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TERRORISMHistory of Hype and the Possibility of a Dystopian Future
After 9/11, the Bush administration was preoccupied by the possibility of terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction (WMD), so much so that the United States went to war in Iraq. In fact, in the post-9/11 era, terrorists only experimented with crude WMD of low lethality. However, now that we are in the age of AI, are we on the threshold of a dystopian reality?
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COUNTERTERRORISMAssessing PRAHAAR: India’s First Counter-Terror Policy
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy PRAHAAR policy document provides clear, concise direction for India’s counter-terrorism campaign. It is a definite step forward in eliminating the threat posed by the amorphous, multi-vector nature of terrorism. It also epitomizes the challenges of drafting a Counter-Terrorism policy for a vast, socio-culturally diverse country like India.
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AVIATION SAFETYWhen the Threat Is Inside the Cockpit
The four passengers who entered Flight FZ1073’s cockpit acted with courage. The dentist treated a wounded captain. The plumber held the controls of an aircraft he had never flown. The off-duty pilots took over before the descent became irreversible. Above all, the captain opened the door. A system worthy of that courage should not depend on the same improbable sequence of luck next time.
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CONSPIRACY THEORIESWithin 48 Hours of FlyDubai Incident, at Least 25,000 X Posts Pushed Conspiracy Theories
Details of what precisely transpired WEre still emerging, and conspiracy theories blaming Jews or alleging that this attack was a “false flag” quickly began to circulate.
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TERRORISMTrump Administration Has Dismantled Key Elements of Post-9/11 Counterterrorism Infrastructure
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a new report detailing how the Trump administration has systematically dismantled key elements of the nation’s post-9/11 counterterrorism infrastructure.
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TERRORISMFailure to Protect: The Administration Diverted Resources Away from Agencies, Programs Focusing on Fighting Terrorism
Since the first day of his second term, the Trump administration has weakened or dismantled critical national security agencies and programs and diverted significant resources and attention away from the fight against terrorism.
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BIOSECURITY25 Years After Amerithrax: The Changing Landscape of Biosecurity
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the US led to the emergence of biological terrorism as a public health, law enforcement, intelligence, and national security problem, highlighting the need for an integrated approach to addressing the threat. Advances in biotechnology, synthetic biology, and emerging technologies have defined the biological threat landscape over the past 25 years.
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EXTREMISMWhen Fandom Meets Hate: Antisemitism in the True Crime Community (TCC)
Antisemitism runs through nearly every corner of the True Crime Community (TCC), a growing online subculture built around a fascination with mass killers and extreme violence. While some TCC members genuinely believe antisemitic ideas, others use them mainly to shock, gain notoriety, and signal belonging within the community.
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BIOSECURITYBuilding a Defense-in-Depth Biosecurity Strategy for the AI Era
The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and biology could introduce serious global health and national security risks. As capabilities continue to advance, AI-enabled biotechnology might lower the technical, operational, and motivational barriers to creating biological weapons. It might also enable high-consequence attacks involving enhanced or novel pathogens.
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COUNTERTERRORISMThe Counterterrorism Response to 9/11 Killed More People Than It Saved
The 9/11 terrorist attacks were a crime of shocking proportions that deserved a proportionate response, but the costs of those attacks were multiplied by the government’s grossly disproportionate response. When studying public policy, we must ask: Was the counterterrorism response to 9/11 worth it? Did it save enough lives to pay for itself or at least break even? No, not even close.
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SURVEILLANCEFinancial Surveillance in the Shadow of 9/11
One of the least known consequences of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is the financial surveillance that was expanded in the wake of the attack. The damage to civil liberties caused by that surveillance is far-reaching. The 25th anniversary of the attacks is a good time to ask whether the decision Congress made in 2001 makes sense in 2026.
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9/1125 Years After 9/11, Questions About the FBI’s Pursuit of Saudi Suspects in the Case Have Only Grown
25 Years After 9/11, questions about the FBI’s pursuit of Saudi suspects in the case have only grown, driven in part by evidence that was seized from him in 2001 but not made public for years or even shared with field agents who sought to investigate his role.
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VISA VETTING9/11’s Visa Vetting Failures Were Fixed
Fortunately, the visa vetting system which failed to stop the 19 hijackers from receiving temporary nonimmigrant visas to travel to the United States has been improved, and vetting failures have become far less frequent after the attacks. Unfortunately, the most lasting immigration legacy of 9/11 is how it derailed bipartisan efforts to improve the legal immigration system for peaceful, productive immigrants, students, and travelers.
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9/1125 Years After 9/11: Lessons for Securing the Homeland
The 9/11 attacks cast a long shadow, stretching beyond Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 to transform not just the United States but the world. RAND experts are reflecting on one of the most enduring aspects of this transformation: what we’ve learned about homeland security in the quarter-century since the attacks. Below, our researchers answer questions about protecting soft targets, mitigating risks from emerging technologies, and more.
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9/11Twenty-Five Years After 9/11, Strategic Shocks Mustn’t Cloud Strategic Thinking
The 9/11 attacks were a strategic shock and demonstrated how quickly shock could overtake our security system. Twenty-five years later, the true measure of is a national security system resilient enough to withstand the next sudden shock without losing sight of the broader strategic environment.
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The long view
DRONESThe Drone Threat to America’s Cities
Drones are coming for our cities. The tech is cheap, the threat is real, and our defenses are nearly nonexistent. To avoid that ugly reality, we need to come up with better ideas, and we need them fast. Because ready or not, the drones are coming.
TERRORISMRemotely Coerced Violence: 764, The Com Network, and the Hybridization of Threats
Nihilistic violent extremism is best understood as a victim-driven, youth-centered online ecosystem in which status, belonging, and identity are earned through the production, circulation, and escalation of harm. It combine sadistic online exploitation, cybercrime, self-directed violence, animal abuse, school-violence threats, and terrorist or violent-extremist conduct.
CYBERCRIMEHow Cybercriminal Networks Evolve into Global Security Threats
Cyberattacks have become an increasingly common part of modern life, disrupting hospitals, schools, businesses and governments around the world. New research points to a new threat: online communities can also spread political extremism.
TERRORISM‘Nihilistic Violent Extremism’ Isn’t a Thing, and I’m Tired of Pretending It Is
“Nihilistic violent extremism” (NVE) is a term used to bring together an array of hateful actors who, working online, try to convince people to kill themselves, produce child sexual abuse material, and other hateful actions. But the term confuses more than it helps—NVE is too vague a concept and encompasses too wide a range of behavior, leading to misunderstanding, poor analysis, and potential response mistakes.