Artificial Intelligence Decodes ISIS

20150811001165074380-original_800x600.jpg?itok=xHdlLBRM&mtime=1439283161

Dr. Paulo Shakarian has a system of data mining that helps understand tactics used by Islamic State. AAP

Researchers in the US have used artificial intelligence to better understand the military strategy of Islamic State extremists.

Analysis established a causal link between air strikes and roadside bomb attacks as well as a connection with the jihadists' use of military tactics. The algorithmic system analysed 2,200 recorded incidents of IS activity from the second half of 2014.

One feature they noticed was spikes in the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Paulo Shakarian at Arizona State University, one of the co-authors of the paper and a former US army officer who served in Iraq in 2006, told the BBC: "When they experience a lot of air strikes against them they shift away from a large infantry-style operation and use IEDs."

Researchers also discovered that the use of vehicle-borne bombs increased prior to large infantry operations by the militants. One example of this occurred in Iraq. "We believe this relationship is because they want to prevent reinforcements from the Iraqi army getting out of Baghdad," explained Dr Shakarian.

A finding that initially baffled the researchers was sharp increases in arrests by Islamic State following Syrian air strikes. Dr Shakarian said they now believed that these might be retaliatory attempts to weed out Syrian intelligence agents who might have played a role in the targeting of the strikes. He added that the tactics of ISIS differed markedly from those of the enemy forces he faced in Iraq nine years ago.

The extremist group, he said, was more complex and dynamic, which was why the nature of their strategies was not always obvious without computational analysis.

Elizabeth Quintana, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said forces targeting Islamic State were likely to find research like this useful. "The military has access to a lot of information," she said, "They need a way to bring it down to a digestible format. Analytics is definitely the way to do that."
Noel Sharkey, a computer scientist at the University of Sheffield, added that the approach might help predict likely types of attacks. "It suggests that IS has a predictable operational strategy rather than an arbitrary one, or a new one for each attack," he commented. "Of course, the problem is that this could change suddenly and particularly if they noticed that other military forces were acting on their predictability."

Dr Shakarian will present the paper to delegates of KDD 2015, a conference on data analysis, in Sydney, Australia.
BBC: http://http://bbc.in/1gisgKk

« How To Avoid All-Out War in Cyberspace
No. Petition to Pardon Snowden Rejected by Obama »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

CSI Consulting Services

CSI Consulting Services

Get Advice From The Experts: * Training * Penetration Testing * Data Governance * GDPR Compliance. Connecting you to the best in the business.

Practice Labs

Practice Labs

Practice Labs is an IT competency hub, where live-lab environments give access to real equipment for hands-on practice of essential cybersecurity skills.

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 7,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

Vaddy

Vaddy

Vaddy provide an automatic web vulnerability scanner for DevOps that performs robust security checks to ensure that web app code is secure.

Prim'X Technologies

Prim'X Technologies

Prim'X Technologies provides information protection solutions to prevent unauthorised access to sensitive data.

Payatu

Payatu

Payatu Technologies is a security testing and services company specialized in Software, Application and Infrastructure security assessments and deep technical security training.

Cyberlitica

Cyberlitica

Cyberlitica (formerly iPhish) provides a Workforce Threat Intelligence application that significantly augments companies’ cyber threat prevention efforts.

Redborder

Redborder

Redborder is an Open Source network visibility, data analytics, and cybersecurity Big Data solution that is scalable up to the needs of enterprise networks and service providers.

Caulis

Caulis

Caulis FraudAlert is a cyber security solution. It can detect fraud and identity theft based on users’ online behaviour.

IdentityIQ

IdentityIQ

IdentityIQ is a US-based identity theft and credit protection company designed to help users stay on top identity thieves and data breaches.

Secure Blockchain Technologies (SBT)

Secure Blockchain Technologies (SBT)

SBT is a team of Enterprise IT Security Professionals weaving security and Blockchain Technology into our customer’s operational fabric.

ComoNExT Innovation Hub

ComoNExT Innovation Hub

ComoNExT is a Digital Innovation Hub and a startup incubator with a focus on the issues of digital transformation and Industry 4.0.

State Service of Special Communications & Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP)

State Service of Special Communications & Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP)

State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection is the technical security and intelligence service of Ukraine, under the control of the President of Ukraine.

Fastcomcorp

Fastcomcorp

Fastcomcorp offers a world-class proactive cyber security defense and risk management consulting. Including Darkweb monitoring and posture assessments.

Stronghold Cyber Security

Stronghold Cyber Security

Stronghold Cyber Security is a consulting company that specializes in NIST 800, the Cybersecurity Framework and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.

Lumifi

Lumifi

Lumifi provide end-to-end cybersecurity resilience solutions with a specialty in managed detection and response (MDR) services.

Banyax

Banyax

Banyax provides 24×7 real-time Cyber Defense Center Services using the latest technology tools to provide state-of-the-art defense.

ThreatDefence

ThreatDefence

ThreatDefence provides innovative SIEM, SOC-as-a-Service, and proactive cyber defence solutions to MSP’s and Enterprises.

Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN)

Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN)

The Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace.