There is a concerted effort by researchers to understand how the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is capable of influencing and radicalizing socially vulnerable audiences around the world via digital means. These efforts are demonstrated in a limited body of research that are often times rooted in conventional processes, therefore, having limited direct application to today’s dynamic, open-source digital environment. This environment affords a challenging, yet unique, opportunity to employ open source machine learning techniques guided by social learning and routine activities theory from the criminological field of study. This presentation will discuss a human driven, but machine assisted framework for identifying ISIL methods and victims in order to facilitate an effective counter-narrative for engaging the victims prior to influence happening. The framework utilizes historically based research designs to develop the frameworks, but machine learning to train classification algorithms utilizing data pulled from the Twitter API for modern application. The Scikit-Learn set of tools for Python were used to rapidly prototype tools for data mining and data analysis.
Timothy Newberry is a former Naval Officer and subject matter expert in digital training design and adversarial use of the internet. As a co-founder of White Canvas Group, Tim was selected to create, design, and implement a program for the CIAs Counter Terrorism Center producing measurable results against global terror networks. Tim has provided countless hours of subject matter expertise and creative design support to US Special Operations Forces (SOF) in developing alternative technical solutions for existing mission requirements within SOF. Since founding WCG, Tim has built technologies like GridMeNow, a location-based service for enhanced situational awareness, which has since been spun off into its own company. Tim has also been a noted speaker at venues such as the Global Information Operations conference in London and the World Wide Information Operations conference in Washington DC. Prior to White Canvas Group, Tim was a Submariner for eight years of active duty service while completing various assignments in the Pacific, Iraq and Washington DC areas. He is a 2000 graduate from the United States Naval Academy where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science and graduated with distinction. He has an M.S. in Engineering Management from Catholic University of America, a masters level equivalent in Nuclear Engineering for US Naval Nuclear Power Plant operations, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of New Haven where his focus is on the intersection of new age digital challenges and criminal justice.