In 2005, the directors of the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR) were asked to set up a network for clients that we work with. By monitoring adversarial websites, chat rooms, blogs, and additional resources, the analysts and researchers were able to notify our clients in advance on potential adversarial threats and attacks against them or interests of the client.
Through its Targeted Actionable Monitoring Center (TAM-C), ITRR has been monitoring and analyzing resources in various languages. This Center is based both in Israel and the United States and is staffed by researchers and intelligence analysts with backgrounds in multiple languages, intelligence, and research and analysis.
Just a small amount of information that was identified and warned in advance dealt with attacks to fuel pipelines in Africa, Jewish and Israeli assets internationally, violence at the opening of the World Cup, and the connection between the India train attacks and Al-Qaeda.
The above information was confirmed with the international network the TAM-C has established and the information is collected and analyzed.
Today’s security manager is inundated with information that has happened in the past – too late to react to these events. ITRR’s researchers and analysts receive and analyze information from throughout the world, analyze it in the context of the client’s needs, and provide information on what will happen in the context of the needs of the specific client.
- Law enforcement and security personnel should increase awareness in assets that have already been targeted internationally.
- Understand tactics employed in other sites by the adversary.
- Review of information collection and analysis.
- Increase of awareness for preoperational surveillance by adversarial cells.
As large American companies move to off shore locations, travel between global points has become a growing characteristic of the American business. With the greater exposure of American companies internationally, there is an increased vulnerability to terrorist and criminal gang attacks.
To deal with those vulnerabilities, the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response provides businesses with the following information:
- Terrorist threat information particularly directed towards the client
- Targeting of hotels used by the client in the various countries
- Targeting of Westerners
- Pre-operational indicators such as surveillance, presence of known terrorists in country, etc.
- Anti-government protest activity – locations, times & dates, etc.
- Crime patterns and trends that serve to put a company’s personnel at risk
- The risk of using certain motor routes for inbound and outbound personnel
- The risk of known terror operatives operating in the area and the subsequent risk of an act of terror occurring there.
We use the following assets to provide security advice for the agreed upon countries:
1. Review of indigenous media in all countries (for which ITRR is contracted) to spot crime trends, anti-western propaganda, etc.
2. Daily review of Arab language bulletin boards, forums, and training web sites to spot terrorist tactics, training, and procedures (TTP) that are currently being distributed to anti-western groups.
3. Daily scans of Arab language websites focusing on word groups indicating threats against our client’s industry.
4. The names of the countries agreed upon and contracted for will be considered “key words” in the scan of Arab language websites, bulletin boards, and forums.
5. A compilation and analysis of “closed source” information. The analysis of such resources will be weighed against the information gathered by Institute of Terrorism Research and Response’s sources.
6. The use of resources provided by both U.S. and foreign services.
In order to identify vulnerabilities within the private and public sectors, managers can be assisted by tools that will monitor the behavior and intentions of the adversary. By identifying the intentions of the adversary, security resources of the asset can be maximized and lives and properties prepared for potential threats.
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