Intelligence. Unclassified.

In May 2017, NJOHSP hosted over 250 federal, state, and local intelligence and law enforcement, academic, and private-sector partners for the 2nd Annual Domestic Terrorism Conference. The event provided a forum to discuss the threat of extremists and groups aligned with race-based, single-issue, anti-government, and religious ideologies in the United States. Over the next several weeks, you will hear from some of the experts who shared their research and insights at the conference.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Sam Jackson, a Ph.D. candidate at Syracuse University, to explore his investigations into the political philosophy and identity of the Patriot/militia movements in the United States. Tune in as he discusses how these groups use American political ideas and history to build political stories, aimed at the American public, that support their political identity and justify their political behavior.

In May 2017, NJOHSP hosted over 250 federal, state, and local intelligence and law enforcement, academic, and private-sector partners for the 2nd Annual Domestic Terrorism Conference. The event provided a forum to discuss the threat of extremists and groups aligned with race-based, single-issue, anti-government, and religious ideologies in the United States. Over the next several weeks, you will hear from some of the experts who shared their research and insights at the conference.

In today’s episode, Clint Watts joins Intelligence. Unclassified. once again to discuss his recent testimony before Congress concerning Russia’s strategy to disrupt the US and the active measures being used by Russia to distribute political, financial, and social messages.

This podcast has been adapted from a recent IntelUnclass webinar, during which Analysis Bureau Chief Dean Baratta invited Philipp Bleek, an assistant professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and Zachary Kallenborn, a Senior Associate Analyst at ANSER, to explore environmental extremism and the use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. Tune in as they discuss the threat of a CBRN attack from fringe elements within the radical environmental movement.

The Area Maritime Security Committees (AMSCs) were established under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 to provide contingency planning, review and updates of Area Maritime Security Plans. AMSCs enhance communication between port stakeholders within federal, state, and local agencies, along with industry partners to address maritime security issues. The Sector Delaware Bay AMSC brings together stakeholders from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware for collaborative planning, coordination, communication, as well as to identify effective security measures across all segments of the Maritime Transportation System.

Jim McDavitt, Senior Planner from our Preparedness Bureau, sits down with Captain Benjamin Cooper, who serves as the Commander of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay and Captain of the Port of Philadelphia, to discuss how AMSC plays a vital role in bolstering the security of our Nation’s ports.

FirstNet (First Responder Network Authority) was created in 2012 to deploy the country’s first nationwide, broadband network dedicated to public safety – a network that will provide the capacity, coverage, priority, pre-emption and quality of service our first responders need when we call on them in disasters and emergencies. Recently, FirstNet announced an innovative public-private partnership with AT&T to leverage resources and private sector skills to deploy the FirstNet Network in all 50 states, five US territories and the District of Columbia. The effort is a significant investment in the communications infrastructure that public safety fought for and desperately needs for day-to-day operations, disaster response and recovery, and securing large events. New Jersey successfully deployed its New Jersey Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) project. Dubbed as JerseyNet, the project is an “early builder” of the FirstNet network, ensuring that New Jersey public safety stakeholders have a secure, resilient, and sustainable broadband network that can deliver mobile mission-critical capabilities such as real-time video, sharing of crime information, and incident scene mapping. JerseyNet is the nation’s first deployable wireless communications network dedicated for use by public safety agencies. Created to address the challenges of providing public safety officials with uninterrupted service during emergencies, JerseyNet is part of a nationwide interoperable communications movement working to connect first responders across different agencies, regions, and technologies.

Join Director of Policy and Planning Eric Tysarczyk and Former Governor of Vermont Jim Douglas, a member of the FirstNet Board, as they explore the FirstNet network, what is it, how it impacts New Jersey, specifically our own proof of concept network, JerseyNet, and state plans for the next step in rolling out FirstNet’s high-speed network for the millions of public safety users in all 56 states and US territories.

In this episode, Analysis Bureau Chief Dean Baratta and Intelligence Analyst Angie Gad discuss ISIS’s English-language magazine, Rumiyah, focusing on its themes, the tactical guidance offered to supporters, and the influence it has on sympathizers conducting attacks. The podcast concludes with a look into what could likely happen to ISIS in the event of the death of it's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset contains deidentified individual-level information on the backgrounds, attributes, and radicalization processes of nearly 1,500 violent and non-violent extremists who adhere to far-right, far-left, Islamist, or single-issue ideologies in the United States covering 1948-2013. Coded using entirely public sources of information, the PIRUS dataset is among the first efforts to understand domestic radicalization from an empirical and scientifically rigorous perspective. Users can now explore the rich PIRUS data using the Keshif data visualization tool, a user-friendly platform that allows for intuitive and insightful analysis of the data in real-time.

Intelligence Analyst Paige Schilling sits down with Patrick James, project manager for PIRUS, to discuss PIRUS’s purpose and goals, trends, future research, and intentions to continue data to the present day.

The election infrastructure subsector is complex and includes both physical and cyber assets, including voter registration databases, voting machines, and other systems to manage elections and report results, as well as storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote tabulation locations.

In advance of the New Jersey primary on June 6, Erin Henry, Principal Planner in the Preparedness Bureau at NJOHSP, sat down with Michael Geraghty, State Chief Information Security Officer, and Robert Giles, Director of the State Division of Elections, to discuss New Jersey election systems security and efforts in New Jersey to keep these election assets secure and the voting process free from interference. Although there are no specific or credible threats to election systems in New Jersey, the FBI confirmed cyber attacks on voter registration systems in Arizona and Illinois in 2016.

The National Consortium for the Study and Responses to Terrorism (START), launched in 2005, is a university-based research and education center comprised of an international network of scholars committed to the scientific study of the causes and human consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world. A Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence headquartered at the University of Maryland, START supports the research efforts of leading social scientists at more than 50 academic and research institutions, each of whom is conducting original investigations into fundamental questions about terrorism. START has developed educational materials and programs specifically designed for instructors and students at the secondary, university, and graduate levels. Educational resources available through START include relevant teaching tools and a range of unique data sources that can be integrated into an array of courses to deepen students' understanding of the dynamics of terrorism. START also has internships and funding opportunities available to undergraduate and graduate students engaged in terrorism research.

Among the network of scholars, some of which have been featured on Intelligence. Unclassified. over the last several weeks, is Dr. Gary LaFree, who not only leads START as its Director, but also teaches as a criminology professor at the University of Maryland. Today, he and Intelligence Analyst Paige Schilling discuss a variety of topics in the study of terrorism, including the difficulties of gathering information, the government’s approach when it comes to international versus domestic terrorism, and the inspiration for writing his recent book, Countering Terrorism.

Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons are an emerging threat. In this week's episode, Analysis Bureau Chief Dean Baratta sat with Gary Ackerman, the Director of the Unconventional Weapons and Technology Division at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), to discuss the potential use of these weapons, the capabilities to create such weapons, their attractiveness to terrorist groups. and how prepared the United States currently is for the eventuality of such an attack.