The Loopcast

Episode 73- Strategy and Information Security

Dave Aitel (@daveaitel), CEO of Immunity, discusses strategy and information security with me (@rejectionking).  Our conversation covers describe the internet as a "strategic space", what actors are there in this space, the power of leaks, deletion and insertion strategies, the problems of SIGINT, and ending with the 0 day market and hacking back.

Dave mentioned Immunity's Daniel Keys Moran Library which can be found here.

Episode 72-The Sunni Jihad in Syria

Thomas Hegghammer (@hegghammer), Aaron Zelin (@azelin), and I (@rejectionking) discuss the Sunni side of the Syrian Jihad. We discuss Qardawi's call to jihad and the theological underpinnings of that statement, foreign fighters in terms of numbers and motivations, the relationship of the Syrian jihad to the Sunni religious establishment in Saudi Arabia, and briefly comparing the jihad in Syria to previous contemporary jihads.

Thomas and Aaron have a good article in Foreign Affairs: "How Syria's Civil War Became a Holy Crusade"

Episode 71- Car Hacking

Chris Valasek (@nudehaberdasher) talks to me (@rejectionking) about car hacking and Chris and Dr. Miller's (@0xcharlie) latest paper "Adventures in Automotive Networks and Control Units." My conversation with Chris begins with why car hacking and looking at automotive networks, followed by looking at methodology and attack surfaces, security features of cars, and then we end the conversation on thematic questions of could automotive hacks be widespread and the problems of a internet of everything.

You can find the tools and data here. And if you're interested in reading about automotive security at length please check out the Center for Automotive Embedded Systems Security's website. Great work and research. 

Episode 70- Jason Healey discusses his book "A Fierce Domain: Conflict in Cyberspace, 1986-2012"

Jason Healey (@jason_healey) and I (@rejectionking) discuss Jason's book "A Fierce Domain: Conflict in Cyberspace, 1986-2012". We open up the discussion with a look at the organization and reasoning behind Jason's book, a look at how we understand state's cyber capabilities, how the United States' creates cyber policy and whether that policy is too militarized, NSA surveillance and the private sector, and we end the show with what would be the ideal cyber policy.   

Episode 69-J.M. Berger discusses his book "Jihad Joe: Americans who go to war in the name of Islam"

J.M. Berger (@intelwire) and I (@rejectionking) discuss his book "Jihad Joe: Americans who go to war in the name of Islam." We discussed: why J.M. chose this particular topic, sources and methods, the role of Saudi Arabia in shaping Islam in America, Afghanistan and Bosnia, comparing Awlaki and bin Laden, and end the show with a discussion of the online jihad.

 

Epsiode 68-A quick talk on Tunisia's economy

Allison Good (@allison_good1) and I (@rejectionking) discuss her trip to Tunisia and Tunisia's economy.


Do check out Allison's articles: "What is wrong with US Aid to Tunisia?" and "Tunisia: economic, political situations deteriorates"

Episode 67- Fanar Haddad discusses his book "Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity"

Dr. Fanar Haddad (@fanarhaddad) talks to me (@rejectionking) about his book "Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity". We discuss sectarianism within the context of Iraq from the periods of 90s to 2003, from 2003 to 2010, and then 2010 on. At the end we discuss Syria and its effect on Iraq's political and sectarian dynamics.

Episode 66- A discussion on the recent NSA leaks

Joshua Foust (@joshuafoust) and I (@rejectionking) discuss the NSA programs that were bought to light by Edward Snowden.  Our discussion covers a time line, the programs made public, legal and over sight controls, the focus of the programs, the NSA's relationship with the infosec community, and ending with the possibility of reform.

You can read a more detailed Snowden timeline on Josh's blog and you can read more of Josh's analysis at "State of Play."

Episode 65- Can the war in Syria be considered a Shia jihad?

Phillip Smyth (@phillipsmyth) and I (@rejectionking) discuss whether the war in Syria can be considered a Shia jihad. The discussion opens up with an update on the war in Syria, followed by discussion of the transnational aspect of the war in Syria for Shia that includes a focus on sectarianism, the concept of defensive jihad, Iran's role, and Shia militia's media and music.

Please check out Phillip's work at "Hizballah Cavalcade" including "The Lion of Damascus, and Afghans, and Africans! Oh my!: Fighters from Exotic Locales in Syria's Shia Militias", "Liwa'a 'Ammar Ibn Yasir: A New Shia Militia Operating in Aleppo, Syria", and "The Songs of Liwa'a Abu Fadl al-Abbas: Militant Iraqi Shia Music and Syria".  

Episode 64- Rouhani's Cabinet

Reza H. Akbari (@rezahakbari) talks to me (@rejectionking) about the makeup of Rouhani's cabinet. Our talk covered the political and legal process through which Rouhani built his cabinet, who were the choices for the various ministries, what is the perception of those choices internationally and domestic, and what can we expect from Rouhani's first hundred days.

Reza and Matthew Reed (@matthewmreed) have written an article on the considerations going in to Rouhani's first hundred days in office. It can be found here.

If you're interested in viewing a comprehensive list of Rouhani's cabinet choices Arash (@thekarami) has one up at Iran Pulse, which can be found here.