This is the second article in our series discussing real-world terrorist operational planning written by TRAPWIRE Director Michael Maness. (The first article, on an operation conducted by the Red Army Faction in Germany, can be found here.) Mike spent two decades as a senior operations officer and field manager with the Central Intelligence Agency and […]
In our previous post regarding a potential new modus operandi used by some terrorists, we mentioned the possibility that terror groups may now be developing hardened, professional cadres of assassins, rather than using suicide bombers or recruiting martyrs. We noted the similarity in this tactic with terror groups from the 1970s and 80s, including the […]
Business Executives for National Security (BENS) released an Issue Paper yesterday advocating for a new, networked approach to public safety. This approach focuses on the development of public/private partnerships to improve America’s ability to address an increasingly complex threat environment. This bottom-up approach to threat detection and information sharing could pave the way for significant […]
The events in Orlando have reignited public debate about the “why” of terrorism. Why are young people (east and west) drawn to the more violent tenets of Islam? Why do some of our fellow Americans, born and raised in the West, still feel like outsiders in their homeland? Why does the process of radicalization appear […]
Excerpted from: Al-Shabab hits Hotel Ambassador in Somalia’s Mogadishu June 2, 2016 ALJAZEERA “They want to send a message that although they might have lost control of the city, they can still carry out such attacks with audacity.” Based on initial reporting, it appears Al-Shabaab used a “double tap” operation to attack the Ambassador […]
Modern terror groups have proven adept at modifying the tactics and methods used to launch attacks. Their preferred weapons and delivery systems have adapted to changing security systems and procedures – from knives and handguns used in hijackings in the 60s and 70s, to VBIEDs to airplanes as weapons over the past 15 years. However, […]
For several years there have been discussions and analyses of a shift in terrorist targeting from hard to soft targets. The recent attacks in Paris and Brussels, as well as the 2008 attack in Mumbai, all included so-called soft targets. When we in the West talk of “soft” targets, we clearly mean those sites lacking […]
ISIS will continue to use terror tactics and techniques that test the standard operating procedures of western intelligence and law enforcement agencies. This article highlights the dangers of using profiling when it comes to countering terrorism. ISIS’ increased use of local citizens, females and the young shows that the old focus on adult male foreign […]
This possible surveillance of an employee away from their work place (detailed in the NYT article below) is a classic technique used by hostile intelligence services and terror groups alike. Human nature is such that we often let down our guard when we are away from the office, making us more easily observable (and approachable). […]
Since TRAPWIRE’s inception, our purpose has been to enable our customers to detect pre-attack events and patterns and get the information into the right hands in order to prevent the incident. The tools and methods we have built over the last 12 years have proven very successful at doing just that. However, it’s an obvious […]
