On August 25, 2021, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) hosted the NYPD’s fifth annual ‘Cyber Intelligence and Counterterrorism Conference.’ Ali Soufan, Founder of The Soufan Center, joined to discuss the theme “Virtual is Reality: Digital Drivers of Real World Harm.” The series of discussions addressed the varied and complex threat landscape and how actors can best leverage technology and partnerships to protect information, infrastructure, and people in an environment in which the barrier between online and “IRL” has blurred. In a keynote interview alongside John Miller, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence, Mr. Soufan addressed the present global terrorism landscape following the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan: “We are back full circle. The situation today is way more dangerous than it used to be before September 11, 2001.”
