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This article examines the contributions of 'formers', individuals who were previously affiliated with groups advocating violent extremism but who now work as researchers and practitioners in the P/CVE field. There are a limited number of studies assessing the value added of formers to P/CVE programs. We make two significant contributions to the body of work. First, we examine how formers can contribute not only to P/CVE practice, but to academic research of terrorism, and how their insights and experience can be employed for improving research designs and interview completion rates and responses. Second, none of the extant works incorporates the views of formers themselves in the assessments. Four of the co-authors of this article are formers who publish peer-reviewed and policy institute research, and they present their perspectives on who counts as a former, and how their individual backgrounds inform and bolster their research and praxis. We encourage researchers of political violence to emulate other fields of social science and incorporate appropriately trained formers as subject-participants to improve research in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the perspectives of young Australian Muslims and their reasons for distrusting government-led countering violent extremism (CVE) programs, while further discussing potential strategies to build trust. While previous literature has examined the relationship between the Muslim community and law enforcement in counterterrorism contexts, there is limited research on the perspectives of young Muslims involved in CVE programs. A phenomenological method was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that these young Muslims do not question the intentions of individual CVE workers, but they do lack trust in the police as an organization and the government in general. The research recognizes the significance of both external and internal factors in shaping trust or distrust, while highlighting that a narrow focus on community policing as a means to build trust has contributed to the existing distrust among young Muslims. To address these issues, the paper suggests the implementation of a Community-Based Participatory Approach (CBPA) that empowers young Muslims by involving them in the CVE design process. This approach allows for greater community engagement and helps address the trust deficit by giving young Muslims a voice in shaping the direction and outcomes of their involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of new vulnerabilities continues to rise significantly each year. Simultaneously, vulnerability databases have challenges in promptly sharing new security events with enough information to improve protections against emerging cyberattack vectors and possible exploits. In this context, several organizations adopt strategies to protect their data, technologies, and infrastructures from cyberattacks by implementing anticipatory and proactive approaches to their system security activities. To this end, vulnerability management systems play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of cyberattacks by identifying potential vulnerabilities within an organization and alerting cyber teams. However, the effectiveness of these systems, which employ multiple methods and techniques to identify weaknesses, relies heavily on the accuracy of published security events. For this reason, we introduce a discussion concerning existing vulnerability detection methods through an in-depth literature study of several research papers. Based on the results, this paper points out some issues related to vulnerability databases handling that impact the effectiveness of certain vulnerability identification methods. Furthermore, after summarizing the existing methodologies, this study classifies them into four approaches and discusses the challenges, findings, and potential research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of new vulnerabilities continues to rise significantly each year. Simultaneously, vulnerability databases have challenges in promptly sharing new security events with enough information to improve protections against emerging cyberattack vectors and possible exploits. In this context, several organizations adopt strategies to protect their data, technologies, and infrastructures from cyberattacks by implementing anticipatory and proactive approaches to their system security activities. To this end, vulnerability management systems play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of cyberattacks by identifying potential vulnerabilities within an organization and alerting cyber teams. However, the effectiveness of these systems, which employ multiple methods and techniques to identify weaknesses, relies heavily on the accuracy of published security events. For this reason, we introduce a discussion concerning existing vulnerability detection methods through an in-depth literature study of several research papers. Based on the results, this paper points out some issues related to vulnerability databases handling that impact the effectiveness of certain vulnerability identification methods. Furthermore, after summarizing the existing methodologies, this study classifies them into four approaches and discusses the challenges, findings, and potential research directions.

In this paper, we review the calculation of suppression of Chiral Separational and Chiral Vortical Effects for strange quarks (which allegedly yield spin polarization of Λ ∕ Λ ̄ -hyperons in peripheral Heavy-Ion Collisions) by the nonperturbative interactions in hot deconfined QCD with the Field Correlator Method. The parameter range in the temperature-baryon density plane is expected to cover LHC-ALICE and RHIC-STAR data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While mental health frameworks are increasingly accepted in Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) policies, little is known about practitioners' experiences when individuals are mentally ill. This paper discusses how mental health clinicians review interactions between psychopathology and violent extremism, and which challenges Dutch practitioners face in decision-making processes around including severely mentally ill people in CVE individual case management approaches. Inclusion means that people are identified as (potential) violent extremists, which justifies CVE interventions on top of regular mental health care. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 international mental health clinicians and 13 Dutch CVE practitioners. Data was analysed with qualitative thematic analysis. Results show that professionals usually view the risk of extremist violence, and not psychopathology, as the decisive factor for inclusion, unless (forensic) mental health clinicians advise otherwise. Nevertheless, some practitioners can experience challenges around making dichotomous choices about including mentally ill persons. Some expressed concerns about illegitimately labelling certain people as 'radicalised' when they suffer from severe mental illnesses (e.g. psychosis). CVE cases with mental illnesses are, however, characterised by heterogeneity, non-dichotomy and missing information. False negatives and false positives concerning uptake in pre-emptive CVE policies can have detrimental individual and societal effects. Future research suggestions are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of cybersecurity vulnerabilities keeps growing every year. Each vulnerability must be reported to the MITRE Corporation and assessed by a Counting Number Authority, which generates a metrics vector that determines its severity score. This process can take up to several weeks, with higher-severity vulnerabilities taking more time. Several authors have successfully used Deep Learning to automate the score generation process and used explainable AI to build trust with the users. However, the explanations that were shown were surface label input saliency on binary classification. This is a limitation, as several metrics are multi-class and there is much more we can achieve with XAI than just visualizing saliency. In this work, we look for actionable actions CNAs can take using XAI. We achieve state-of-the-art results using an interpretable XGBoost model, generate explanations for multi-class labels using SHAP, and use the raw Shapley values to calculate cumulative word importance and generate IF rules that allow a more transparent look at how the model classified vulnerabilities. Finally, we made the code and dataset open-source for reproducibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) field is evolving in Canada, with CVE teams offering psychosocial disengagement interventions in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec. This article is written as a case study to detail the evolution of the city of Toronto’s CVE program, called Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA), housed in the community mental health centre Yorktown Family Services (“Yorktown”). Toronto – the largest Canadian city, provincial capital of Ontario, and one of the most multicultural cities in the world – has seen several high-profile cases of violent extremism and terrorism over the past few years. For example, there were two “Incel” attacks that together killed eleven people, including nine women, in 2018 and 2020. In 2022, hate crime occurrences reported to the Toronto Police Service were 74% higher than pre-pandemic levels, and 40% higher than the 10-year average. Clearly, there was a need for a structured and multi-sectoral response which led to the inception of ETA in 2020. Against this backdrop, this paper outlines ETA’s program components and operational design. Various data points such as client age range, ideological affiliation, and services rendered are provided to demonstrate trends for the period of April 2022 to March 2023. As this paper will demonstrate, ETA’s services are grounded in engagement, outreach, case management (multi-agency service delivery), psychotherapy, religious counselling, peer support and forensic consultation, which is reflected in the evolving CVE literature and evidence-base.

The rising awareness of cybersecurity among governments and the public underscores the importance of effectively managing security incidents, especially zero-day attacks that exploit previously unknown software vulnerabilities. These zero-day attacks are particularly challenging because they exploit flaws that neither the public nor developers are aware of. In our study, we focused on dynamic application security testing (DAST) to investigate cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. We closely examined 23 popular WordPress plugins, especially those requiring user or admin interactions, as these are frequent targets for XSS attacks. Our testing uncovered previously unknown zero-day vulnerabilities in three of these plugins. Through controlled environment testing, we accurately identified and thoroughly analyzed these XSS vulnerabilities, revealing their mechanisms, potential impacts, and the conditions under which they could be exploited. One of the most concerning findings was the potential for admin-side attacks, which could lead to multi-site insider threats. Specifically, we found vulnerabilities that allow for the insertion of malicious scripts, creating backdoors that unauthorized users can exploit. We demonstrated the severity of these vulnerabilities by employing a keylogger-based attack vector capable of silently capturing and extracting user data from the compromised plugins. Additionally, we tested a zero-click download strategy, allowing malware to be delivered without any user interaction, further highlighting the risks posed by these vulnerabilities. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recognized these vulnerabilities and assigned them CVE numbers: CVE-2023-5119 for the Forminator plugin, CVE-2023-5228 for user registration and contact form issues, and CVE-2023-5955 for another critical plugin flaw. Our study emphasizes the critical importance of proactive security measures, such as rigorous input validation, regular security testing, and timely updates, to mitigate the risks posed by zero-day vulnerabilities. It also highlights the need for developers and administrators to stay vigilant and adopt strong security practices to defend against evolving threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid increase in the robustness and impact of cyber-attacks, a counter-evolution in defense efforts is essential to ensure a safer cyberspace. A critical aspect of cyber defense is the experts’ ability to understand, analyze, and share knowledge of attacks and vulnerabilities in a timely and intelligible manner that facilitates the detection and mitigation of emerging threats. Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) reports, and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) are two primary sources of information that security analysts use to defend against cyber attacks. Analyzing the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of attackers from these sources by mapping them to the ATT&CK framework provides valuable insights to defenders and aids them in countering various threats.Unfortunately, due to the complexity of this mapping and the rapid growth of these frameworks, mapping CTI reports and CVEs to ATT&CK is a daunting and time-intensive undertaking. Multiple studies have proposed models that automatically achieve this mapping. However, due to their reliance on annotated datasets, these models exhibit limitations in quality and coverage. To overcome these challenges, we present SMET – a tool that automatically maps text to ATT&CK techniques based on textual similarity. SMET achieves this mapping by leveraging ATT&CK BERT, a model we trained using the SIAMESE network to learn semantic similarity among attack actions. In inference, SMET utilizes semantic extraction, ATT&CK BERT, and a logistic regression model to achieve ATT&CK mapping. As a result, SMET has demonstrated superior performance compared to other state-of-the-art models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This bibliography contains journal articles, book chapters, books, edited volumes, theses, grey literature, bibliographies and other resources on the multi-faceted relationship between terrorism and education. It covers a wide range of aspects (such as how education affects radicalisation processes, the impact of (counter-)terrorism on educational institutions, or the training of terrorist actors). The bibliography focuses on recent publications (up to April 2024) and should not be considered as exhaustive. The literature has been retrieved by manually browsing more than 200 core and periphery sources in the field of Terrorism Studies. Additionally, full-text and reference retrieval systems have been employed to broaden the search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent metabolic disorder that has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Endothelial dysfunction, characterized by impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery, is a known predictor of cardiovascular risk. However, the relationship between NAFLD and endothelial dysfunction, as well as the impact of NAFLD on clinical cardiovascular events, remains unclear. Objective The aim of this systematic literature review was to determine the association between endothelial dysfunction, as measured by FMD of the brachial artery, and NAFLD. Additionally, we aimed to investigate the relationship between NAFLD and clinical cardiovascular events (CVE). Methods A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for articles published between 2000 and July 2023. The reference lists of the included studies were also searched to retrieve possible additional studies. Original studies published in English focusing on adults with NAFLD and endothelial dysfunction are included. Editorials, commentaries, letters and studies focusing on pediatric populations and non-NAFLD liver diseases were excluded. The quality of included studies was appraised using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Meta-analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.4 software. Results The initial search yielded a total of 1792 articles and ultimately only 20 studies met the criteria. A total 6396 NAFLD patients were studied. Meta-analysis showed that individuals diagnosed with NAFLD had significantly lower brachial FMD values compared to their respective control groups (standardized mean difference: -4.63, 95% confidence interval: -5.68 to -3.58, p

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent metabolic disorder that has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Endothelial dysfunction, characterized by impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery, is a known predictor of cardiovascular risk. However, the relationship between NAFLD and endothelial dysfunction, as well as the impact of NAFLD on clinical cardiovascular events, remains unclear. Objective: The aim of this systematic literature review was to determine the association between endothelial dysfunction, as measured by FMD of the brachial artery, and NAFLD. Additionally, we aimed to investigate the relationship between NAFLD and clinical cardiovascular events (CVE). Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for articles published between 2000 and July 2023. The reference lists of the included studies were also searched to retrieve possible additional studies. Original studies published in English focusing on adults with NAFLD and endothelial dysfunction are included. Editorials, commentaries, letters and studies focusing on pediatric populations and non-NAFLD liver diseases were excluded. The quality of included studies was appraised using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Meta-analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.4 software. Results: The initial search yielded a total of 1792 articles and ultimately only 20 studies met the criteria. A total 6396 NAFLD patients were studied. Meta-analysis showed that individuals diagnosed with NAFLD had significantly lower brachial FMD values compared to their respective control groups (standardized mean difference: -4.63, 95% confidence interval: -5.68 to -3.58, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, NAFLD patients exhibited a significantly higher risk of clinical cardiovascular events compared to controls (odds ratio: 2.61; 95% CI: 1.41–4.83, p < 0.002). Subgroup analysis of studies focusing on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) versus pure steatosis demonstrated that individuals with NASH had even lower FMD values than those with pure steatosis (standardized mean difference: -3.84, 95% confidence interval: -7.56 to -0.13, p = 0.03, I2 = 66%). Limitations, bias and heterogeneity: The review included studies published in English language, over last 23 years and specified database resulted in language bias and might have missed older pertinent studies from another important database. The overall heterogeneity is attributed to variations in study populations, outcome measurements, differences in methodological approaches among included studies, and diverse diagnostic criteria for NAFLD. Conclusion: Individuals with NAFLD exhibited impaired brachial FMD, indicating compromised endothelial function. Furthermore, NAFLD patients had an elevated risk of clinical cardiovascular events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent history, individual-owned devices were used to launch widespread botnet attacks like Mirai. it is therefore critically needed to educate potential buyers about cyber compromises. We propose a novel tool: COnsumer eDucation for cybersecuritY (CODY) to educate a smart device user or a potential buyer about vendor compromise history through information extracted from vulnerability repositories. The CODY prototype crawled vulnerability databases to populate a rich web-based interface using open-source libraries. The visualizations on this dashboard aimed for an interactive experience for the user. The display also listed possible countermeasures extracted from Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) fields as defense mechanisms achievable by the device user. Further educational information included easy-to-understand textual components extracted from the CAPEC summary using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). The webpage was shared with a target audience that spanned persons with buying potential and interest in smart devices. The feedback collected by the users of CODY led to the discovery that trust in a specific brand and existing knowledge of compromise history were related, however, existing knowledge of cybersecurity practices was not an influencing factor. Furthermore, the knowledge discovered by the user through CODY was anticipated to result in informed buying behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the funding of community-based organizations (CBOs) as instruments for reducing the extreme behaviors of violent extremist organizations (VEOs). Evidence abounds that CBOs in industrialized nations like the USA and Canada have budget lines designated for government expenditures to deal with extremist behaviors in their local communities. This state-level effort to reduce violent extremism and VEOs behavior is absent throughout Africa, especially in Nigeria. This gap is the focal point of our investigation into how external resource dependence affects CBOs in northeast Nigeria. We triangulated our data sources using secondary data, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. However, this study discovered that in Nigeria, external donor agencies, NGOs, and organizations that support CBOs financially, logistically, materially, and in terms of training also tend to impact their programming selection, training content, and accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of cybersecurity vulnerabilities keeps growing every year. Each vulnerability must be reported to the MITRE Corporation and assessed by a Counting Number Authority, which generates a metrics vector that determines its severity score. This process can take up to several weeks, with higher-severity vulnerabilities taking more time. Several authors have successfully used Deep Learning to automate the score generation process and used explainable AI to build trust with the users. However, the explanations that were shown were surface label input saliency on binary classification. This is a limitation, as several metrics are multi-class and there is much more we can achieve with XAI than just visualizing saliency. In this work, we look for actionable actions CNAs can take using XAI. We achieve state-of-the-art results using an interpretable XGBoost model, generate explanations for multi-class labels using SHAP, and use the raw Shapley values to calculate cumulative word importance and generate IF rules that allow a more transparent look at how the model classified vulnerabilities. Finally, we made the code and dataset open-source for reproducibility.

Higher education institutions in England, Scotland and Wales have an obligation under the 2015 Counter Terrorism and Security Act to protect students from being drawn into terrorism. This legislation has proved controversial, with concerns about the securitisation of education, as well as fears of over‐reporting which could stigmatise individuals or communities. Despite the significance of the Act to the education sector and concerns about the implications of compelling educators to report radicalisation concerns, there is limited empirical research exploring how teachers and academics have engaged with the policy. The evidence for higher education settings is particularly limited. This study employed a survey experiment with 1003 academics working in British universities to examine willingness and ability to recognise and respond to student radicalisation. Our data provides no evidence for over‐reporting. Rather, it suggests that academics teaching in British universities are uncertain about radicalisation risk and ambivalent about reporting concerns. Reporting ambivalence is driven by a lack of confidence about appropriate reporting thresholds, concerns about negative consequences of reporting and free speech values. Previous experience of dealing with a student of concern and Prevent training are associated with increased commitment to reporting concerns. The results suggest that Prevent training could be enhanced by targeting more experienced academics and tackling concerns about the tensions between the Prevent duty and freedom of speech policies and values. However, for this training to be effective it is essential that it is credible for an audience that is used to engaging with deep thinking on challenging issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the perceived characteristics of pig master, a mobile app developed as a Continuing Veterinary Education (CVE) tool for veterinarians. The CVE programmes are being taken up by various institutions in India and it was observed that many of the field veterinarians are not able to attend the regular CVE programmes for obvious reasons, for whom ICT tools like mobile devices can be useful. In this context, veterinarians' perception of the mobile application on pig farming developed after the need assessment. The study was carried out with the veterinarians of the State Department of Animal Husbandry (SDAH), Andhra Pradesh. A sample of 91 field veterinarians was studied to whom Android Package on pig farming and questionnaires were sent. The 'pig master' mobile application was found to have good visual quality, more credible, effective in arousal of curiosity and was with high information coverage along with user-friendliness. Moreover, the app was also found with remarkable utility and helpful in decision-making as expressed by the majority of the field veterinarians. This study emphasizes the need of making CVE programmes effective by using digital media towards enrichment of knowledge of veterinarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operating systems play a crucial role in computer systems, serving as the fundamental infrastructure that supports a wide range of applications and services. However, they are also prime targets for malicious actors seeking to exploit vulnerabilities and compromise system security. This is a crucial area that requires active research; however, OS vulnerabilities have not been actively studied in recent years. Therefore, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of OS vulnerabilities, aiming to enhance the understanding of their trends, severity, and common weaknesses. Our research methodology encompasses data preparation, sampling of vulnerable OS categories and versions, and an in-depth analysis of trends, severity levels, and types of OS vulnerabilities. We scrape the high-level data from reliable and recognized sources to generate two refined OS vulnerability datasets: one for OS categories and another for OS versions. Our study reveals the susceptibility of popular operating systems such as Windows, Windows Server, Debian Linux, and Mac OS. Specifically, Windows 10, Windows 11, Android (v11.0, v12.0, v13.0), Windows Server 2012, Debian Linux (v10.0, v11.0), Fedora 37, and HarmonyOS 2, are identified as the most vulnerable OS versions in recent years (2021–2022). Notably, these vulnerabilities exhibit a high severity, with maximum CVSS scores falling into the 7–8 and 9–10 range. Common vulnerability types, including CWE-119, CWE-20, CWE-200, and CWE-787, are prevalent in these OSs and require specific attention from OS vendors. The findings on trends, severity, and types of OS vulnerabilities from this research will serve as a valuable resource for vendors, security professionals, and end-users, empowering them to enhance OS security measures, prioritize vulnerability management efforts, and make informed decisions to mitigate risks associated with these vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regardless of how the outcomes of a given P/CVE program are measured or evaluated, a fundamental, implicit (if not explicit) research question is: to what extent can obtained results apply to others within a given population. In short, to what extent can the results apply to others, in general; what is the so-called generalizability of the findings? In other words, the outcomes of a given P/CVE program are relatively useless unless they can be replicated, and the likelihood of replication is synonymous with generalizability. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to overstate the importance of generalizability with respect to P/CVE research and evaluation, and generalizability is fundamentally a function of how well sampling is performed. Therefore, it is also virtually impossible to overstate the importance of sampling with respect to an evidence-based approach to P/CVE. This research methods brief describes fundamental issues (including potential pitfalls and means to avoid them) with respect to sampling in the context of P/CVE program design and evaluation: including issues related to sampling online “Big Data,” and “nested” (multi-level/hierarchical) program/research designs.

This paper describes an application dedicated to collecting and mining reports of software safety vulnerabilities and exposures in physical systems. This work focuses on the clustering problem of such reports, which means grouping them through automated computing process. The clustering is carried out in two stages. In the first stage, potential similarities between the reports, together with the number of clusters are detected through automated text analysis. In the second stage, a hierarchical clustering is conducted to reduce the number of these clusters to provide potential number of appropriate clusters of the group of reports. The clustering of the second stage provides the user with greater flexibility in viewing individual reports. This paper focuses mainly on the first stage of described clustering method. Two selected clustering algorithms have been compared with the aim to show how to detect the most appropriate number of groups between scraped documents. The computational experiment results are presented and discussed in the experimental section of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incentivizing research or evaluation participants can be crucial toward reducing data collection timeframes and obtaining sufficient sample sizes (i.e., to reduce the risks of obtaining null or misleading findings). Consequently, participant incentives should not be underestimated with respect to their importance both for obtaining quality P/CVE research or evaluation data, and for improving subsequent managerial/programmatic decision-making: no small matter given the high-stakes fields of P/CVE. This research methods brief discusses participant incentives (including potential pitfalls and means to avoid them), in the context of P/CVE program design and evaluation, including: their relevance to statistical power and reducing sample bias, budgeting for incentives, alternatives to monetary incentives, and considerations for planning to upscale a given P/CVE program.

Process Evaluations are evaluations focused on understanding how a program is implemented. This also can include evaluating the extent to which a program is implemented according to plan (i.e., evaluating its “program fidelity”). In short, process evaluations seek to identify a program’s “moving parts” to assess the extent to which they are functioning as intended. Ideally, that includes uncovering the theoretical mechanisms—the reasons “why”—a program’s outputs or outcomes are (or are not) achieved. Understanding why a program is (or is not) working as well as expected is the backbone of evidence-based P/CVE program design and evaluation, and is essential to informing sound P/CVE program management decision-making. Consequently, without exception, good P/CVE-related research, or evaluation projects—those that are scientifically grounded—must include at least some element(s) of process evaluation. This research methods brief describes the fundamental components of process evaluations, common pitfalls and means to avoid those pitfalls, within the context of P/CVE program design and evaluation.

This article addresses how the legacy of the conflict known as the Troubles affects how we conceive of and respond to terrorism and political violence (TPV) on the island of Ireland. It will focus on how dominant frameworks such as those that emerged after 9/11 led to what has become a two-tiered system of counterterrorism and counter extremism: one for Troubles-linked extremism and one for Islamic-linked extremism. Focusing on issues of ideology, radicalization, motivation, legislation, and particularly prison regimes, this article will examine how Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland frame and respond to TPV. In addition, this article will highlight how, what is termed Preventing Violence Extremism (PVE) and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), manifests in Ireland in response to pre- and post-9/11 instances of TPV and, finally, how lessons from Ireland might be relevant for addressing political violence beyond the island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is possible to forecast the volume of CVEs released within a time frame with a given prediction interval. For example, the number of CVEs published between now and a year from now can be forecast within 8% of the actual value. Different predictive algorithms perform well at different lookahead values other than 365 days, such as monthly, quarterly, and half year. It is also possible to estimate the proportions of that total volume belonging to specific vendors, software, CVSS scores, or vulnerability types. Some vendors and products can be predicted with accuracy, others with too much uncertainty to be practically useful. This article documents which vendors are amenable to being forecasted. Strategic patch management should become much easier with these tools, and further uncertainty reductions can be built from the methodologies in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly attention is emerging on the globalisation and proliferation of initiatives and measures in the fields of counter-radicalisation and countering violent extremism (Hayes and Kundnani 2018). A multitude of international actors endeavour to provide security norms and governance standards in that respect, including international and regional organisations, donor communities, transnational/global networks as well as non-governmental actors, informal coalitions, platforms and think tanks. This article aims at mapping and analysing how such many-sided assemblages function along European peripheries, more specifically, in two under-studied countries, Kosovo and Georgia, where several international actors are involved in projects to prevent and counter radicalisation and violent extremism. The study will contrast and compare externally driven efforts of countering violent extremism and radicalisation, and trace the interests and agendas pursued by different international actors operating in the Western Balkans and the South Caucasus. Moreover, it will analyse how the concepts of radicalisation and extremism and measures to counter them have been specifically "localised" in Kosovo and Georgia, as well as grounded and embedded in their specific socio-political contexts and normative frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initiatives to prevent and counter "violent extremism" (P/CVE) are often highly individualised and individualising, and function to reinforce negative racialised and gendered stereotypes. Recently, some feminist and other critical scholars have argued that sexist and misogynistic beliefs are inter-related with other drivers of "radicalisation" and "extremism", which may lead to the securitisation of forms of sexist and misogynistic violence. There has not yet been, however, a systematic examination of the ways in which even some of these critical and feminist interventions are complicit in the reproduction of the logics of gender and race that structure the oppression and violence they take as their target. In this paper I argue that there is a powerful brand of governance feminism informing P/CVE global governance initiatives that has little consideration of the distributed effects of this move on the operation of racialised and gendered power. I position governance feminism as a sub-category of white feminism and show that it is specifically white feminism that is dominant in the institutions of liberal governance relevant to P/CVE. I draw on Black, decolonial, and intersectional feminist theory to show how the gendered subjects of P/CVE governance are often presented as race-neutral, in deeply problematic and limiting ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All’interno del quadro generale delle politiche di lotta alla radicalizzazione, la società civile è sempre più percepita come uno dei partner principali nello sviluppo e nell’implementazione delle strategie di contrasto e prevenzione. Secondo la Commissione Europea per affrontare efficacemente l’estremismo violento è necessario adottare un approccio che metta al centro i soggetti vulnerabili attraverso una stretta collaborazione con le comunità locali e, in particolare, con gli attori della società civile.All’interno di tale approccio le famiglie sono state identificate come un obiettivo prioritario per la prevenzione, sia da parte dei politici che dei professionisti nel settore della PVE/CVE (Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism). Ciò perché il processo di radicalizzazione di un individuo coinvolge inevitabilmente anche la famiglia, la cerchia degli amici, la comunità e la società più ampia. Inoltre, all’interno della famiglia, un ruolo cruciale viene assegnato alla donna, in quanto madre, sia per la capacità/possibilità di intercettare i segni di radicalizzazione, sia in quanto mediatore all’interno della famiglia e della comunità.L’obiettivo del presente paper è quello di analizzare come i paesi europei hanno inserito nei loro programmi di contrasto e prevenzione all’estremismo violento un approccio di genere facendo emergere eventuali criticità e/o punti di forza.Dall’analisi dei recenti studi è evidente come inizino ad emergere le numerose contraddizioni insite in questi programmi di PVE/CVE, in particolare si sottolinea come la donna venga strumentalizzata e come si alimenti paradossalmente un processo di stereotipizzazione di genere. Il rischio, infatti, è che il ruolo della donna sia identificato e limitato a quello di membro della famiglia (come madre, moglie, sorella) e che queste misure di contrasto all’estremismo violento organizzate su una logica ‘maternalistica’ impattino negativamente, non solo sull’efficacia del contrasto alla radicalizzazione ma anche sui reali processi di empowerment femminile e, più in generale, sui diritti delle donne.