For six months, starting in the fall of 2014, I investigated a shadowy online Russian propaganda operation called the Internet Research Agency. The agency has been widely reported in Russian media to be the brainchild of Evgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch and ally of Vladimir Putin. At the time, it employed hundreds of Russians in a…
Category: Technology
Examining Terrorist Tactics: The Jihadist Comms Toolkit
A new report documents how extremist groups’ use of secure digital tools software has evolved. “I don’t think that there are too many [makers of encrypted communication tools who] can say that bad guys don’t use their stuff, accurately,” NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett said during the recent Defense One Tech Summit, describing ISIS’ use…
The Surveillance State: Drones and The End of Society
The human race is on the brink of momentous and dire change. It is a change that potentially smashes our institutions and warps our society beyond recognition. It is also a change to which almost no one is paying attention. I’m talking about the coming obsolescence of the gun-wielding human infantryman as a weapon of…
OPSEC Tradecraft: Modern Clandestine Groups Face New Challenges
There were no mobile phones or recording devices allowed at this bizarre encounter. The digital era is perceived as posing new threats to the security of terror groups in Ireland in terms of their being tracked and covertly recorded. Source: The Guardian Bottom Line Up Front Compartmentation via unlinking Strict anti forensic practices to mitigate…
Police Watch: The Bomb Robot Drone Killing Precedent
As you’ve no doubt heard, sniper(s) attacked the police protecting a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas last night, killing 5 cops. Dallas Police have released the name of one perpetrator, who was killed by police: Micah Johnson. Johnson was apparently an Army veteran; he was what experts deemed “tactically professional” based on review…
Modern Crime: Is This A Vast Government Conspiracy or Just A Simple Story About Revenge?
This is a really good object lesson in adhering to the old adage by Edgar Allen Poe: “Believe only HALF of what you SEE and NOTHING that you HEAR.” -SF Who is this man who seems to die in every terrorist attack? If you’ve clicked on any articles about the victims of recent terror…
Deconstructing Terrorism: World-Check Terrorism Database Exposed
A financial crime database used by banks has been “leaked” on to the net. World-Check Risk Screening contains details about people and organisations suspected of being involved in terrorism, organised crime and money laundering, among other offences. Access is supposed to be restricted under European privacy laws. The database’s creator, Thomson Reuters, has confirmed an…
Modern War: Drone Choppers Help Hunt Top-Tier Terrorist in Africa
On Jan. 14, 2014, USS Elrod left her home port in Norfolk, Virginia for what, to outsiders, might have seemed like a routine six-month trip to the Mediterranean. Carrying a detachment of four MQ-8B Fire Scout drone helicopters, the nearly 30-year-old frigate would visit various ports and train with America’s allies, according to an official…
Cyber-War: The Big Hack of NYC
A scenario that could happen based on what already has. On December 4, 2017, at a little before nine in the morning, an executive at Goldman Sachs was swiping through the day’s market report in the backseat of a hired SUV heading south on the West Side Highway when his car suddenly swerved to the…
Home Security: 14 Ways to Protect Your Home While You Are Away
You’ve just spent a glorious week on vacation with your family. The sun was out the whole time, the food was good, and the kids behaved. Miraculous! As you pull into the garage, though, you realize something seems amiss. The door into the house is ajar, and you’re sure you closed it on the way…