CULF 3331: "Middle Eastern Revolutions"

Although Iran does have a track record of international cyber attacks a report authored by a cyber security company is being scrutinized for its lack of proper documentation and evidence for current activity. It is important to foreign relations and intelligence official of the State that information available to them is of the utmost accuracy.

Cyber activity and crime are growing in the Middle East according to anti-virus industry reports. This raises the question of business in the Middle East are prepared or taking action to counter the increase of threat; reports however show that most are not.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have a long standing history of conflict that continues to this day. As the conflict continues cyber crime is becoming a regular tool for Iran to employ. Saudi Arabia also engages in cyber attacks but not as frequent as Iran. In addition a Yemen Cyber group, that has engaged in cyber crime, is believed to have direct ties to the Iran State.

Recently the Saudi Ministry of Defense website was cyber attacked via DDoS. Tensions between Iran and Saudi are evident as a back and forth of cyber attacks exchange. The attack is alleged to be a form of protest as Saudi continues its executions of people on charges of terrorism.

IBM has been doing business in Egypt in 1954, and we've continued to invest in the country and support our clients ever since. We're committed to helping Egypt develop a world-class tech infrastructure, even through the turbulent changes in government of the past few years.

UMD's Dr. Sahar Khamis weighs-in on the use of social media in Egypt's revolution. By Dr. Sahar Khamis and Katherine Vaughn, Arab Media & Society "If you want to free a society, just give them Internet access." It explores how these new media avenues enabled an effective form of citizen journalism, through providing forums for ordinary citizens to document the protests; to spread the word about ongoing activities.

The International Organization for Migration contends that human trafficking with worth between $7 billion and $12 billion annually. This would make human trafficking the third most lucrative criminal activity after the narcotics and weapons trades.

This article discusses the role of 'cyberactivism' or the role played by new media in paving the way for political transformation, in both the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions of 2011.

The kid in the dock could be auditioning for a starring role in the global psychodrama The Little Guy Versus the State. Pale, thin and dwarfed by two enormous security guards in London's Westminster Magistrates' Court, Jake Davis speaks in a whisper, and only to confirm his name.

Because it is nearly impossible to obtain any accurate information about the real extent of criminal activities that go undetected, there has been little research on human trafficking. There has ben reported estimates that the number of women and children that were expected to be trafficked during the 2010 Soccer World Cup ranged from 38.000 to 100,000. The author of this article believes that many of these numbers are overly exaggerated and unsubstantiated.

The actual number of human trafficking victims is unable to be determined. This is because there is not an official database on human trafficking. It is hard for some police officials to positively identify trafficking cases. In some cases many people do not even recognize they are victims of the crime.

A feature on Magnum's website showing the work of Moises Saman and his documentation of foreign volunteers fighting with the YPG in Syria. I think the work is stunning and it will end up being a historically significant record of a few brave people willing to join the fight even though it wasn't their own.

A New York Times article on the violence in Greece between Syrian refugees and the Macedonian border guards. The article talks about the Europeans not being able to come to a consensus on what to do with refugees. Additionally the page has a video of the protesters attempting to break through the barricade, which in response Macedonian authorities indiscriminately fired tear gas into a crowd including small children.

Another New York Times article about the weekend truce. Unfortunately according to the article it seems that Russia used the clause that allows airstrikes against ISIS, as an opportunity to also bomb some opposition fighters positions.

A New York Times article discussing how the various sides were following the truce at the time of publication. I think this truce is a step in the right direction and therefore is worth bookmarking.

Although Iranian official have a lot of control over the country still, many reformists have come forwards with opposing viewpoints. Momentum being formed to have change in political system.

Iranians viewed nuclear program as a symbolic figure that promoted nationalism. Considered the deal to be diminishing and are against the westernization.

opinion piece on why the Iran Nuclear Deal is positive. Intervention is necessary in order to ensure that Iran does not become an enemy with weapons to threaten the U.S. and surrounding countries.

Iran's reformist have come together to ensure that hardliners, such as Ahmadinejad, do not regain control in parliament. The are willing to live with other factions in order to prevent this from taking place.

Because there are many instances of human trafficking that go unreported, it is impossible to determine the amount of victims who have been part of human trafficking. Uganda is a major source and destination for human trafficking of men, women, and children. Kenya is another country that is a major source and destination and both of these countries are ranked as Tier 2.