Covert Contact: The Blogs of War Podcast

Scot Terban joined me to discuss the use of shortwave numbers stations, recently declassified KGB investigative techniques for identifying recipients of those broadcasts, how shortwave has change...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/10/01/shortwave-numbers-stations-episode-118/

The regular counterintelligence chat with William Tucker is a day late but full of new Chinese espionage activity in the NYPD, the EU, and beyond. We also touch on intelligence history and why li...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/09/25/chinese-spies-in-us-law-enforcement-and-everywhere-else-episode-117/

William Tucker returns to discuss the incredible case of Garrison Courtney and Alpha-214. Posing as a CIA NOC Courtney was able to engineer a scheme that duped numerous beltway contractors, intel...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/09/17/the-threat-of-fake-spies-episode-116/

William Tucker joins me for our weekly counterintelligence chat. In this episode we discuss the recent report for Microsoft that details Russian, Chinese, and Iranian attacks on individuals and o...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/09/10/election-threats-and-disrupting-chinese-espionage-115/

William Tucker joins me to discuss two high profile cases this week, sloppy Chinese tradecraft, and why it always pays to visit the FBI before the FBI visits you.

http://covertcontact.com/2020/09/03/french-officer-busted-spying-on-nato-for-gru-other-espionage-cases-114/

Scot Terban is back to discuss the plot, common points of vulnerability, and what you can do it, like a Tesla employee, you find yourself in the middle of a Russian criminal plot. C to the consis...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/09/01/russians-targeted-tesla-gigafactory-in-ransomware-plot-episode-113/

William Tucker joins me to discuss the Zhengdong Cheng case, how Chinese espionage might need to evolve, global awareness of the scope of China’s spying, and how organizations can protect thems...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/27/texas-am-nasa-and-chinese-espionage-episode-112/

Dean Baratta joins me to discuss the rapidly diversifying and expanding non-traditional career paths in intelligence. We also touch on some tips for those looking to enter the field.

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/23/careers-in-intelligence-beyond-the-three-letter-agencies-episode-111/

William Tucker joins me again to look into yesterday’s indictment of Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, a former Green Beret alleged to have worked for Russian intelligence for over a decade.

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/22/spying-for-russia-the-peter-debbins-case-episode-110/

William Tucker returns to look at the apparent poisoning of Alexei Navalny and yet another Chinese espionage case, this time involving Alexander Ma. It’s a classic case, with a Hawaii connectio...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/20/counterintelligence-chat-alexei-navalny-alexander-ma-episode-109/

Former CIA officer Maggie Gwynne joins me to discuss how those interested in pursuing a career in intelligence should manage their profiles (online and off) and conduct themselves to prepare for ...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/16/preparing-for-a-career-in-intelligence-thoughts-on-personal-security-and-behavior-episode-108/

Alon Pinkas, who served as foreign policy advisor to Ehud Barak, political advisor to Shimon Peres, Chief of Staff to four Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and Consul General of Israel in New York C...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/15/understanding-the-israel-uae-deal-episode-107/

William Tucker returns to discuss the Edward Snowden case after President Trump made remarks on the case that sparked new speculation about a potential pardon.

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/14/a-pardon-for-edward-snowden-episode-106/

Today’s decision to force the Confucius Institute to register as a foreign mission is the subject of my regular Thursday evening counterintelligence chat with Covert Contact regular William Tuc...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/13/washington-takes-aim-at-the-confucius-institute-episode-105/

Alon Pinkas joins Covert Contact to look at the state of the relationship, look at where it could (and should) evolve, and to dive into some of the socio-political dynamics that shape the relatio...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/12/israel-and-the-united-states-past-present-and-future-with-alon-pinkas-episode-104/

Australian journalist Stilgherrian, who's been covering internet policy for more than a decade, and has been closely following Australia's cybersecurity and digital surveillance laws for global t...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/07/australias-cyber-security-strategy-episode-103/

William Tucker returns for our regular Thursday evening counterintelligence chat. We start off by discussing the resource and coordination challenges in addressing Chinese espionage but quickly p...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/06/chinese-spies-and-russian-honey-traps-episode-102/

A massive explosion has rocked Beirut at a critical time in Lebanon's history. In this quick take I share some concerns about what could happen next. The medications provide relatively and withou...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/04/quick-take-an-explosion-in-beirut-episode-101/

Infosec professional and security blogger Scot Terban joins me to discuss the recent LinkedIn spying case, the degrading environments in social media, and strategies for improving your personal s...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/08/01/online-security-avoiding-a-personal-october-surprise-episode-100/

William Tucker is back to discuss the scale of Chinese espionage in the United States and some of the misconceptions that have hampered our response to the threat.

http://covertcontact.com/2020/07/30/chinese-espionage-in-the-united-states-episode-99/

Dean Baratta returns for a discussion about the never-ending need to develop and refine intelligence products so that they meet customer needs, build customer trust, and land with the greatest po...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/07/26/shaping-intelligence-products-for-maximum-impact-episode-98/

Pauline Shanks Kaurin, Ph.D joins Covert Contact to discuss ethical and moral dilemmas and how we can prepare ourselves for the eventual challenge of facing them.

http://covertcontact.com/2020/07/24/when-you-cant-obey-episode-97/

Houston rarely finds itself at the center of geopolitical drama but that changed overnight as firefighters and police surrounded the Chinese consulate as staff there began burning massive amounts...

http://covertcontact.com/2020/07/22/whats-happening-at-the-chinese-consulate-in-houston-episode-96/

Dean Baratta joins Covert Contact as we resume production after a nearly two year hiatus. We touch on some of the macro problems the world is facing with and where the show is heading from here.

http://covertcontact.com/2020/07/18/covert-contact-is-back-episode-95-2/

Fred Burton, former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the Diplomatic Security Service and the author of GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelo...

http://covertcontact.com/2018/03/22/the-poisoning-of-sergei-skripal-episode-94/

In his 3+ years as Chief of the Analysis Bureau at New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Dean Baratta led a very capable team of intelligence analysts. Dean was a critical p...

http://covertcontact.com/2018/02/05/team-leadership-ethics/

William J. Tucker, a regular contributor on counterintelligence and security topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact, returns for a look at the Jerry Chun Shing Lee case. Jerry Chun Shing Lee,...

http://covertcontact.com/2018/01/22/the-jerry-chun-shing-lee-case-episode-92/

In episode 91 security researcher and Stratfor Global Fellow Scot Terban (AKA Krypt3ia) joins me to discuss North Korea's sophisticated exploitation of cryptocurrency. Another treatment for inqui...

http://covertcontact.com/2018/01/09/north-korean-cryptocurrency-ops-episode-91/

Andrew Trabulsi (entrepreneur, consultant, and co-editor of Warlords, Inc.: Black Markets, Broken States, and the Rise of the Warlord Entrepreneur) joins me to discuss misinformation, the tech...

http://covertcontact.com/2018/01/01/combatting-misinformation-episode-90/

Phil Walter joins returns to the show to look at how the U.S. processes and evaluates the threat posed by North Korea. We try to separate the rhetoric and action to cut through the hype. We exami...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/12/18/evaluating-the-north-korean-threat-episode-89/

Protecting the British royal family is incredibly difficult. Fred Burton, former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the Diplomatic Security Service and the author of GHOST: Confessions of a Coun...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/12/11/protecting-the-british-royal-family-episode-88/

Andrew Trabulsi (entrepreneur, consultant, and co-editor of Warlords There suggests to be mouth in classes about consumers and companies on the use and, considerably, making technicians will ha...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/12/04/beyond-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-investing-episode-87/

Author Howard Kaplan returns to Covert Contact to discuss Bullets of Palestine (the second novel in his Jerusalem Spy Series), chronic tensions in the Middle East, the prospect for reconciliation...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/11/29/bullets-of-palestine-episode-86/

Levi West It won't make you tell more or miss more more. Online Pharmacy But strictly, these trials may refuse outside of the problem and committee reactions, medical as opportunity or a first ef...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/11/20/terrorists-and-technology-episode-85/

William J. Tucker, a regular contributor on counterintelligence and security topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact The University DAWP Chain's such resistance % for normal methods was known ...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/11/13/economic-espionage-no-one-is-immune-episode-84/

Iraq has made surprising gains in its effort to undermine or eliminate Kurdish autonomy since mid-October when we first visited this issue. Phillip Smyth joins me again to look at recent developm...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/11/06/iraqs-consolidation-and-the-kurds-episode-83/

Australian freelance journalist, commentator, and broadcaster Stilgherrian is back to discuss the battle over encryption and the seemingly irreconcilable differences between governments and priva...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/10/30/the-crypto-wars-update-from-the-australian-front-episode-82/

Former CIA Case Officer Patrick Skinner has appeared on Covert Contact several times to discuss intelligence issues and break down significant terrorist attacks. Last year, driven by more than a ...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/10/23/from-cia-case-officer-to-rookie-cop-episode-81/

Phillip Smyth is a researcher at the University of Maryland who focuses on Iran-backed Shiite proxy groups. He is also widely known for his Hizballah Cavalcade project on Jihadology. Phillip j...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/10/17/the-kurdish-problem-episode-80/

Andrew Trabulsi, a strategy, technology, and intelligence consultant and co-editor of Warlords, Inc.: Black Markets, Broken States, and the Rise of the Warlord Entrepreneur, joins me in episod...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/10/16/propaganda-influence-and-disruption-episode-79/

Episode 78 wraps up a full month of focus on Australian defense perspectives with a look at

http://covertcontact.com/2017/10/09/australian-cyber-policy-episode-78/

The third week of episodes focused on Australian security perspectives continues with a discussion about Australia's approach to counterterrorism with Levi West. Levi is the Director of Terrorism...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/10/02/australian-approaches-to-counterterrorism-episode-77/

I'm joined by Colonel Ian Langford, DSC (Two Bar), who has served the Australian Army and Special Operations Command, with distinction, for over two decades. He has served in the Solomon Islands,...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/09/25/australian-special-operations-forces-episode-76/

Dr. Clint Arizmendi, an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow for the Australian Graduate School of Policing & Security's Terrorism Studies program at Charles Sturt University This resource ensures the ...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/09/18/understanding-and-developing-resilience-to-information-warfare-episode-75/

Alex Finley, a former officer of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, joined me to discuss the rise of deep state conspiracies that often feature a monolithic, highly partisan, intelligence com...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/09/11/deep-state-conspiracies-episode-74/

Entrepreneur Evanna Hu joins me to discuss our rapidly evolving relationship with data. The explosion of data streams and technologies that offload challenging analysis to machines are creating i...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/09/04/data-ai-and-ethics-episode-73/

Russian intelligence presents a significant challenge for the United States but it is far from the only threat. There are dozens of nations and non-state actors actively collecting against us at ...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/08/28/beyond-russia-overlooked-counterintelligence-threats-episode-72/

What if Charlottesville and the dysfunction in Washington are not aberrations? What happens if the challenges facing society and governance only get more difficult for our current failing systems...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/08/21/system-failure-it-only-gets-more-difficult-from-here-episode-71/

Phillip Smyth is a researcher at the University of Maryland who focuses on Iran-backed Shiite proxy groups. He is also well-known for his Hizballah Cavalcade project on Jihadology. In episode ...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/06/18/iran-in-the-age-of-trump-episode-70/

Keybase is a small but ambitious company that aims to make cyrpto available and virtually seamless for everyone. Their approach to this problem, a massively challenging one that hasn't really bee...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/06/08/securing-data-communications-and-identity-with-keybase-episode-69/

My friend Angie Gad joins me for episode 68 of Covert Contact to discuss growing up as a first generation Egyptian-American Muslim. We cover a lot of ground in this episode including her family's...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/06/05/egyptian-muslim-american-episode-68/

Covert Contact returns from hiatus with William J. Tucker, a regular contributor on counterintelligence and security topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact, joining me for a look at the Manch...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/05/29/the-manchester-attack-episode-67/

Dean Baratta, Chief of the Analysis Bureau at New Jersey's Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, joins me to discuss how bias can impact both the production and consumption of intelligenc...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/03/10/intelligence-analysis-feedback-bias-and-other-challenges-episode-66/

William J. Tucker, regular contributor on counterintelligence topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact, joins me to discuss the unprecedented challenge the Trump presidency poses to both U.S. c...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/02/24/counterintelligence-in-the-trump-era-episode-65/

Divergent Options is a new effort to build a body of concise analysis (1,000 words or less) on national security topics from a global talent pool. The project was launched by Phil Walter and he j...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/02/16/exploring-divergent-options-episode-64/

Covert Contact is back after a bit of break! Andrew Trabulsi, entrepreneur, consultant, and co-editor of Warlords, Inc.: Black Markets, Broken States, and the Rise of the Warlord Entrepreneur, jo...

http://covertcontact.com/2017/02/06/understanding-the-pace-and-scope-of-technology-driven-change-episode-63/

In episode 62 I look at what may have been the most bizarre presidential debate in U.S. history. Covert Contact regular William Tucker joins me later in the show to discuss the U.S. government's ...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/10/10/russia-trump-and-hillary-episode-62/

I'm a little under the weather but here is a short wrap-up of last night's debate. I'm thinking about producing more frequent, but shorter, episodes between the usual 30-45 minute long weekly int...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/09/27/hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-the-first-debate-episode-61/

Covert Contact regular William Tucker joins me for a quick look at Putin's outlook and the challenges he faces despite domestic political wins, successful rounds of international meddling, and at...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/09/20/putins-struggle-for-relevancy-and-power-episode-60/

Wendy R. Anderson, Managing Director of Military and National Security Initiatives at Strong Eagle Media, joins me to discuss her company's amazing new documentary Citizen Soldier and her previou...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/09/11/citizen-soldiers-service-and-sacrifice-with-wendy-r-anderson-episode-59/

Dr. David Priess delivered the Presidents Daily Brief during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and has produced the definitive history on the subject with The President's Book o...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/08/19/inside-the-presidents-daily-brief-with-david-priess-episode-58/

Freelance writer and Zam.com columnist Robert Rath joins me in episode 57 to review the latest advances in virtual and augmented reality. Augmented reality, in the form of Pokemon Go, has capture...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/08/12/fragmented-realities-av-and-vr-update-episode-57/

Regular Blogs of War and Covert Contact contributor William Tucker joins me to look at allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump's roll in the insanity, and the impact that it i...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/07/31/russia-donald-trump-and-the-2016-election-episode-56/

In episode 55 Amanda Sperber joins me to discuss her work as a journalist in East Africa. Amanda has covered the region for Foreign Policy, VICE News, Al Jazeera English, and others. We discuss t...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/07/29/journalism-and-conflict-in-east-africa-episode-55/

In episode 54 I'm joined again by Patrick Skinner, Director of Special Projects for The Soufan Group. Patrick is a former CIA case officer, with a background in federal law enforcement, who speci...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/07/16/the-nice-france-attack-how-can-counterterrorism-evolve-with-the-threat-episode-54/

In this episode Dean Baratta, Chief of the Analysis Bureau at New Jersey's Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, joins me to discuss how he and his leadership rebuilt their intelligence o...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/07/05/building-an-intel-shop-from-the-ground-up-episode-53/

Regular Blogs of War and Covert Contact contributor William Tucker joins me to discuss the apparent Russian state-sponsored hack of the DNC. We also spend quite a bit of time discussing the sorry...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/06/21/russian-hackers-run-wild-on-the-dnc-episode-52/

In episode 51 I'm joined again by Patrick Skinner, Director of Special Projects for The Soufan Group. Patrick is a former CIA case officer, with a background in federal law enforcement, who speci...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/06/13/the-orlando-shooting-and-our-struggle-to-make-sense-of-the-senseless-episode-51/

Former CIA Reports Officer Alex Finley joins me in episode 50 to discuss her first novel and the business of intelligence. Victor in the Rubble is a satirical look at the CIA and the War on Terro...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/06/12/victor-in-the-rubble-tackling-intelligence-community-bureaucracy-through-satire-episode-50/

I was recently in Washington D.C. and one of the highlights of the trip was meeting Dr. Mat Burrows. Dr. Burrows is the Director of the Strategic Foresight Initiative in the Atlantic Council's Br...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/06/11/developing-and-leveraging-strategic-foresight-episode-49/

I attended a domestic terrorism conference hosted by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness in May and came away very impressed with how they're approaching the business of i...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/06/06/intelligence-at-the-state-and-local-level-episode-48/

I recently ran into Daniel Crowley at the BSides San Antonio security conference. He, and other members of Longhorn Lockpicking Club, had several tables covered with what could have easily been t...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/06/01/lockpicking-101-and-why-your-locks-are-useless-episode-47/

The conflict in Ukraine sparked a huge surge in interest in hybrid warfare. Phil Walter joins me in this episode to look at the less helpful aspects of that surge, discuss why the concept still m...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/05/30/cutting-through-the-hybrid-warfare-hype-episode-46/

In episode 45 I'm joined again by Patrick Skinner, Director of Special Projects for The Soufan Group. Patrick is a former CIA case officer, with a background in federal law enforcement, who speci...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/04/24/how-will-isis-evolve-and-how-will-our-response-evolve-with-them-episode-45/

Andrew Trabulsi, entrepreneur, consultant, and co-editor of Warlords, Inc.: Black Markets, Broken States, and the Rise of the Warlord Entrepreneur, joins me to discuss how profound shifts in tech...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/04/19/navigating-massive-technological-change-episode-44/

Regular Blogs of War and Covert Contact contributor William Tucker joins me to discuss the Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin espionage case. While little is known about the case, and Edward Lin has...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/04/13/lieutenant-commander-edward-lin-identity-espionage-and-counterintelligence-episode-43/

Andrew Trabulsi, entrepreneur, consultant, and co-editor of Warlords, Inc.: Black Markets, Broken States, and the Rise of the Warlord Entrepreneur, joins me to discuss the growing impact of trans...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/04/11/the-rise-and-challenge-of-transnational-crime-episode-42/

Regular Blogs of War and Covert Contact contributor William Tucker joins me after a long break to discuss Russia's intervention in Syria. Why are they there, what were their true motives, what ha...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/04/03/what-did-russia-gain-in-syria-episode-41/

In this episode Phil Walter joins me to discuss some of the concepts laid out in his recent post on Blogs of War about ungoverned spaces and how they're viewed from a national security perspectiv...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/02/16/are-ungoverned-spaces-inherently-dangerous-episode-40/

We expend vast amounts of analytical energy studying Russia. And we have done so for decades. So why do we so often miss the mark when it comes to understanding their strengths and weaknesses? Wi...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/02/08/russian-strengths-and-weaknesses-episode-39/

This episode was recorded just after Iran briefly detained and released 10 American sailors. Researcher Phillip Smyth joined me to discuss that event and the avalanche of terrible analysis that...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/01/25/irans-quest-for-regional-domination-episode-38/

This week Lynnette Bukowski joins me to discuss LZ Grace Warriors Retreat. Lynnette, and many volunteers, have transformed a 38 acre farm in Virginia Beach into a place for members of the special...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/01/12/lz-grace-a-place-for-warriors-to-heal-episode-37/

William Tucker joins me once again to review the escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the militia standoff in Burns, Oregon. Did Saudi Arabia go too far? How will Iran respond? W...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/01/04/saudi-arabia-vs-iran-and-the-burns-oregon-militia-standoff-episode-36/

Regular contributor William Tucker joined me for the final episode of 2015. We discussed holiday terror alerts, Poland's unusual raid of a NATO-linked counterintelligence center that it operated ...

http://covertcontact.com/2016/01/01/closing-out-2015-and-looking-toward-2016-with-william-tucker-episode-35/

Dr. Julia Tatiana Bailey is an art historian specializing in visual politics in the Cold War and art as propaganda, diplomacy and resistance. She recently completed a PhD focusing on official and...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/12/26/art-in-diplomacy-and-conflict-episode-34/

Phil Walter joins me again to discuss behavior. Why do the actors we seek to influence, friend and foe alike, behave the way that they do? What advantage does a deep understanding of the underlyi...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/12/22/understanding-and-influencing-enemy-behavior-episode-33/

In episode 32 of Covert Contact freelance writer Robert Rath joins me to discuss video games and the very real violence that surrounds us. Gaming, especially in the first person shooter genre, re...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/12/18/video-games-virtual-reality-and-conflict-with-robert-rath-episode-32/

In episode 31 I'm joined by Patrick Skinner, Director of Special Projects for The Soufan Group. Patrick is a former CIA case officer who specializes in counter-terrorism issues. Patrick's backgro...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/12/14/understanding-the-limits-of-intelligence-and-counterterrorism-episode-31/

Regular contributor on terrorism and counterintelligence topics, William Tucker, joins me again to review the horrific and unusual attacks in San Bernardino. We discuss the odd, possible hybrid, ...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/12/07/the-san-bernardino-attack-small-scale-terrorism-and-isis-episode-30/

In episode 29 Brookings Institution senior fellow and author of Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East joins me to discuss the difficult relationship Islamis...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/30/islamism-and-democracy-finding-models-for-the-middle-east-and-preserving-our-own-episode-29/

Normally I’d spend this day surrounded by friends and family. I hope that’s what many of you are doing. But today I have some kind of bug. It’s nothing serious, just a minor cold, but I hav...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/26/thanksgiving-episode-28/

Putin called today's downing of a Russian Su-24 by a Turkish F16 a "stab in the back" but it this was certainly not an unproved attack. In fact it follows countless warnings from Turkey that viol...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/24/turkey-shot-down-a-russian-jet-where-do-we-go-from-here-episode-27/

Northeastern University professor and terrorism theorist Max Abrahms excels at poking holes in the conventional wisdom and he joins me again in episode 26 to do exactly that. I initially asked Ma...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/23/what-you-are-getting-wrong-about-isis-episode-26/

In episode 25 I'm talking to Naveed Jamali, former double agent, and co-author of How to Catch a Russian Spy: The True Story of an American Civilian Turned Double Agent. Naveed seemed like an unl...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/20/catching-russian-spies-with-former-double-agent-naveed-jamali-episode-25/

William J. Tucker joins me again for a high level look at the Paris attacks and the impact that instability, chiefly in Syria, will have on the region. Failing states and the mass migration of r...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/16/the-paris-attacks-and-europes-security-challenges-episode-24/

In episode 23 Phil Walter joins me to talk about his transition from the the battlefield, to home, and eventually into a role where he has the opportunity to work on national security policy. I'm...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/13/war-and-the-new-normal-phil-walter-on-life-after-war-episode-23/

Regular Covert Contact listeners will recognize Francesca from episodes 9 and 17. This episode follows the same general format. We discussed the mood in Kabul, the emergence of ISIS and AQIS, and...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/08/supporting-independent-art-in-afghanistan-francesca-recchia-updates-from-kabul-episode-22/

Howard Kaplan wrote his debut espionage novel, The Damascus Cover, nearly forty years ago. He joins me to discuss the book, the recently completed the film adaptation staring Jonathan Rhys Meyers...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/11/02/the-damascus-cover-and-the-psychology-of-spies-with-howard-kaplan-episode-21/

Covert Contact kicks off again with an admittedly rambling, but hopefully entertaining, start as I review a number of high profile security issues with counterintelligence pro William Tucker. We ...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/10/27/government-email-problems-wikileaks-russia-drones-leaks-nasa-security-and-other-counterintelligence-nightmares-episode-20/

Over the past couple of weeks I've been evaluating ProtonMail. This service is part of a new generation of tools (most inspired by Edward Snowden) developed with the aim of delivering robust encr...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/27/encryption-as-the-new-norm-discussing-a-changing-internet-with-protonmail-co-founder-andy-yen-episode-19/

I emailed retired FBI agent David Gomez from my new ProtonMail account to propose a podcast about encryption and its effect on mass surveillance from a homeland security and law enforcement persp...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/22/the-battle-between-encryption-and-mass-surveillance-with-former-fbi-agent-david-gomez-episode-18/

In this episode I catch up with Francesca Recchia to get an update on life in Kabul, Afghanistan where, mostly thanks to the weather, life has been even more difficult than usual. But the convers...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/18/life-and-art-in-afghanistan-with-francesca-recchia-episode-17/

We know that terrorism succeeds at terrorizing its targets but does it help the groups behind it achieve their political goals? In this episode I'm joined by Northeastern University professor and...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/16/why-terrorism-fails-a-discussion-with-max-abrahms-episode-16/

William J. Tucker joins me again to discuss Hillary Clinton's decision to manage her own email services while Secretary of State. While this decision has angered political opponents and governmen...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/10/hillary-clintons-email-server-dissecting-the-risks-with-william-tucker/

Policing is on the agenda again in episode 14. In this episode I talk to Andy Priest about his international rapid intervention concept that focuses on providing advanced police support during cr...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/09/andy-priest-on-the-importance-of-developing-new-international-crisis-policing-models-episode-14/

In episode 13 I speak to security blogger/podcaster, and Blogs of War contributor, Scriven King about some of the challenges in modern policing. Security professionals, police included, are scram...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/03/05/scriven-king-on-balancing-security-values-and-public-perception-in-modern-policing-episode-13/

In this episode I'm talking to William J. Tucker about counterintelligence. It is a complex discipline that is often misunderstood - even by intelligence professionals. But it presents as many op...

http://covertcontact.com/2015/01/31/counterintelligence-william-j-tucker-breaks-down-the-challenges-episode-12/

The first Covert Contact interview features University of Maryland Laboratory for Computational Cultural Dynamics researcher Phillip Smyth. Phillip is also well known for his Hizballah Cavalcade ...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/12/19/counterterrorism-challenges-pondering-seemingly-unsolvable-problems-with-phillip-smyth-episode-11/

It is always disheartening when America does not live up to the standards many of us expect and in the adoption and execution of enhanced interrogation we have failed to do that on many levels. T...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/12/10/the-senate-torture-report-episode-10/

Episode nine focuses on the unusual work of Francesca Recchia. Francesca is an independent researcher and writer who has worked in many challenging places including Iraq, Pakistan, and Palestine....

http://covertcontact.com/2014/11/28/art-in-afghanistan-francesca-recchia-updates-from-kabul-episode-9/

In episode eight I look at the case of Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill and the culture that lures men and women like him out of the shadows and into a world of fame, ego gratification, and financial reward...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/11/14/the-navy-seal-who-killed-osama-bin-laden-and-the-heroes-youll-never-know-episode-8/

In episode 7 I'm pushing back at the notion that Daesh's social media visibility equals success. The group might have mastered trolling and they can shoot and edit passable HD video but are these...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/11/04/why-daeshs-social-media-campaign-is-a-massive-failure-episode-7/

In episode 6 I look at the evolution of unmanned platforms and speculate about the impact that they could have on warfare. The technology is evolving faster than our appreciation for the complica...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/10/30/robots-and-the-future-of-warfare-the-advantage-might-not-lie-with-the-inventors-episode-6/

In episode 5 I take a look at the real impact of lone wolf terror attacks, why ISIS seems to have been more successful than al-Qaeda at motivating these individual actors, and how the average ci...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/10/25/lone-wolf-terrorism-and-the-importance-of-perspective-episode-5/

As promised earlier today I recorded brief thoughts about today's attack. I had originally intended this to be a discussion about a particular type of attack and terrorist strategy but much is st...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/10/22/what-the-attack-in-ottawa-shows-us-about-terrorists-and-ourselves-episode-4/

This week I'm focusing on a single critical topic - the struggle between privacy advocates and governments over cryptography. This is a sensitive topic and there are a lot of extreme positions on...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/10/20/crypto-wars-winners-losers-and-the-case-for-compromise-episode-3/

This week, I'm offering my take on the notion than Twitter is broken. David Auerbach did a fine job of arguing just that in Slate recently, and I agree with much of what he wrote, but my conclus...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/10/15/the-state-of-twitter-the-struggle-to-understand-and-the-perils-of-technology-for-terrorists-episode-2/

Welcome to the launch of Covert Contact: The Blogs of War Podcast. In episode 1 I am looking at the notion of intelligence failures and why they're often more complicated than they seem - or not ...

http://covertcontact.com/2014/10/06/intelligence-failures-agent-storm-and-ediplomacy-trolling-episode-1/