🚨📰My analysis of the financing of the Buffalo attack is out now. In this piece I use the attacker's manifesto and discord writings, augmented with news articles and price cross-references / estimates to determine that the attack cost around $10,500.
insightintel.substack.com/p/buffalo-shoo
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This preliminary assessment tells us a number of things -- that he self-financed his attack, that it was far more expensive than most lone actor attacks, and that financial constraints likely reduced the lethality of the attack.
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It also points to a number of inflection points for potential detection and disruption of terrorist activity, namely around the purchase of weapons, components, and gear for an attack. We also saw the attacker sell some of his personal belongings in advance of the attack.
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In the piece I do a detailed comparative analysis with other terrorist attacks involving both cells and lone actors, illustrating that, in terms of cost per casualty (gross, I know), this was one of the more expensive attacks we've seen.
I conclude with a few counter-terrorism recommendations, including an emphasis on the utility of financial intelligence in detecting mobilization to violence.
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Anyway, I hope you'll subscribe and have a read. Researching and writing this was...unpleasant.
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Ugh I forgot to thank for flagging this to me and encouraging me to write on it. Sometimes I need a little shove :)
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