Posts By: Jacob Charles

Threat Watch 2014: Terrorism in sub-Saharan Africa

The IHS Country Risk team present the most likely terrorism hotspots for 2014   Nigeria In May 2013, the government declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in response to attacks by Islamist group Boko Haram. The announcement came after a spate of fighting which led to over 200 deaths, extensive… Read more »

Threat Watch 2014: Middle East and North Africa flashpoints

The IHS Country Risk team assesses the states in the Middle East and North Africa most likely to suffer from security instability during 2014   Egypt On 3 July 2013, the army removed President Morsi and suspended the constitution, in response to nationwide anti-government protests that exceeded 2011 levels. Mass civil unrest, occasionally consisting of… Read more »

Threat Watch 2014: Terrorism risks in western Europe

The IHS Country Risk team highlights the European states most likely to face security threats in 2014   Greece Terrorist activity in Greece is likely to emanate largely from numerous left-wing and anarchist groups, such as the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (CFN), who are likely to continue staging attacks with varying capability, from IEDs and… Read more »

Terrorists: stop!

Dean C Alexander explains how police traffic stops can prove to be a powerful counter terrorism tool, and outlines some key indicators that might indicate terrorist activity   The recent revelation that a traffic stop for speeding in Pakistan involved al-Qaeda courier and Osama bin Laden bodyguard Ibrahim al Kuwaiti, sometime during 2002 or 2003,… Read more »

The smoking gun

Anthony Tucker-Jones assesses the intelligence implicating Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the use of chemical weapons against his own people   Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government is languishing under the international shame of having deployed Sarin nerve agent against its own people. To date there is no denying that some sort of chemical agent has… Read more »

Big Brother’s whistleblower

With revelations still emerging about the NSA and GCHQ’s online surveillance activities, Anthony Tucker-Jones assesses one of the worst intelligence scandals in living memory   It seems that the American National Security Agency (NSA) has been plundering global communications networks as if they are buccaneers of old. Like rapacious pirates they decided that there is… Read more »

Oil, gas and terror

Chris Philips warns that isolated oil and gas facilities across Africa and the Middle East remain highly vulnerable to terrorist attack, and calls on the owners to provide adequate protection and insurance   It seems the current en vogue terrorist tactic has moved from placing bombs in busy places to full frontal attacks by groups… Read more »

Putting the Putin

As the Syrian government prepares to offer up its chemical weapons for disarmament, John Chisholm examines how Russian intervention put paid to Western military threats   A month is a short time in Syria, but it has not prevented an awful lot happening. It is not very often that the term “diplomatic coup” is used… Read more »

Hard borders

Tamir Eshel describes how Israeli security technology is being applied to protect its borders against threats ranging from terrorists to people-smugglers   Since its independence in 1948 Israel has faced existential threats by overwhelming military forces and irregular guerrilla groups waging terror campaigns on the young Jewish state. During 60 years of conflict this threat… Read more »

Strengthening cyber security

Timothy Compston investigates the growing number of cyber security attacks by individuals and state actors intent on obtaining valuable intellectual property and other sensitive data, and outlines the countermeasures which can stop them   Today cyber attacks are seemingly never far from the headlines in our increasingly interconnected world as organisations report a surge in… Read more »