• Does Germany's Special Network to Prevent Islamist Extremists' Attacks Work?

    Political and religious extremism has long been seen as a threat to democracy in Germany. The Counter Terrorism Center is where agencies and police network to prevent Islamist extremist attacks. Is it effective?

  • New Tool Helps Distinguish Different Psychological Traits of Violent Extremists

    Researchers have developed and validated a new tool known as the Extremist Archetypes Scale to help distinguish different psychological traits found among people engaged in violent extremism. Dimensions of extremist archetypes include “adventurer”, “drifter” and “misfit”, among others.

  • Calls Rise in Congress to Designate Russia a State Sponsor of Terrorism

    As Russian attacks on civilian sites are reported on a near-daily basis, pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to officially designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

  • Google/Apple's Contact-Tracing Apps Susceptible to Digital Attacks

    Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists and health authorities have relied on contact-tracing technologies to help manage the spread of the virus. Yet there’s a major flaw in a framework that many of these mobile apps utilize – one that attackers could exploit to ramp up false positive notifications.

  • Strengthening U.S. Government’s Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogen Framework, Dual Use Research

    Group of scientists, public health experts, policy researchers propose strengthening of U.S. government’s policies regarding enhanced potential pandemic pathogen framework and dual use research of concern.

  • Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories May Not Be Increasing

    A new analysis contradicts popular thinking about beliefs in conspiracy theories, suggesting that such beliefs may not have actually increased over time. The new findings challenge widespread perceptions by the public, scholars, journalists, and policymakers.

  • 2021: More than 400 Were Convicted of Terrorism Offenses in EU Countries

    EUROPOL the other day published the European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2022 (TE-SAT). It provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date intelligence picture on terrorism in the European Union. In 2021, European courts convicted 423 individuals for  terrorist offenses, while EU law enforcement authorities arrested 388 suspects for terrorism-related offenses.

  • China Escalating Campaign of Intimidation, Harassment of Chinese Dissidents in U.S.

    Last week, the U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment of one former and one current DHS agents who were recruited to help the Chinese government’s campaign of harassment targeting U.S.-based critics. This was not the first Chinese operation of its kind inside the United States. But it marked the first time that China has recruited federal agents in support of their effort, reflecting what U.S. authorities regard as Beijing’s increasingly brazen intrusion into other countries.

  • Were Participants in the Jan. 6 Attack Extremists? Protesters? Patriots?

    Survey finds most view the rioters negatively, but much depends on how you feel about Black Lives Matter and gun ownership. American views of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack do not vary much by race overall, but Black Lives Matter supporters, regardless of race, age, or sex, tend to view the attackers more negatively, and white gun owners are more likely to see them in a positive light.

  • Pegasus Spyware Maker NSO Is Conducting a Lobbying Campaign to Get Off U.S. Blacklist

    The cybersecurity firm has invested heavily in top lobbyists and law firms in an effort to lift restrictions on doing business in America. NSO is hoping the Israeli prime minister will raise the issue with Joe Biden when the two meet this week.

  • U.K. Parliamentary Report: “Threat from Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism on an Upward Trajectory”

    “The threat from Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism is on an upward trajectory, populated by an increasing number of young people and driven by the internet,” said Julian Lewis, MP, the chairman of the U.K. Parliament Intelligence and Security Committee. The committee has just released a detailed report on the threat of terrorism in the United Kingdom.

  • Rare Earths in Australia Must Be About More Than Mining

    REEs are a group of 17 metals—15 elements from the lanthanide series and two chemically similar elements, scandium and yttrium. Each has unique properties vital for a range of commercial and defense technologies, including batteries, high-powered magnets and electronic equipment. China’s rare-earth production exceeds that of the world’s second-largest producer, the U.S., by more than 100,000 tons per year. The U.S. still relies on China for most rare-earth imports. In some cases, like heavy REE processing, China has 100 percent control of the market.

  • Diametrically Opposed Social Media Users Starting to Agree: Enough is Enough

    Despite major differences of opinion on the motives behind and solutions to mass gun violence, right-leaning respondents who favor gun rights and left-leaning proponents of gun control are starting to converge in their belief that enough is enough and change is needed.

  • Five Men Indicted for Helping China Silence PRC Critics Residing in the U.S.

    Five men, including one current and one former DHS employees, were indicted on 7 July for being part of a network helping the government of China harass and silence U.S. residents who were critical of the Chinese government and its policies. The two leaders of the network are from Long Island – one from Oyster Bay, the other from Jericho.

  • The Chinese Military’s Access to AI Chips

    The Chinese military has made rapid progress in artificial intelligence. This progress largely depends on continued access to high-end semiconductors designed by American companies and produced in Taiwan and South Korea. The aggressive moves by the Trump and Biden administrations to limit technology exports to the Chinese military notwithstanding, China continues to order large quantities of American-designed advanced semiconductors from manufacturers in Taiwan and South Korea.