Rebecca Earnhardt and Gary Ackerman make the point that while technology transfer occurs as a part of routine life, the topic remains relatively understudied in the terrorism literature. As terrorists engage in increasingly lethal and technologically sophisticated attacks, the concern surrounding terrorists acquiring cutting-edge weaponry and related technologies is accumulating. They go on to describe the Terrorist Technology Transfer (T3) project which provides a first cut at addressing this critical operational gap in knowledge through the exploration of extant technology transfer literature, construction of the first iteration of the T3 Model, and illustrative application of the model to an emerging technological threat. They conclude by stating the T3 project indicates the promise of having not only research, but also operational and policy impacts. It raises the possibility of providing government stakeholders, including intelligence, law enforcement, military, and policy agencies with a variety of insights and operational tools.
Publication Information
Earnhardt, Rebecca and Gary Ackerman. 2019. "Modelling Terrorist Technology Transfer." On the Horizon: Security Challenges at the Nexus of State and Non-State Actors and Emerging/Disruptive Technologies (April). https://nsiteam.com/on-the-horizon-security-challenges-at-the-nexus-of-state-and-non-state-actors-and-emerging-disruptive-technologies/