Our picksInsider Threat at DHS | Combatting Islamist Extremism | North Korean Hackers, and more
· ‘Sophisticated Insider Threat’ at DHS Immigration Agency Forces Pause to Iraqi Refugee Program
· Plan to Poison Prince George’s Ice Cream Revealed by Accused Terrorist
· U.K. Ran Cyber Op to Cripple ISIS Communications: Services Chiefs
· France Maintains Sahel Force to ‘Decapitate’ Al-Qaeda Groups
· French National Assembly Backs Law to Combat Islamist Extremism
· Promotions for Female Generals Were Delayed Over Fears of Trump’s Reaction
· DOJ Announces Charges against North Korean Hacker Spies Accused of Stealing More than $1.3 Billion in Cash and Cryptocurrency
· Montana Bill Would Designate Antifa as Domestic Terrorism
‘Sophisticated Insider Threat’ at DHS Immigration Agency Forces Pause to Iraqi Refugee Program (Stephen Dinan, Washington Examiner)
Ali had been anxiously eyeing the first days of the Biden administration, counting on the president’s promises of a new era in immigration to clear hurdles and help him get the visa he’s been seeking for years, as a reward for helping the U.S. war effort in Iraq.
But two days into the new administration, those hopes were dashed when the State Department announced an emergency pause on the special Iraqi refugee program.
Prosecutors had just revealed an almost unthinkable internal security breach: Two Homeland Security employees had been selling secret files from the Iraqi program for years, leaving security experts to figure out the damage, and the State Department to try to cauterize the wound.
Plan to Poison Prince George’s Ice Cream Revealed by Accused Terrorist (Tim Baker, Sky News)
A man accused of terrorism offences spoke of a plan to target Prince George and the Royal Family by poisoning ice cream, a court has heard. Sahayb Abu, 27, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of buying an 18in (46cm) sword and balaclavas as he planned a terror attack during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court heard how, when talking to an undercover police officer, Abu spoke of the plan to target Prince George and other members of the Royal Family, which ended in a person getting sentenced to 28 years in prison. In a recording of the conversation from last year played to the jury, Abu can be heard saying: “They’re trynna make it out as if he [the person jailed] was targeting the baby, he was targeting the family, the Royal Family. “You know what his plan was? Say like the Royal Family house is there, go to the nearest Sainsbury’s and… put poison in the ice creams so the Royal Family will go and buy the ice creams from there. Abu was arrested on 9 July last year. The court also heard how unemployed Abu tried to persuade the undercover officer to smuggle a firearm into the country from north Africa. This came after the accused spoke of targeting an imam in Buckinghamshire. He told the officer that his target was an imam from the Shia sect, who are considered apostates by extremists such as Islamic State.
U.K. Ran Cyber Op to Cripple ISIS Communications: Services Chiefs (Defense