Individual holding a flash drive. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Popular imagination envisions hackers as shadowy figures in dark rooms hunched over computers running thousands of lines of code as they attempt to brute force their way into target networks and systems. But the reality is that hacking is not often about “brute force.” Instead, whether … Continue reading An Unpatchable Exploit: The Human Vulnerability in Cybersecurity
Author: Kevin Truitte
Why Counterterrorism Efforts Against Salafi-Jihadists Should Emphasize Information Warfare
The Islamic State extensively employs social media to spread its message. Photo Credit: The Week By: Kevin Truitte, Columnist The United States and its Western allies have been fighting the Salafi-jihadist movement for more than a quarter of a century. This war has largely been fought on physical battlefields – from the mountains of Afghanistan … Continue reading Why Counterterrorism Efforts Against Salafi-Jihadists Should Emphasize Information Warfare
An American National Information Security Strategy
Photo Credit: iStock By: Kevin Truitte, Columnist In today’s Digital Age, information is a potent weapon. American adversaries such as Russia and China understand the power of information and seek to manipulate it to their advantage. From injecting or magnifying divisive messages in social media to penetrating government networks to steal employee information, they understand … Continue reading An American National Information Security Strategy
China’s Narrative Warfare in East Asia
A fleet of ships sail out at sea as China and Russia's naval joint drill concludes in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China, September 19, 2016. Photo Credit: Reuters By Kevin Truitte, Columnist The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has embarked on an expansion of its regional power in East Asia. The PRC—under the rule of the … Continue reading China’s Narrative Warfare in East Asia
The Red Sea Insurgency: The Asymmetrical Houthi Threat to the Strategic Waterway
The Houthis’ ongoing asymmetric maritime insurgent tactics threaten security in the southern Red Sea, allowing the Houthis and their Iranian backers to challenge their adversaries in the strategically vital waterway. Photo Credit: AFP By Kevin Truitte, Columnist The war in Yemen approaches its fourth year with little major movement towards a peaceful resolution. Since early 2015, … Continue reading The Red Sea Insurgency: The Asymmetrical Houthi Threat to the Strategic Waterway
Think Global, Act Local? Tensions between Regional and International Objectives in the Jihadist Movement
Islamic State fighters in Anbar, Iraq. Photo Credit: London School of Economics, Middle East Centre By Kevin Truitte, Columnist Al-Qaeda emerged in the wake of the Soviet War in Afghanistan with the intention of centralizing support for local Salafi-Jihadist insurgencies. Osama bin Laden and his allies founded the organization as a means to unify global … Continue reading Think Global, Act Local? Tensions between Regional and International Objectives in the Jihadist Movement
Building Democracies for the 21st Century: Confronting the China Model with Robust Institutions
By: Kevin Truitte, Columnist Photo Credit: AFP The United States has historically advocated its own institutional values abroad. The support of these values, namely liberal democracy, rule of law—both internally and internationally—and open capitalist markets, provided the foundation of what is today called the ‘rules-based liberal international order.’ The U.S. has supported its values on … Continue reading Building Democracies for the 21st Century: Confronting the China Model with Robust Institutions
The PKK Comeback: How the Kurdistan Workers Party Triumphed in a Time of Turmoil
By: Kevin Truitte, Columnist Photo by: Safin Hamed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has seen a resurgence across the Middle East in recent years. Buoyed by a renewed Kurdish national identity and capitalizing on regional instability, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization and its affiliates in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran have expanded … Continue reading The PKK Comeback: How the Kurdistan Workers Party Triumphed in a Time of Turmoil
21st Century Authoritarianism: How the Turkish Government Manages the Media
By: Kevin Truitte, Columnist Photo credit: Reuters The Turkish government holds enormous influence over the country’s media. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his political allies dominate the domestic information environment and use this control both to suppress material unflattering to the country’s leadership, as well as propagate pro-government perspectives. As President Erdogan consolidated power over … Continue reading 21st Century Authoritarianism: How the Turkish Government Manages the Media
The Clashing Narratives of Libya’s Conflict
By: Kevin Truitte, Columnist Photo credit: Getty Images There’s an old adage that states, “One person's terrorist is another’s freedom fighter.” In the fractured landscape of today’s Libya, every warring faction—from former Ghaddafists to federalists, tribal militias to Salafi-jihadists—believes it is in the right. These groups build messaging campaigns, manipulate reporting on events, and empower … Continue reading The Clashing Narratives of Libya’s Conflict