CTG's Threat Intelligence Podcast

America's National Security has played a vital role in many areas like national defense, counterintelligence, foreign affairs, international security, and others. As a result, there have been major and historical consequences worldwide. With how important this topic is becoming, here at the Counterterrorism Group, we decided to present to our audience a Roundtable Discussion on America's National Security and the World. To take a deeper dive, Salomon Montaguth is joined by Julia Tsarnas from the Latin America and Indo-Pacific Team, Pike Wipperfurth from the Middle East and Africa Team, and Gabriel Helupka from the Europe Team here at the Counterterrorism Group, to try and better understand the real impact America's National Security has on the world.

In this episode, we will be focusing on narcoterrorism and its consequences and impact in South America. Narcoterrorism has become a topic of high importance today. It had exponents and figures such as "El Chapo Guzman" and "Pablo Escobar" in the past, it has the ability to influence economies and challenge security forces in many countries worldwide. This discussion will focus on its consequences and impacts in Latin America. In this episode, Salomon Montaguth speaks with J. Felix, a senior counterterrorism analyst here at The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the effects of narcoterrorism in South America. El narcoterrorismo se ha vuelto un tema de alta importancia hoy en día. Tuvo exponentes y figuras como "El Chapo Guzman" y "Pablo Escobar" en el pasado, tiene la capacidad de influenciar economias y desafiar fuerzas de seguridad de muchos paises a nivel mundial. Por lo tanto, aquí en el Counterterrorism Group, sentimos que nuestra audiencia ganaría mucho al aprender más sobre los eventos en esta región. En este episodio, Salomon Montaguth habla con J.Felix, un analista sénior de contraterrorismo aquí en el Counterterrorism Group para analizar los efectos del narcoterrorism en América del Sur.

In April 2023, Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as NATO, while war was present in Europe. The 30-nation alliance invited its 31st member after Turkey-backed Finland's membership. To take a deeper dive, Salomon Montaguth is joined by Gabriel Helupka from the Europe Team from The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the real impact Finland's membership into NATO will have in the region.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Invasion led by American forces to topple Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein. President George W. Bush, the then-American president at the time, proclaimed that Saddam Hussein and his government had Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMD. Eventually, there were no WMDs found. After 20 years, the consequences of the invasion are still felt in the Middle East and have found their place in American History as one of the least favored wars as per a Gallup poll from February 2023. To take a deeper dive, Salomon Montaguth is joined by Pike Wipperfurth from the African and Middle East team at The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the real impact this diplomatic change will have in the region.

Saudi Arabia and Iran resumed diplomatic relations through Chinese mediation and will reopen embassies in each other's countries. Saudi Arabia and Iran reactivated bilateral accords for security cooperation, trade, and economic investment. Iranian-backed militant groups such as the Houthi insurgency in Yemen and Hezbollah operating in Syria have accepted this agreement. To take a deeper dive, Salomon Montaguth is joined by Christine Saddy and Jeremie Mahendroo from the Middle East team at The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the real impact this will have in the region.

This year, Latin America, specifically Paraguay, Guatemala, and Argentina, will hold their presidential elections. Latin America has experienced a decrease in faith in democracy, which has been expressed through protests and political turmoil. These election outcomes will impact the region in the mid-2020s and beyond. The elected winners will have much to address like inflation, stability, security, climate change, and much more, all of which affect their voters. To take a deeper dive, Salomon Montaguth is joined by Julia Tsarnas from the South American team at The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the real impact these elections will have in the region.

Last year, the North American team here at the Counterterrorism Group, published a Flash Alert discussing the possibility of an increased risk of violence targeting minority communities. This Flash Alert, which was used as inspiration for far-right extremists, was based on a publication in Telegram which is a social media platform. The publication was called The Hard Reset: A Terrorgram Publication. Since then, the Counterterrorism Group has been monitoring the possible impact of these individuals on America's infrastructure. In this episode, Salomon Montaguth joins Stacey Casas, a senior leader here at the Counterterrorism Group, to try and better understand the real impact far-right extremism may have on our infrastructure and nation.

On February 24, 2022, Russian ground forces entered and invaded Ukraine, with the intention to "denazify" the invaded nation. Russian President Putin called it a mission to get rid of Nazi influence in the region, while Ukrainian President Zelensky proclaimed that "The Ukrainians will never surrender". The thunderous disturbance of war and its consequences have re-entered Europe, almost in parallel to World War Two. In this episode, Salomon Montaguth and Amy Mcgee from the W.A.T.C.H. team discuss the impact that this has on the region and the rest of the world.

On February 6, 2023, Turkey and Syria experienced one of the deadliest earthquakes in modern history. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost and millions of lives have been impacted due to the destruction of their homes and their access to food and water. In this episode, Salomon Montaguth and Jennifer Radlinsky from the Emergency Management, Health, and Hazards team discuss the impact that these earthquakes have on the region and the rest of the world.

In this episode, we discuss the impact and consequences of far-right extremism in the U.S. military. To better understand this issue, Salomon Montaguth is joined by Andreea from the Extremism team at The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the real impact of far-right extremism on the U.S. military.

This episode will be our first episode in Spanish, focusing on terrorism and its consequences, as well as its impact in South America. Terrorism has caused destruction in South American nations, impacting millions of lives. With recent developments, we at the Counterterrorism Group feel that our audience would greatly benefit from learning more about the events in this region. In this episode, Salomon Montaguth speaks with J. Felix, a senior counterterrorism analyst here at The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the effects of terrorism in South America. Este episodio será nuestro primer episodio en español, centrándose en el terrorismo y sus consecuencias, así como el impacto en América del Sur. El terrorismo ha causado destrucción en las naciones sudamericanas, impactando millones de vidas. Con los desarrollos recientes, nosotros en el Counterterrorism Group sentimos que nuestra audiencia se beneficiaría enormemente de aprender más sobre los eventos en esta región. En este episodio, Salomon Montaguth habla con J.Felix, un analista sénior de contraterrorismo aquí en el Counterterrorism Group para analizar los efectos del terrorismo en América del Sur.

In this roundtable episode, Salomon Montaguth is joined by Amy McGee, Julia Tsarnas, and Mridul Jérémie Mahendroo from The Counterterrorism Group to discuss the impact of two significant events that took place in South America earlier this year. The first event is the impeachment of former Peruvian President Castillo, and its impact on Peru. The second event is the insurrection that occurred in Brazil, which highlights the significant divisions within these nations and the role of dissatisfied citizens in a democratic system.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences, affecting nations across the globe. In this discussion, we will focus specifically on the surge of COVID-19 in China, which is having a particularly significant impact on the elderly population. The government has recently ended mandatory mass testing amidst rising infections. In this episode, Salomon Montaguth and Jennifer Radlinsky from the Emergency Management, Health, and Hazards team discuss the impact COVID-19 has on the Chinese population and the rest of the world.

In early December 2022, German law enforcement arrested 25 individuals suspected of plotting to overthrow the German government. Many questions had arisen about motives and possible outcomes. In this episode, Andreea Troneci from the Extremism team and Peter Roberto from the Europe team join Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact this has on democracy worldwide.

Cryptocurrency has gained the attention of Main Street and Wall Street and everyone in between. It became a trendsetter in recent years by reaching unimaginable heights and gaining large profits for its users. But now, it has raised concerns in Washington DC. Some politicians are demanding regulations, while others see regulations as defeating the purpose of cryptocurrency. With the recent bankruptcy of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, some are questioning the reliability of this currency. In this week's episode, Christine Saddy from the Illicit Financing team joins Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have.

Many alt-right groups and personalities have taken to other social media sites, which promote free speech, and censor-free zones. Salomon Montaguth joined by Brianna Corrie, from the Counter Threat Strategic Communications team to try and better understand the real impacts this transition to niche social media platforms has.

An independent monitoring company, TankerTrackers, identified Young Yong, a Chinese-owned supertanker, as shipping Venezuelan oil in 2021 disguised using false documents as Malaysian crude oil. The Young Yong was sanctioned in November 2022 for shipping oil from Iran, a state also subject to sanctions and known to have used false documents to disguise the origin of its cargo. Iran and Venezuela are two oil-producing sanctioned states and close allies that signed a 20-year cooperation plan in July 2022 for the oil and petrochemical industries. In a swap agreement signed in 2021, Iran and Venezuela decided to exchange Iranian crude oil condensate for Venezuelan crude oil. Julia Tsarnas from the South America team joins Salomon Montaguth to try and better understand the real impact this may have worldwide.

School shootings have been a topic that has caught the attention of millions across the US. This has led to discussions about gun accessibility, gun restrictions, and safety concerns. Today, we will refer to the 2021 Oxford High School shooting and to the 2022 Central Visual and Performing Arts High School shooting by former students. Public Service Announcement (PSA), this topic may be triggering for some. In this week's episode, Jamie Betances from the Crime team joins Salomon Montaguth to discuss School Shootings.

In early November, President Zelensky from Ukraine warned that any Russian military attacks on infrastructure would potentially leave many without energy. Klitschko advised Kyiv residents to make evacuation plans for attacks destroying the city's infrastructure. Ukrainian officials are urging residents to leave if power is entirely cut-off. In this week's episode, Jennifer Radlinsky from the Emergency Management, Health, and Hazards team joins Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have.

Hundreds of far-right supporters gathered in Paris in October to condemn the murder of a 12-year-old girl. The suspected killer is an illegal Algerian immigrant, who was previously ordered to leave the country after her residence permit expired, leading to calls for authorities to enforce immigration laws. Far-right politicians, were present, and the murder has become a politicized subject for right-wing and far-right French parties, renewing debates over the handling of illegal migration in the country. In this week's episode, Peter Roberto who covers the European region joins Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have in the region.

In October, the Philippines and the US held military drills consisting of combat readiness maneuvers, mock amphibious assaults, and developing coastal defense tactics involving more than 2,500 American and Philippine marines. These exercises aimed to improve their defense system and to ensure regional security in the regional era of competition. The drills also improved and importantly, facilitated cooperation among allied military groups. The U.S. and the Philippine's relationship extends beyond military agreements to include economic and political interests, as Ferdinando Marco has expressed interest in cooperating with the US in defeating terrorist threats and increasing renewable energy. In this week's episode, Alison Ward who covers the Pacific Asia region joins Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have globally.

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is a Pakistan-based branch of the al-Qaeda Central (AQC), an Islamist militant group seeking to prepare Muslims for a holy war, reclaim Muslim territories, and revive the Islamic caliphate. AQC has a strong history in media production and dissemination of propaganda, establishing a media production arm in 2001 called As-Sahab. The Counter Threat Strategic Communications (CTSC) Team, here at the Counterterrorism Group, has analyzed textual and visual elements on AQC-affiliated websites and forums to identify overarching themes, voices, and narratives in propaganda. This project concludes with recommendations to tech platforms, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and academia based on the analysis that would allow us to likely detect, deter, and prevent the spread and impact of AQIS content online. In this week's episode, Christie and Brianna from the CTSC Team join Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have globally.

The Counterterrorism Group intelligence analysts have been examining countries where Democracy has slowly been eroded by extremism. Democracy seems to be challenged by voices that have become louder and louder throughout the years. People around the world have been demonstrating their desire for change, an aim to diminish the status quo. There seems to be a global, political shift taking place. Therefore, we've decided to present to our audience a roundtable discussion on extremism in Latin America and Europe. In this week's episode Paige Biebas from our Extremism Team, Daniel Ruiz from our Latin America Team, and Peter Roberto from our Europe Team join Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have globally.

Advancements in 3D printing technology have dramatically increased the potential deadliness of homemade firearms. Advances in homemade manufacturing techniques greatly facilitate the probable proliferation of these untraceable, high-powered 3d printed firearms. New 3d printed firearms represent a much more significant threat compared to the previous 3d printed weapons that had a limited effective range of fewer than 100 yards. In this week's episode, Isaiah Johnson from the Weapons and Tactics team joins Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have globally.

On Sunday, September 11, 2022, Sweden held their general elections. The Sweden Democrats, the far-right Swedish political party, was expected to defeat the current government headed by Prime Minister Eva Andersson. The far-right party has gained more support than in previous years due to ultra-conservative policies, addressing gang-related offenses, inflation, and the energy crisis. Despite rebranding its nationalist image, the party is known for its hardline immigration worldviews and ties with extremists. In this week's episode, Andreea Troneci and Paige Biebas from CTG's Extremism Team join Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have in Europe.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced he will seek reelection for the presidency in 2024. In 2021, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, appointed by President Bukele, permitted the presidential reelection. President Bukele's popularity has stayed above 80%, but human rights groups and foreign governments, such as the US, are concerned about President Bukele's concentration of power. Daniel Ruiz and Jan García Casanova from CTG's Latin American team joins Salomon Montaguth to discuss the impact it will have globally.

Cultures and subcultures have existed for the entirety of human history. Some cultures are more prevalent than others, while others still are very niche, serving only a small number of people who share similar interests or beliefs. In the internet age, niche subcultures are much more accessible. All it takes is a few searches and keywords and whatever Google has to offer will be bared to you. Today we discuss the language of memes and how they drive the neo-nazi subculture. In this episode, Charley Gleeson and Christie Hui from CTG's CTSC team joins Adam Stevens to discuss what this all means.

In this week's episode, we look into a security brief from CTG's CICYBER team. First on the report was a new strategy by the U.S. government: The Central Intelligence Agency created a Russian language video directed to Russian language speakers affected by the war in Ukraine. Additionally, the U.S. government addresses key North Korean cyber threats by implementing sanctions on important cyber-financial infrastructure. Helping to break down this brief is Keanna Grelicha from CTG's CICYBER team.

Earlier this year national headlines were being made by a group of truck drivers at the U.S. and Canadian border, blocking international trade routes. The group was protesting Canadian and American mask and vaccine mandates which impacted who could cross the border. After a brief détente thanks to the war in Ukraine, a group known as the People's Convoy is planning its next trip to Washington D.C. in protest of any number of conservative talking points, from vaccines to abortion. Savannah Fellows from CTG's NORTHCOM joins Adam Stevens to explain the group's origins and the impact in this time of increasing tension.

In a forthcoming Special Report, CTG analyzes the importance of foreign fighters joining terrorist movements in Central Asia. The history of foreign fighters arguably dates back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. Fighters from all across the world, including Osama bin Laden and others, joined to fight the invading imperialists. The same inspirations have been used throughout the first two decades of the 2000s. Many jihadists use the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan by the U.S. as a call to arms. Alberto Suarez from CTG's CENTCOM team joins Adam Stevens to discuss how these wars impacted the foreign fighter movement, as well as tell us what the foreign fighter movement looks like today.

In the events of Russia versus Ukraine, Cyber threats have been just as much the story as physical attacks. In a security brief, CTG assessed and analyzed two different instances of Russian cyber attacks. When bombs and guns go off, the world responds in a relatively predictable way. When a cyber-bomb blows however, the world can react in sporadic, unpredictable ways. Marina Tovar from CTG's CICYBER team joins Adam Sevens to discuss the real-world impacts that cyber attacks have in a world at war.

ISIS has claimed its first attack in Israel roughly five years, meanwhile in Iraq, funding has begun on a border wall in vulnerable locations along the Iraq-Syria border in response to ISIS fighters using these routes to enter the country and wreak havoc. Meanwhile, on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Afghani Taliban regime attempts to rid themselves of Pakistani Taliban forces, otherwise known as TTP. The TTP has been using the borderlands in Afghanistan to launch attacks in an attempt to overthrow the current Pakistani regime. Alberto Suarez Sutil from CTG's CENTCOM team joins Adam Stevens to break down these events.

Over the last several years social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have been criticized by seemingly everyone. Many argue that social media companies have an obligation to call out or de-platform accounts producing disinformation on their platforms. Others decry it as a slippery slope to government censorship if they don't call it outright censorship as is. In response to this many alt-right groups and personalities have taken to other social media sites, which promote free speech, and censor-free zones. Adam is joined by Brianna Corrie, from the Counter Threat Strategic Communications team to try and better understand the real impacts this transition to niche social media platforms has.

Russia's war in Ukraine is a multilayered, multifaceted quagmire. Obviously, the face we see in the news is conventional warfare, resulting in the deaths of combatants and non-combatants alike. The Biden administration has stood firm on its stance of utilizing crippling economic sanctions against the invading Russians. Less talked about, but no less important is the cyber layer. Cyber bullets are flying every-which-way in this conflict. Notable hacktivist or cyber-vigilante group Anonymous is currently utilizing their skills to take their pound of flesh from the Putin regime, including DDoS attacks against Russian Banks. Helping to break down the different facets of this story, is Keanna Grelicha from CTG's CICYBER team.

Conspiracy theorists jump at any opportunity to pervert the narrative around a given situation, even when the situation or event results in dozens, if not hundreds of grieving families. This is the case for many families who have become victims, not only of mass murder in their communities but of dangerous and vicious conspiracy theories regarding how and why their family and friends were killed. Brianna Corrie from CTG's Counter Threat Strategic Communications team joins Adam Stevens to discuss these issues.

In this episode of the Threat Intelligence podcasts' round table discussion. Our panelists joined Adam to discuss Russia and Ukraine. We discuss refugees, weapons and tactics, and where and how China may fit into all of this. This week Adam is joined by CTG's own Becca Stewart as well as Semaj McDowell, host of his own podcast, the Geopolitical Pivot.

Between China and Russia, the world's eastern powers are out to reconstruct their empires of old. Currently, we are seeing this play out in Ukraine on televisions across the globe. As focus shifts back to Russia, China continues to subtly and deftly expand its own power and influence. China's debt diplomacy, and their aggressive economic 'Belt and Road' initiative threaten to cripple beleaguered nations in Asia and Africa. Taiwan is the headline… a headline at least… but flying under the radar is how China's soft power moves threaten neighbors like Cambodia and Vietnam. CTG's Alberto Suarez joins Adam Stevens to discuss the machinations of this new Cold War.

At the time of recording, Russia had amassed nearly 130,000 troops at the Ukrainian border. Since then estimates put the number at nearly 190,000. Russia has effectively surrounded every inch of Ukraine including to the south along the Black Sea. Should war break out in earnest, it would be the largest, most sophisticated war effort in Europe since V.E. Day.

The Taliban is firmly entrenched as the ruling party in Afghanistan since seizing power late last summer. Between the Taliban, ISIS-K, and a thoroughly crippled economy, largely run by illicit markets, Afghanistan is in the midst of a human trafficking epidemic.

By some metrics, America saw 34 school shootings in 2021, a number far higher than any other recent year. The Oxford High School Shooter, responsible for four deaths, will face charges of Terrorism, which some are noting is a new way forward, not only for litigating shooters but also as a form of countermeasure to deter mass shootings in the future. To explain these nuances and share a bit about a new, massive CTG report on the topic of school shootings Charley Gleeson of CTG's CTSC team is joining us.

In mid-January, a top Russian official did not rule out military deployments to Cuba and Venezuela if tensions with the U.S. and NATO over Ukraine continue to escalate. U.S. government officials have dismissed the statements as hyperbole and stated that if Russia did move in that direction, the U.S. would move "decisively" to deal with it. But what does decisive action look like? Intentionally it is a word that attempts to say a lot without saying anything. Stacey Casas from CTG's SOUTHCOM team is joining us to discuss how seriously we should take this ominous threat.

Welcome to the first podcast episode of 2022! In this round table, two panelists will join Adam to discuss what stories we should watch in 2022. The storylines may be continuing from 2021 (and beyond), or they may be new trends emerging in the new year. Becca Stewart and Kaylyn Matis, both CTG analysts, join me in our second installment of the round table series to discuss stories from Ukraine, COVID-19, and the Metaverse.

The Taliban now controls Afghanistan and has been working in earnest to run the nation since their ascension to power three months ago. In an extensive report, CTG researched and analyzed how the Taliban utilizes public messaging and propaganda both internationally and domestically. Becca Stewart, CTG's Special Teams Manager, joins us to discuss what propaganda efforts being implemented by the Taliban can tell us about the early months of their regime and discuss what role Afghanistan has yet to play in grand geopolitical strategy.

Somalia is in disarray. Taking advantage of Mogadishu's political gridlock, Al-Qaeda affiliate group Al-Shabaab rages in the countryside looking to replace the old, tired, secular government for their form of Sharia law. Faye, of CTG's AFRICOM team, joins us to discuss Al-Shabaab's growing influence.

In recent weeks CTG produced a special report on the Yemen Civil war, including background on the Houthi movement and the current situation on the ground in Yemen. Though 2021 winds to a close, the war that began in 2014 is still in full swing. JJ Singh from CTG's CENTCOM team joins us to discuss the situation.

In the premiere Round Table episode for the Threat Intelligence podcast Aimee Hanstein and Becca Stewart join Adam to discuss trending stories around Africa and how China's expanding reach could lead to Cold War-era proxy wars. From Taiwan to East Africa, China's growing influence threatens the security of the U.S. and the rest of the West.

In recent months and years, the term INCEL has gained national and international prominence for all the wrong reasons. A so-called "red pill" / "black pill" dichotomy within the largely online community known as INCELs, short for involuntary celibates, has resulted in several mass killing events. The latest attack took place on August 13th, when Jake Davison shot and killed 5 people in Plymouth, England. Charley Gleeson of CTG's CTSC team joins Adam to discuss this movement.

As chaos continues to ensue in the wake of the Taliban's victory over the Afghan government, the international community is grappling with how to manage their response to the crisis. Today Rob is joined by Jujhar & Vaania from CTG's CENTCOM team to discuss what the situation looks like on the ground, how the international community (beyond the United States) is handling the situation, and, most importantly, what can be done to manage the inevitable refugee crisis with humanity and empathy at the center of the response.

Since President Biden began evacuating troops in earnest in late July, the situation in Afghanistan has changed – and fast. In just a matter of days, Taliban forces have enveloped the entire nation. On August 15th, the Taliban entered Kabul as reports came out detailing how sitting President Ghani had fled to Tajikistan. The U.S. is seemingly out of the fire into the frying pan as President Biden sends 6,000 more troops to Afghanistan with a single mission: protect the Hamid Karzai International Airport, and evacuate as many Americans and refugees as possible. Once again, Aimee Hanstein from CTG's CENTCOM team joins us to break down the situation.

In recent years, mass kidnappings in Africa have become a near-weekly occurrence, especially in Nigeria where Boko Haram wreaks havoc. Clara de Solages joins Adam to break down the current state of this continental crisis, as well as detail how some states can adapt to face this challenge more effectively.