Cyber Operations

CCS Glossary

911 Centers

Cyber attacks, in the form of denial of service, or even ransomware, are used to incapacitate emergency response systems.

Abu Sayyaf

Abu Sayyaf was an ISIS leader with intimate understanding of the finance and demographic makeup of ISIS.

Al Ababil

Iranian cyber operation against U.S. financial firms (2012).

Al‐Qaeda

Logistical support network started to support Muslims fighting the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. Later, Al‐Qaeda attacked the United States in the 9–11 attack on New York's world trade towers, and multiple attack attempts since that time.

Al‐Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)

Al‐Qaeda in Iraq first appeared in 2004, when Abū Muṣʿab al‐Zarqāwī, a Jordanian‐born militant already leading insurgent attacks in Iraq, formed an alliance with al‐Qaeda, pledging his group’s allegiance to Osama bin Laden in return for bin Laden’s endorsement as the leader of al‐Qaeda’s franchise in Iraq. Al‐Zarqāwī, who quickly came to be regarded as one of the most destructive militants in Iraq, organized a wave of attacks, often suicide bombings, that targeted security forces, government institutions, and Iraqi civilians. Predecessor of ISIS.

Al Quds Force (IRGC)

The IRGC‐QF is one of the Iranian regime’s primary organizations responsible for conducting covert lethal activities outside of Iran, including asymmetric and terrorist operations. Iran views terrorism as a tool that it can use to support its efforts to deter and counter its perceived foes, assert leadership over ...