• Game theory may help protect against terrorist attacks

    Defenders must perpetually defend numerous targets using a limited number of resources, whereas attackers are able to surveil and learn defenders’ strategies and attack after careful planning. Game-theoretical algorithms can be used by defenders optimally to randomize their patrols so that attackers cannot predict which target defenders are going to protect at any given time.

  • Chile to seek extradition of secret agents for deadly 1976 U.S. attack

    Chile’s supreme court has ruled that the Chilean government could ask the United States to extradite two former secret police agents in the regime of General Augusto Pinochet, who, in 1976, placed explosives in a car in Washington, D.C., killing a former Chilean ambassador and a U.S. citizen. In a unanimous decision on Monday, said the Chilean foreign ministry should begin the procedures needed to seek the extradition of Michael Townley, a U.S. citizen, and Armando Fernandez Larios, a Chilean. Both now reside in the United States.

  • Expert: Don’t ignore Iran’s chemical, biological weapons threat while enforcing nuclear deal

    While President-elect Donald Trump will likely be stricter in enforcing the terms of the nuclear deal with Iran, the incoming administration should not ignore the threat that Iran’s chemical and biological weapons programs pose, says an expert.

  • ISIS deploys more women as frontline suicide bombers

    Security services in many countries are facing a new challenge: More and more women are sent or inspired by ISIS to engage in terrorists acts in Europe and the Islamic world. Female followers of ISIS have until now been largely limited to support roles I the organization. Since the summer, however, as the retreat of ISIS in the face of a U.S.-led coalition campaign accelerated, the organization has reversed its policy on women in operational roles.

  • Female jihadists play critical roles in terror groups

    A new study examining the roles of American jihadi women and found a significant increase in their participation in terrorist activity in the past five years. Within the wider movement, American women served primarily as plotters, supporters, and travelers. While few female American jihadists appear to act alone or carry out violent plots, many support activities along with friends, siblings, and romantic partners. The women are active online and offline, and social media use is common.

  • Former IAEA deputy director criticizes nuclear agency’s Iran investigations

    Olli Heinonen, the former deputy director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has criticized the agency for “reduc[ing] the level of transparency and details in its reporting” on Iran’s nuclear program, making it “practically impossible” to confirm that Iran is complying with the terms of the nuclear deal.

  • Abbott vows to cut funding for "sanctuary campus" schools

    By Patrick Svitek

    Rebuking a growing movement aimed at protecting undocumented students under incoming President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott vowed Thursday to cut funding for any Texas school that declares itself a “sanctuary campus.” The definition of a “sanctuary campus” is murky, but Abbott  made it clear they are not welcome in Texas.

  • Declassify information related to Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election: Lawmakers

    Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) led seven members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday in asking President Barack Obama to declassify information relating to the Russian government and the U.S. election. Russian government hackers – employed by two Russian government agencies — conducted a hacking and disinformation campaign in the run up to the election, aiming to undermine Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump, but no evidence has emerged to suggest that the Russian government hackers interfered with the voting process itself.

  • Report: IDF planes strike Hezbollah weapons convoy, Syrian army target

    A Hezbollah arms convoy and a Syrian military target were hit overnight by Israeli air strikes, Arab media reported Wednesday. Syrian government-associated news sources reported that there were four explosions in Damascus at 1:15 in the morning, as a military compound near the Damascus airport was hit by Israel Air Force planes operating in Lebanese airspace. The Kuwaiti news network al-Rai reported that the planes also struck several vehicles travelling along the Beirut-Damascus highway, which were apparently part of a Hezbollah arms convoy.

  • Russian gov. hackers may disrupt Germany’s 2017 elections: Germany’s intel chief

    The Russian government’s broad hacking campaign to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid and help Donald Trump become the U.S. next president may well be the template Russia is following in the run-up to next year’s German general election. Russia has actively – both overtly and covertly — supported right-wing, ethno-nationalist, populist, and proto-Fascist parties like Front National in France, Golden Dawn in Greece, Ataka in Bulgaria, and Jobbik in Hungary. These parties share not only anti-immigrant policies – but they are also fiercely anti-EU and want to distance their countries from NATO. One of the major themes in the public rallies – and political platform – of the German far-right, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant Pegida movement is that the influence of President Vladimir Putin’s Russia in Germany would be a welcome alternative to the imperial designs of the United States and Brussels.

  • Expert: Iran falsely accusing U.S. of violating nuclear deal to gain more concessions

    Iranian warnings against the passage of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) reflect “a broader strategy” in pursuit of additional sanctions relief, a senior analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote in a policy brief on Saturday. The ISA was originally passed in 1996, targeting Iran’s energy sector and expanding U.S. secondary sanctions. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a ten-year extension of the act earlier this month. In order to be renewed, the legislation must now pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Barack Obama.

  • Lawmaker wants to crack down on illegal hiring by state contractors

    By Julián Aguilar

    The federal E-Verify system, operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, screens for undocumented workers by comparing the information that job applicants submit to an employer with records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. A measure filed Monday in the Texas Senate would beef up punishment for employers that hire undocumented workers and seek to do business with the state.

  • Britain faces U.S. legal claims as a result of new terror-sponsors law

    Senior British political and military figures have warned that Britain faces a wave of legal claims from U.S. lawyers — and could even be taken to court by victims of ISIS follower Jihadi John. The warning comes in the wake of Congress passing the controversial Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which permits U.S.-based lawyers to sue foreign states for not doing enough to tackle terrorism, and limit terrorist activities by their citizens.

  • Extreme-right terrorism threat growing: U.K. police

    Neil Basu, deputy assistant commissioner to the U.K. national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, has said police fear the threat of far-right violence is growing and poses a similar danger to communities as other forms of extremism. “Over the past twelve months, there have been indications that the threat from [the] extreme right wing could be increasing and we are alive to this,” he said. Figures release by the police show that concerns over potential extreme rightwing radicalization led to a 73.5 percent increase in referrals to the counter-radicalization program Prevent last year, compared with the previous twelve months.

  • “Authoritarian populism” becoming driving force in Western democracies

    The election victory of Donald Trump, Brexit,the rise of former fringe parties like UKIP and France’s Front National are part of a political trend which could define the next decade, according to research by polling firm YouGov. YouGov’s polling found that “authoritarian populism” was a force driving many voters across Europe and the United States, sharing notions such as opposition to immigration; suspicion of international coalitions, treaties, and organization; and reluctance to use national power for goals which are termed “globalist” – like human rights or nation-building.