ISIS on the March
Conventional wisdom among Western officials indicated ISIS was primarily interested in gaining territory for its caliphate or Islamic state. Big bold attacks against Western targets […] More
Terrorism
Combatting Terrorist Financing
As the military campaign to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS continues to dominate U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, there is also an effort […] More
Al Shabaab’s Adaptive Model
In mid-October, the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea published its latest report confirming that despite years of effort and the recent territorial gains […] More
The Core of the Problem
The Somalia based terror group al-Shabaab has “diversified its economy” to ensure a constant income, from kidnapping for ransom and confiscating food and aid sent […] More
Counter Threat Finance — Not a Silver Bullet
For decades, belligerent groups have financed their operations by tapping into a variety of locally available economies, including illegal ones. The Shining Path in Peru […] More
Social Media and Terrorism
Long before ISIS, transnational terrorist groups had discovered the use of the Internet and social networks. Terrorists went online for recruiting, fund-raising, mission-planning, intelligence gathering, […] More
What Social Media Companies Can Do
On Sept. 28 in New York City, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) co-hosted with the U.S. State Department the first Global Youth Summit Against Violent […] More
Getting Tech in the Fight
Since before 9/11, Al-Qaeda and other jihadi groups have been quietly investing in cyber jihad, which is now disseminated and promoted by a new, Internet-savvy […] More
Saudi Security On High Alert for Hajj
CIPHER SNAPSHOT: At a time when the Middle East is ablaze, the arrival of the Hajj presents a complex security challenge. September 22 marks the […] More
The Convergence of Crime and Terror
The security of U.S. borders has become one of the key issues in the U.S. Presidential race. Some of the Republican candidates support building a […] More
Getting Ahead of the Problem
In 1915, the British poet Thomas Hardy wrote a short masterpiece about the sinking of Titanic, which had occurred several years earlier. He describes the […] More
The Strategic Value of Terrorism
The convergence of ruthless terrorist networks and greedy criminal underworld operatives can pose unique and dangerous challenges. It offers terrorists access to human resources and […] More
The Threat is Real
The Cipher Brief spoke with the DEA’s former Chief of International Operations, Mike Vigil to discuss the threat of convergence. The Cipher Brief: Convergence is […] More
10 Years after 7/7, Britain Still Top Terrorist Target
Ten years ago, four homegrown militants, some of who trained in Pakistan, launched devastating terror attacks in London. Today, the Islamic State of Iraq and […] More
Crowdsourced Jihad: The New Trend in Homegrown Terror
The call came on June 23. Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the spokesman for the Islamic State, in June urged ISIS followers to go on a month-long […] More
Wahishi’s Death
Al-Qa’ida’s number two, Nasir Wahishi, is believed to have died in a drone strike in southern Yemen last month. He ran one of the most […] More
Countering Online Extremists Requires Offline Intervention
Seemingly a typical teen living in the Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital, Ali Shukri Amin, 17, led a different life online as curator of a pro-ISIS […] More