankan forces given green-light to shoot protestors, Lithuania designates Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, and Young Thug and Gunna are indicted on RICO charges...
Counterterrorism
Lithuania’s Parliament unanimously voted to designate Russia as a terrorist state, becoming the first country in the world to make such a declaration since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February. Lithuanian lawmakers voted to declare Russia an agent of terrorism and its…
An Algerian preacher who spent eight years in the US-run Guantánamo Bay prison has gone on trial in France for allegedly encouraging several young men to join the Islamic State group. Saber Lahmar, a 52-year-old Algerian released by the US in 2008 and taken in afterwards by…
Military & Defense
Sri Lanka's defense ministry ordered security forces on Tuesday to shoot anyone who was causing injury to people or property. The order comes a day after violent clashes on the island left eight dead. The nation's prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned on Monday…
Two senior U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday told members of Congress they believe China is still planning an eventual takeover of Taiwan. But they added that they feel Taiwan might be learning lessons from Ukraine's conflict with Russia that could aid in its defense…
Cybersecurity
In the initial weeks of the Russian invasion, American officials expected Russian cyber-attacks to wreak havoc on Ukraine’s electricity grid, banking system and the like. To their surprise, that did not happen. But a report released by Microsoft suggests that Russian military and…
The National Security Agency is investigating the extent that software made by the Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky is embedded in U.S. businesses and organizations amid rising security concerns arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "I am still very worried…
Counterintelligence & Espionage
The first woman to head Spain's CNI intelligence agency, Paz Esteban, has lost her job in a deepening scandal over phone-hacking software found on the phones of top politicians. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, two other ministers and 18 Catalan separatists were all targeted by…
President Vladimir Putin fired Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and put the military's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) in charge of providing intelligence on the Ukraine invasion, according to two leading Russian journalists. The FSB is Russia's main intelligence…
Transnational Organized Crime
Paraguayan anti-drug prosecutor Marcelo Pecci was shot dead execution-style Tuesday while honeymooning on a Colombian Caribbean island by men who fled by sea, police and his widow said. Paraguay's president denounced the crime as a "cowardly murder" and a fellow…
Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug has been named in a sweeping 56-count gang indictment, according to court documents obtained by CNN. Jeffery Lamar Williams, who performs as Young Thug, was arrested at his home in Atlanta on Monday, according to police…