19Nov/25

Mapping the pro-Islamic State (IS) ecosystem on TikTok: a brief overview – by G. L. Giardini and A. Bolpagni

From January 2025 to October 2025, G. L. Giardini and A. Bolpagni have been monitoring and analysing the presence of the pro-Islamic State (IS) ecosystem on TikTok, especially focusing on the dissemination of IS propaganda within the social network platform. Through day-by-day monitoring using Digital Human Intelligence (Digital HUMINT) techniques, more than 270 seed accounts have been identified. The latter, which are pro-IS accounts actively sharing propaganda material, have been functional to the reconstruction of a network characterised by more than 100,000 users. 

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17Nov/25

New research by ITSTIME fellows highlights role of Search Engines in making Terrorist content findable – by Miron Lakomy and Ali Fisher

The study, published in Security Journal, focuses on the role played by search engines in accessing Salafi-jihadi terrorist content on the surface web and beyond. It argues that due to the very nature of the World Wide Web, search engines may be exploited as primary gateways to harmful content, allowing followers of Salafi-jihadi violent extremist groups to find and law enforcement to detect crucial communication channels maintained by terrorist organisations easily.

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14Nov/25

“Make it Count”: The Terrorgram Timeline – by S. Lucini, A. Pugnana

Terrorgram collective is a loosely connected network that operates on Telegram through a net of different chats and channels that share extremist ideas. The main purpose was to promote accelerationism, neo-fascist and neo-nazi subcultures, the glorification of violence, and acts of terror by sharing propaganda with the aim to radicalise users into committing attacks. Terrorgram developed on Telegram starting in 2019, becoming the Terrorgram collective in 2021.

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07Ott/25

The “October 7” attacks:  the 1985 and 2023 terrorist operations and their aftermath – by Maria Alvanou

October 7th has been a turning point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict trajectory, with its aftermath mobilising and polarising millions of people all over the world, to support the Palestinian cause, while governments internationally seem to juggle between recognising the right of Israel to defend itself and recognising the right of Palestinians to exist also in safety. But there was another October 7th in the history of terrorism, that seems to have been forgotten, though it actually: the hijacking of Achille Lauro.

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16Set/25

SPOTREP: The French security services’ warning against Russian espionage activities against the defense industry – By Emilio Palmieri

INCIDENT

A few days ago, French security services issued a warning in which they singled out the need to enhance the awareness towards espionage activities on the part of Russian spy agencies targeting the national defense industrial complex. The memo emphasized attempts, carried out through various means, of human approaches to individuals belonging to concerned national companies involved in the defense sector with the aim of soliciting or even coercing employees to provide information relating to their own corporate production.

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29Ago/25

Telegram, TikTok e Discord come strumenti di reclutamento e radicalizzazione dell’estrema destra in Italia – by A. Pugnana

Da gennaio 2024 a luglio 2025, in Italia sono stati effettuati 21 arresti nei confronti di affiliati all’ecosistema di estrema destra nazionale e internazionale. Gli individui arrestati presentavano età differenti comprese tra i 18 e i 70 anni, con una prevalenza di arrestati over 31. I dati analizzati sono stati acquisiti attraverso un’analisi di dati open source resi consultabili dalle autorità. Per tale ragione, i dati considerati fanno riferimento a quegli arresti in cui le autorità hanno esplicitamente dichiarato i social media (piattaforme di messaggistica o social network) nei quali gli imputati operavano.

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18Ago/25

“Vincere i cuori e le menti”: la rete jihadista in Italia passa dai social agli arresti – by E. Ristuccia e G. Giardini

Da gennaio 2024 a giugno 2025, in Italia sono stati effettuati 28 arresti per terrorismo islamico. Gli individui arrestati per tali reati sono di nazionalità, età e contesti socio-culturali differenti, con una prevalenza di soggetti rientranti nella fascia d’età dei Millenials e della Generazione Z, più generalmente intesa come fascia 19-30 anni. Tuttavia, denominatore comune di quasi la totalità degli arresti effettuati è il ruolo sempre più centrale dei social media nei processi di avvicinamento e successiva radicalizzazione. 

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03Ago/25

Summer School – Intelligence C4. Conoscenza, Comprensione, Consapevolezza, Comunicazione.

Per la prima volta ITSTIME apre al pubblico la scuola di intelligence che lo ha fatto conoscere a livello internazionale. La formazione si rivolge a chi desidera acquisire una specifica capacità di lettura e analisi della minaccia in differenti scenari, acquisendo tecniche di ricerca, monitoraggio e (pro-)azione nella dimensione digitale.

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16Lug/25

“Path to Sainthood”: the role of influence played by the ‘Sanctification Propaganda Cycle’ within the Terrorgram collective – by S. Lucini e A. Pugnana

The following article is an extract from the paper “Path to Sainthood”: the role of influence played by the ‘Sanctification Propaganda Cycle’ within the Terrorgram collective, Issue 4, Vol. 21, published by the ITSTIME international journal Sicurezza, Terrorismo, Società.

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