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 »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 8,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

Authentic8

Authentic8

Authentic8 transforms how organizations secure and control the use of the web with Silo, its patented cloud browser.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

NordLayer

NordLayer

NordLayer is an adaptive network access security solution for modern businesses — from the world’s most trusted cybersecurity brand, Nord Security. 

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.

Coro Cybersecurity

Coro Cybersecurity

Coro (formerly Coronet) empowers organizations to protect against malware, ransomware, phishing, and botnets - across devices, users, and cloud applications.

OcuCloud

OcuCloud

OcuCloud protects businesses' valuable information in the cloud, preventing security breaches caused by employees and remote vendors.

Exeon Analytics

Exeon Analytics

Exeon Analytics is a Swiss cyber security company that is specialized in detecting hidden data breaches and advanced cyber attacks.

CloudVector

CloudVector

CloudVector's API Detection & Response platform is the only API Threat Protection solution that goes beyond the gateway to provide Shadow API Prevention and Deep API Risk Monitoring and Remediation.

Wynyard Group

Wynyard Group

Wynyard Group is a niche, technology-driven company specializing in Integrated Border Security solutions for enhanced public safety.

Kiuwan

Kiuwan

Kiuwan provide software security solutions with SAST and SCA source-code analysis that fit into your DevOps process.

Skudo

Skudo

Skudo is dedicated to creating innovative best-in-class solutions that protect data exchange with the highest level of security and privacy.

Condition Zebra

Condition Zebra

Condition Zebra has wide experience in providing IT Security Services, Training, and Certification in the field of cybersecurity.

ITProTV

ITProTV

ITProTV is part of the ACI Learning family of companies providing Audit, Cyber, and IT learning solutions for enterprise and consumer markets.

META-Cyber

META-Cyber

META-cyber was founded by engineers with experience in process and control-protection to provide cyber security for industrial infrastructure.

Kobalt.io

Kobalt.io

Kobalt are bringing the monitoring capabilities of enterprise-class security teams to smaller organizations.

Center for Cyber Security Studies & Research (CFCS2R)

Center for Cyber Security Studies & Research (CFCS2R)

CFCS2R's mission is to empower individuals, organizations, and governments with the knowledge and tools necessary to protect against cyber threats.

SFY Information Technology

SFY Information Technology

SFY helps companies with Cyber Security and Managed IT, allowing them to focus on what really matters to them.

Complete Cyber

Complete Cyber

Complete Cyber provide professional cybersecurity services and products to help secure your infrastructure, systems and data.

BlackSignal Technologies

BlackSignal Technologies

BlackSignal Technologies provides cybersecurity, digital signal processing and electronic warfare products to help DOD and IC agency customers counter near-peer threats and security challenges.

Enaviya Information Technologies

Enaviya Information Technologies

Enaviya offer a comprehensive set of manual and automated software testing services adhering to standard quality assurance for best practices and processes.