CTG's Threat Intelligence Podcast

Hezbollah, the Lebanese political party, paramilitary organization, and US-designated terrorist group, has been a powerful force in Lebanon and the surrounding Middle East since the group’s inception in the early 80s. Lesser known are their criminal operations on the other side of the planet in Venezuela. Today I’ll be speaking with Alexis Bowen and Emma Palmberg from CTG’s Illicit Finance & Economic Threats team to learn about how Hezbollah was able to gain a foothold in Venezuela, what kinds of criminal activities they’re participating in, and what the geopolitical implications are for Venezuela, South America, and the world more broadly.

With historic levels of ice recession in the Arctic year after year, members of the Arctic Council - most notably Russia, Canada, and the United States - must adapt to ensure they employ effective economic, environmental, and diplomatic policies in the Arctic. Today I'll be speaking with Caterina Anni from CTG's Historical Analysis Team about the evolving strategic value of the Arctic region on international security.

The reality of the COVID-19 pandemic is inescapable. And while the situation is improving in countries like the US, other nations are still in the grips of the pandemic. One of those countries is India, where we’ve seen the number of cases and deaths skyrocket in recent months. And while their cases are considerably lower than the peak in early May, they’re still averaging over 105,000 new cases each day. So they still have a long way to go.

However, today’s episode is not about COVID. Or at least not directly. India is currently facing the threat of a new epidemic of black mold fungal infections that is highly likely to compound the difficulties created by COVID-19. Today I’m joined by Jade Patel and Sam Shames from CTG’s Emergency Management, Health, and Hazards (EMH2) team to discuss the ins and outs of this new epidemic, how it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what can be done to stop the spread of the deadly black fungus pathogen within India and around the world.

Just like any organization seeking to recruit new members and break through in a highly saturated attention economy, terrorist groups have to innovate just like everybody else. And one way they’re doing that is through the creation of video games and related media content.

So today I’ll be speaking with Katelyn Ferguson from CTG’s Crime team to discuss how terrorist groups are using video games to radicalize and recruit new members, as well as how other factors like online community platforms and the COVID-19 pandemic play into this threat. We’ll also analyze some current efforts to deter terrorists’ use of media for the purpose recruitment, and we’ll consider a number of other potential solutions.

The geopolitical conflict that’s captured the world’s attention this month is the ongoing situation between Israel and Palestine. It’s certainly not an easy topic to discuss, and any nuanced conversation about it is sure to ruffle some feathers. But luckily I’m joined today by Aimee Hanstein from CTG’s CENTCOM team to dive in and understand the history, the recent conflict, the current cease-fire, and what the future may hold for Israelis and Palestinians.

Today Adam speaks to Kyle Walter from CTG's EUCOM team about US sanctions against Russian gas company Gaz Prom. As tensions between the US and Russia continue to escalate, the European Union has been caught in between. The EU relies heavily on Russian gas production, and US sanctions are serving as an agitant not only to the Russians but the EU as well. Meanwhile Gazprom is underway with a pipeline that will connect Siberia to the Chinese mainland.

In this episode, Kyle and Adam will discuss the in's and out's of this complex geopolitical issue as well as what the future looks like and what the US and other allies can do to contain expanding Russian and Chinese influence.

On February 5th, 2021, cyber terrorists remotely gained access to the internal system of a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida, and nearly succeeded in poisoning the drinking water supply. The hackers briefly increased the supply of sodium hydroxide by a factor of over 100. Fortunately, water treatment plant workers quickly recognized the attack and resolved the problem. But make no mistake – this was a very close call, and it could’ve had dire, likely fatal consequences.

So, what does this incident tell us about our preparedness to handle cyber attacks on systems that have major repercussions on the health and well-being of the public? That is focus of today’s episode. Today I speak with Priya Venkadesh and Elena Montaña from CTG’s Counter Intelligence & CYBER team to learn about the scope of the problem as well as what we can do to fix it.

Propaganda is something we hear about pretty frequently these days. It’s always been a powerful tool used by countless groups of people over time to exert influence and push an agenda.

For most of human history, the ability to effectively produce and disseminate propaganda usually required a lot of time, resources, and new technology to achieve the desired result.

But now, as technology continues to become more widely distributed and easy to use, the ability to create and spread propaganda to influence large swaths of people has increased dramatically. And there are no signs of that trend slowing down anytime soon.

That being said, for how ubiquitous a concept it is, the definitions of what is or isn’t propaganda can vary widely depending on who you’re speaking to.

Today I talk to Becca Stewart, the team lead for CTG’s Counter Threat and Strategic Communications team, to clear all that up.

We’ll also discuss her team’s unique method combatting propaganda by putting themselves into the mind of a propagandist.

The May 1st ultimatum posed by the Taliban for the removal American troops from Afghanistan is quickly approaching. It appears that the U.S. has no plans to remove its troops until September 2021. This puts the already precarious Afghan peace talks with the Taliban at further risk. What does it mean for the women of Afghanistan if these plans fall apart?  

This week we will continue our discussion on the ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Aimee Hanstein from CTG’s CENTCOM team will return to discuss the Afghan education system and how women are being shut out of educational opportunities and job opportunities. If tensions between the U.S. and Taliban boil over, dissolving peace talks, major gains for women in education and the workforce could be lost.

About a week ago, President Biden announced that the US would fully withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by September 11 of this year. This has been a divisive political issue of late. The US will try to balance the goal of ending “forever wars” with keeping stability in Afghanistan as the Afghan government pursues peace talks with the Taliban. 

This week we will talk about the ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Aimee Hanstein from CTG’s CENTCOM team will join me to discuss how women are being represented in these talks and what the future holds for the women of Afghanistan. All of this is set to the backdrop of an ultimatum set by the Taliban for U.S. troops to be removed from the country by May 1st.