New In Focus now available on Insider Threats. From the Department of Homeland Security: DHS/US-CERT defines the insider threat as a current or former employee, contractor, or other business partner who has or had authorized access to an organization’s network, system, or data and intentionally misused that access to negatively...
The George Washington University Program on Extremism has released three new reports, two from the most prominent experts on domestic terrorism, and one on American foreign fighters. In “Surveying the Landscape of the American Far Right” by Mark Pitcavage, the author attempts to make a critical distinction between white supremacy,...
A new paper released by the Department of Homeland Security describes an evaluation of programs intended to counter violent extremism in Los Angeles (LA) County: Leveraging a Targeted Violence Prevention Program to Prevent Violent Extremism: A Formative Evaluation in Los Angeles. Between December 2015 and November 2016, public health professionals...
The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research has recently released a report exploring a new approach for nuclear disarmament titled Watch Them Go: Simplifying the Elimination of Fissile Materials and Nuclear Weapons. Fissile materials, such as forms of uranium and plutonium, are materials capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction....
The White House, via the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), released a series of advisories aimed to curb international and domestic fentanyl trafficking. According to the report summary, “private sector businesses’ platforms are vulnerable to being exploited by Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) in their production, trafficking, and distribution...
The NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence has released a report on the “Trends and Developments in the Malicious Use of Social Media“. Social media platforms are a constant source of research and exploitation for malicious actors, as they work to create influence and wage information warfare within target audiences....
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the “National Mitigation Investment Strategy: Mitigation Framework Leadership Group” report, which focuses on the role of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) in achieving the mitigation core capabilities of the National Mitigation Framework. The MitFLG is responsible for coordinating the implementation of...
As commissioned by the National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council), the Medical Director Institute (MDI) convened a panel of experts in the field of mental health care and violence for a two-day meeting to analyze violence and its contributing factors. In particular, the panel focused on mental illness as a...
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) released a new State of the Climate report confirming that 2018 climate indicators “reached new highs for their observational histories.” According to the report, 2018 was the fourth warmest year in records dating to the mid-1800s. Led by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, this report provides...
In a new report from the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Kathleen McKendrick discusses the theoretical contributions of artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of counterterrorism operations. In “Artificial Intelligence Prediction and Counterterrorism“, the author examines how artificial intelligence is already used, how it could potentially be used, and the...
