Al Qaeda: Current Capabilities and Threat Trajectories
Founded by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s, Al-Qaeda is best known for orchestrating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people. But what kind of threat does the violent Islamist organisation pose in 2025?In this episode, host Lucas Webber is joined by Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British diplomat and former Coordinator of the United Nations’ Monitoring Team, and an expert on Al-Qaeda. Edmund shares unique insights into Al-Qaeda’s current capabilities, the group’s strategic recalibration following the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack, and why he believes a directed Al-Qaeda attack may not be far off.🎧 Listen to learn: ➡︎ How serious a threat Al-Qaeda currently poses on the global stage ➡︎ Why the group is ramping up recruitment and training ➡︎ What indicators suggest a directed attack on the West could be imminent📱Connect with Edmund Fitton-Brown. ⚡Follow Tech Against Terrorism on Bluesky and LinkedIn. 🌐Check out the Tech Against Terrorism website.💬 Connect with our host, Lucas Webber. 📄 Read a full transcript of this episode here. 🎙️ An OG Podcasts Ltd production.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) is fighting for the independence of Balochistan, a resource-rich but politically marginalised region in Pakistan. In pursuit of that goal, the group have evolved both their offline and online strategies, from suicide bombings to increasingly sophisticated online propaganda. Now, experts are warning the BLA could represent the most significant internal threat Pakistan faces.In this episode, host Lucas Webber is joined by Riccardo Valle, a researcher specialising in jihadism, armed groups, and regional politics in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Together, they unpack the rise of the BLA, its growing presence on social media and messaging platforms, and the unique role women play in the group’s operations.🎧 Listen to learn: ➡︎ The origins of the BLA ➡︎ About their sophisticated online media campaign ➡︎ About the group’s female suicide bombers ➡︎ How Pakistan is responding to the BLA’s threat ➡︎ How the group has become Pakistan's biggest internal threat 📱Connect with Riccardo Valle.⚡Follow Tech Against Terrorism on Bluesky and LinkedIn. 🌐Check out the Tech Against Terrorism website.💬 Connect with our host, Lucas Webber. 📄 Read a full transcript of this episode here. 🎙️ An OG Podcasts Ltd production.
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Accelerationism: From Online Subcultures to Real-World Violence
Accelerationism is no longer a fringe theory - it’s become a dangerous ideological driver behind a growing number of real-world terrorist attacks. Rooted in the belief that societal collapse should be sped up to bring new world order, this radical worldview has been adopted by extremists across the spectrum - from the far-right to violent anarchists.In this episode, host Lucas Webber is joined by Ben Makuch, national security reporter and contributor to The Guardian and Peter Smith, an independent researcher and journalist with the Canadian Anti Hate Network. They unpack where accelerationist narratives started, and how the rise of the digital age has helped spread them. They also examine why this ideology appeals to violent actors - and the challenges law enforcement faces in countering the threat.🎧 Listen to learn: ➡︎ What accelerationism is, and how it has evolved over time. ➡︎ How extremist communities are using this ideology to justify real-world violence. ➡︎ The role of memes, manifestos, and online subcultures in spreading accelerationist ideas. ➡︎ The challenges in tackling the threat of accelerationism. 📱Connect with Ben Makuch and Peter Smith.⚡Follow Tech Against Terrorism on Bluesky and LinkedIn. 🌐Check out the Tech Against Terrorism website.💬 Connect with our host, Lucas Webber. 📄 Read a full transcript of this episode here. 🎙️ An OG Podcasts Ltd production.
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Blueprints for Violence: How Extremists Are Weaponising 3D Printing
Once a revolutionary manufacturing innovation, 3D printing has become a double-edged sword. While the technology is driving progress across sectors like medicine and aerospace, it’s also being exploited to produce untraceable, homemade firearms.In this episode, host Lucas Webber is joined by Yannick Veilleux-Lepage, Assistant Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and a leading expert on the intersection of terrorism and emerging technologies. Together, they explore how 3D-printed weapons are being used by extremist actors, how online communities are spreading firearm blueprints, and why policymakers are struggling to respond to this growing security challenge.🎧 Listen to learn: ➡︎ Why 3D printing has become so attractive to extremists. ➡︎ How online communities are facilitating the global spread of 3D-printed firearm designs. ➡︎ The different types of 3D-printed weapons in circulation. ➡︎ What governments and platforms can do to mitigate this evolving threat.📱Connect with Yannick Veilleux-Lepage. 📚Read Yannick’s latest research Printing Terror: An Empirical Overview of the Use of 3D-Printed Firearms by Right-Wing Extremists⚡Follow Tech Against Terrorism on Bluesky and LinkedIn. 🌐Check out the Tech Against Terrorism website.💬 Connect with our host, Lucas Webber. 📄 Read a full transcript of this episode here. 🎙️ An OG Podcasts Ltd production.
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The Evolution of the Islamic State: From Regional Force to Global Threat
The Islamic State, once a local insurgency rooted in Iraq and Syria, has transformed into a global network with far-reaching influence. In this episode of the podcast, we chart how its operations have expanded beyond the Middle East, as the group leveraged technology, propaganda, and local affiliates to spread its ideology across borders. Host Lucas Webber is joined by Aaron Zelin, a Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and founder of the widely acclaimed website, Jihadology. Aaron explains how The General Directorate of Provinces, a global hierarchy structure responsible for overseeing and coordinating Islamic State’s global affiliates, is central to much of the group's expansion.🎧 Listen to learn:➡︎ How The General Directorate of Provinces has helped IS integrate more globally.➡︎ The implications of The General Directorate of Provinces for global security. ➡︎ How current political instability in Syria affects the operational capabilities of IS.➡︎ Strategies which could mitigate the Islamic State’s influence globally.📱Connect with Aaron Zelin.📚Learn more about jihadology.net here. ⚡Follow Tech Against Terrorism on Bluesky and LinkedIn. 🌐Check out the Tech Against Terrorism website.💬 Connect with our host, Lucas Webber. 📄 Read a full transcript of this episode here.🎙️ An OG Podcasts Ltd production.
Want to learn more about how terrorists and violent extremists are using the internet to communicate and share propaganda? Perhaps you’re interested in why terrorists share their manifestos online and livestream their attacks? The Tech Against Terrorism podcast is a deep dive into the evolving use of the internet by terrorists and violent extremists, how this relates to real world harms, and what can be done to support the tech sector to disrupt this threat. Join us as we speak to the world’s leading experts in this field and uncover everything from the online propaganda behind an IS prison break in Syria, to the online network of neo-Nazis behind a foiled terrorist plot in Texas.
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