Marco Lombardi, director of ITSTIME research center, is full professor at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart, where he teaches Crisis management and risk communication, Mass Communication theory, Sociology, Intelligence and counter terrorism, Security policies. He is member of the scientific board of the School of Doctorate, the masters in Cultural Diplomacy and the School of Journalism. He managed several EU founded research projects mainly focused on terrorism, security and crisis management. He co-operates with different institutional agencies involved on security both at national and international level. He is member of the Governmental Commission on Counter Radicalization and of the Strategic Policy Committee of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He is member of the board of “JD – Journal for Deradicalization” (www.journal-derad.com), “Journal of Mediterranean and Balkan Intelligence – JMBI” and “Sicurezza, Terrorismo e Società – STS” (www.sicurezzaterrorismosocieta.it)
Maria Alvanou is a defence lawyer and a full professor of criminology at the Greek Police Officer’s Academy. She lectures at the Police Officers’ Post Educational Academy-Department of Thessaloniki on issues of National Security and Terrorism. She acquired her doctorate from the International PhD Program in Criminology of Transcrime (Joint Research Center on Transnational Crime, University of Trento & Catholic University of Sacro Cuore – Milan), where she was also an external collaborator. Her doctoral research was focused on Palestinian female suicide bombers and for this reason she conducted fieldwork in Israel. She has also obtained an LLM from the Department of History, Philosophy and Sociology of Law – Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki. Among her research interests in terrorism is aviation security- counterterrorism meaures and she is a special collaborator for 11Aviation Publications in Greece.
Daniele Maria Barone is a counter-terrorism analyst. He served as Italian Coast Guard officer and worked as project manager and digital communication specialist in the private sector. He graduated in Marketing & Communication at IULM University, obtained a master’s degree in International Relations at ASERI Graduate School of Economics and International Relations – Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, and specialized in counter-terrorism studies earning an Executive Certificate at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) – Herzliya. Given his experience in corporate and institutional communication, homeland security, and geopolitics, his research interests are cyber-jihad, terrorist financing, and terrorist organizations’ communication strategies.
Alessandro Bolpagni is a research analyst at the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues, and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME. He has a BA in Foreign Languages and International Relations from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), an MA in European and International Policies earned as well at UCSC, and a Postgraduate Master in Middle Eastern Studies (MIMES) at the Alta Scuola di Economia e Relazioni Internazionali (ASERI). He also specialised in digital HUMINT (Human Intelligence) and OSINT/SOCMINT (Open Source and Social Media Intelligence), oriented particularly on Islamic terrorism and Russian Private Military Companies (PMC). He focused on monitoring terrorist networks and modelling recruitment tactics in the digital environment, particularly on new communication technologies implemented by terrorist organizations. He has produced operational reports and lectures for training and education purposes for companies, research centres, and law enforcement agencies.
Federico Borgonovo is a research-analyst at the Italian Team for Security Terroristic issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME. He has a BA in Political Sciences for International Relations at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) and MA in Security Policies (PoliSi) earned as well at UCSC in Milan. He specialized in digital HUMINT (Human Intelligence), OSINT/SOCMINT (Open Source and Social Media Intelligence), and SNA (Social Network Analysis) oriented in particular on Islamic terrorism and right-wing extremism. He focused on monitoring terrorist networks and modelling recruitment tactics in the digital environment (from clear web to dark and deep web), with particular attention to new communication technologies implemented by terrorist organizations. As a result of his research, has produced operational reports, scientific publications and lectures used for training and education purposes for companies, research centres and law enforcement agencies.
Giacomo Buoncompagni, PhD, is Adjunct Professor of Sociology of Journalism at the University of Florence. He also teaches Crisis Negotiation, Social Anthropology and Designing Multicultural Integration at CIELS in Bologna and is president of the AIART association in Macerata. In 2019 he won the Pareto Prize for Sociology; he has published several articles on immigration, security and digital media and is the author of two scientific books “Forme di Comunicazione criminologica. Il crimine come processo comunicativo” (Aras edizioni) and “Cybermigration. La dimensione digitale dell’immigrazione: media, istituzioni e sicurezza” (PM edizioni).
Luca Cinciripini, Ph.D. candidate in Institutions and Policies at UCSC in Milan, is research analyst and researcher at the Italian Team for Security Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME. Prevously, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Law at LUISS – Guido Carli and a Master in International Relations at ASERI – Postgraduate School of Economics and International Relations (UCSC). He specialised in EU Security and Foreign Policy and its interaction with NATO, terrorism and open-source intelligence (OSINT). His work includes, in particular, strategic analysis of crisis areas and scenarios focused on Islamic terrorism and national and international security threats.
Gianluca Frinchillucci is an ethno-anthropological and archaeological researcher focusing specifically on communities of conflict areas. He witnessed and studied the conflict between the Ashaninkas people of Selva Central, in the Amazon Forest and Sendero Luminoso. In the region of Arauca (Colombia) he was peace observer, during clashes between the indigenous U’wa and Farc (2001). He directed the Istituto Geografico Polare “Silvio Zavatti” and the journal “Il Polo” with fieldworks in East Greenland, Svalbard and Yamal. As co-founder of Perigeo Association, he worked in contexts of crisis and post-conflicts in Somalia, Ethiopia, Colombia, Nepal, Lebanon and Syria. The methodology used in these cases redefined international cooperation as a means, for cultural diplomacy, to reduce conflicts and to promote peacebuilding, focusing on issues of international security. In 2007 he founded the Ethnographic museum Oromo in Kofale (Ethiopia). Strategic Advisor of the military attaché at the Somali Embassy in Italy, he is also Director of the Punt Institute and Researcher in Ethno-Archeology at the Adduon University of Galcayo in Somalia.
Laris Gaiser is associate professor of security studies. He graduated, after a period of study at Anglia Polytechnic University of Cambridge, in Law at the University of Verona in 2002 with a final dissertation on “The consequences of the devolution of power in United Kingdom and the new role of the State in public economy”. He earned his Master’s degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy from the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) of Milano and after a specialization in crisis management and humanitarian action at UN Staff College he obtained a Ph.D. in Geopolitical Economy at University Guglielmo Marconi of Rome. His area of specialization are Economy Intelligence, Strategic Studies, and Geoeconomy. From 2012 until 2014 he was Vice President acting as President of Euro Mediterranean University – EMUNI, serving at the same time as a member of the Strategic Council at Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Laris is involved in political and business advising, writes as a columnist for several european newspapers and is a visiting lecturer at Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (Austria). He is member of the Paneuropean Union presidency in Strasbourg.
Giovanni Giacalone, raised between Texas and northern Italy, sociologist and islamologist, with a MA in Islamic Studies at Trinity Saint David University of Wales with a thesis on the development of Islam in Italy. Further specialization abroad in counter-terrorism. Bachelor degree in Sociology from the University of Bologna, member of Associazione italiana Sociologia. His research interests and activities are focused on three areas: the study of Islamic communities in Italy, the analysis of Islamic radicalism in the Balkans and Caucasus, the street-gangs phenomenon. His expertise fields are profiling, networking and the study of radicalization process. He is author of the book “La Spirale Balcanica” (The Balkanic Spiral) published in 2016.
Marek Górka – Ph.D. is political scientist graduated of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland. He is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Humanities, Koszalin University of Technology and author of works devoted to Israeli and Polish intelligence services, cyberbullying and cyberbullying among children and adolescents. Research interests: security policy, cyber security, terrorism, intelligence and counterintelligence services, internet sociology, electoral rivalry, charismatic leadership.
Rene D. Kanayama, B.A. (Philosophy & Ethics), M.A. (International Relations), Postgraduate Diploma (Oil & Gas Technology), MBA (Oil & Gas Industry Management), is a Senior Researcher at Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues & Managing Emergencies, responsible for ITSTIME’s Central Asia Branch. He has been professionally engaged in the region of post-Soviet republics, Western Balkans and Middle East since 2003. In capacity of multiple Government Advisory positions, he has counselled both government agencies and investing international corporations on issues of direct investment, homeland and energy security and counter-terrorism. In Central Asia, in 2012-2017 he was focused on both industrial and scientific projects in Uzbekistan, and in April 2022, he was appointed a Foreign Direct Investments Representative and Adviser in Kyrgyzstan.
Tiziano Li Piani, structural engineer and PhD in computational mechanics from the TU Delft in the Netherlands, works as an impact and blast scientist innovator at the national agency TNO-Defense, Safety and Security in The Hague. Furthermore, he is fellow and visiting researcher at several international institutions including at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (2020-2021). His projects deal with the experimental testing and computational modelling of structures and equipment’s exposed to catastrophic man-made threats expected during military operations. Furthermore, Tiziano has developed several counter-terrorism projects for the terrorist threat assessment and soft target vulnerability mapping for terrorist attacks in highly urbanized environments. Tiziano’s research has been internationally awarded, including winning European Commission (JRC)’s public calls and awards for best research in defense technology. He is author of book chapters and journal papers in the field of computational mechanics, material sciences and counter-terrorism.
Barbara Lucini (phd in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research) is Senior Researcher at the Italian Team for Security Terroristic issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME. She is researcher the Catholic University and adjunct professor of Mass media communication. She has been involved in the scientific coordination of several research projects (European and others) focused on crisis management, risk communication, risk perception, security, resilience, radicalisation and extremisms. Her research interests are oriented to sociology of disaster, disaster resilience, disaster management, extremisms and radicalisation. Further, the issue of the relation between terrorism and resilience as well as political extremism have been studied. She is the author of several publications and the“Disaster Resilience from a Sociological Perspective Exploring Three Italian Earthquakes as Models for Disaster Resilience Planning”, Springer International Publishing, 2014; The Other Side of Resilience to Terrorism A Portrait of a Resilient-Healthy City”, Springer International Publishing, 2017.
Silvano Rizieri Lucini is a research-analyst at the Italian Team for SecurityTerroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME. He has a BA in Linguistic Expert for International Relations at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) in Brescia, a MA in European and International Politics earned as well at UCSC in Milan a Master in Middle Eastern Studies (MIMES) at ASERI. He specialised in digital HUMINT (Human Intelligence) and OSINT/ SOCMINT (Open Source and Social Media Intelligence) oriented in particular on Islamic terrorism, Whitejihadism and right-wing extremism. He focused on monitoring terrorist networks (from clear to dark and deep web), with particular attention to new communication strategies implemented by terrorist organisations.
Marco Maiolino is Senior Research Analyst at the Italian Team for Security Terroristic issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME, he is specialised in strategic analysis, terrorism and open-source intelligence (OSINT). Marco Maiolino’s topics of research cover Terrorism, Hybrid Warfare and Sociocultural Intelligence (SOCINT). Regarding his educational background, Maiolino earned a Master degree in International Relations (MIR) at ASERI – Postgraduate School of Economics and International Relations – and previously graduated under the Faculty of Sociology and Political Science at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
Cosimo Melella is a research analyst at the Italian Team for Security Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME, expert of the subject in communication and information for security, secretary of Socint (Società Italiana d’intelligence) in Lombardia. His research topics concern advanced persistent threats, industrial control system security, and CybInt (cyber threat intelligence). Cosimo Melella gained a combined bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Law from Bocconi University, a MA in public policy and policy science and a MSc in Cybersecurity from the University of Milan.
Mauro Pastorello, graduated in Social and Political Sciences for security, with a final thesis on “Protection and resilience of critical infrastructures to cyber attacks and their interdependencies”, and holds a bachelor degree in Legal Sciences. He has served in the Italian Army. He is currently Senior Security manager of the biggest Italian security company, he is in charge of international security services and strategic risk consulting. His research interests and activities are focused on international Islamic and domestic terrorism, intelligence and country intelligence and the use of cyber space by terrorist organizations. He has several publication in accademic journal and magazine regarding the security field. He is a member of ASIS and CPP certified.
Giovanni Pisapia obtained a degree in political science with a thesis on violent crime in South Africa and a Ph.D. in criminology with a thesis on risk assessment – management of critical infrastructure facilities, both from the Catholic University of Milan. As Consultant for the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), he was responsible for training and advance education on crime prevention and administration of justice for law enforcement personnel and subject matter experts. As Security Manager for various local organizing committees (LOCs), in cooperation and coordination with local, national and international law enforcement agencies, he planned, managed and evaluated the implementation of safety and security operations for major sport events – 2006 Winter Olympic/Paralympic Games in Turin (Italy), the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (Scotland, UK), and the 2015 European Games in Baku (Azerbaijan) – where he specialized in the implementation of security measures for transport systems and traffic management. As Project Manager for the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), he was responsible for Johannesburg’s public safety plan for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. In addition, he designed, conceptualized and implemented crime prevention projects related to situational crime prevention, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), and social crime prevention approaches. He advised on the implementation of crime and violence reduction policing strategies, including community policing, problem-oriented policing and hot-spots policing through the use of geographic information system (GIS) technology. He recently conducted a security review of major sport events for the Tokyo Municipal Government in preparation for their 2020 Olympic/Paralympic Games and coordinated the stadium operations for the 2016 UEFA Champions Final in Milan (Italy). Currently, he is serving for a police department in North Carolina, USA, as Crime Analyst, focusing on administrative, strategic and tactical crime analysis and crime mapping.
Daniele Plebani is Senior Research Analyst at the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME. His work includes monitoring terrorist propaganda and tactics with particular emphasis on technical tactical communication as well as focusing on their countermeasures. At the same time he focuses on the illict trafficking of cultural objects and wildlife and the safeguarding of natural and cultural heritage. He obtained his BA in Political Sciences at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan) where he also earned a MA in European and International Policies.
Giulia Porrino is a research-analyst at the Italian Team for Security Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME. She is specialized in digital ethnography, social media intelligence, social network analysis, and socio-semantic network analysis. Her research activities are oriented on right-wing extremism, with a focus on PMC Wagner and Russian STRATCOM. She has a BA in Linguistic Sciences (Russian and Chinese) for International Relations at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, and a MA in Security Policies earned at UCSC in Milan. Since 2022 she has been involved in training on OSINT, Digital HUMINT and SNA to national and international institutions.
Davide Scotti is psychologist, specialized in psychology of emergencies at University of Padua and in crisis management at the Catholic University. Along with a specific theoretical background he has been involved as a fireman at the Regional Center of Fireman – Regione Lombardia. He has been teaching psychology of emergencies, victims’ and operator’s traumatic deseases, social networks coping with traumatic events at Catholic University, Italian Red Cross, Civil Protection and Police. In particular he is in charged of fireman psychological support (Lombardia Regional Center) where started the project on Dispositivi di Protezione Relazionale. He was part of the security activities project in Sri Lanka promoted by Catholic University after 2005 tsunami.
Urszula Soler is graduated in polish literature, social philosophy and sociology. She is Assistant Professor at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. She is specialized in disposition groups of the military social system. Her research interests are focused on security, paramilitary organizations, food security, technology assessment, sustainable development and innovations. She is founding member of the PANTA (Polish Academic Network of Technology Assessment) and founder of Polish Academic Legion; cooperates also for many years with Catholic University of Sacred Heart (Milan).
Nicolò Spagna, sociologist and researcher at the Italian Team for Security Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies – ITSTIME, has a MA in Security Policies with a specific background in sociology and criminology. He specialized in social network analysis and social media analysis. Among his publications: European Jihad: Future of the Past? From Criminals to Terrorists and Back? Final Report. (2019), Globsec Institute and Understanding the Command and Control (C2) through the Social Network Analysis: the case studies of Paris-Brussels terrorist attacks.Sicurezza, Terrorismo e Società, 7/2018.
Matteo Vergani has a PhD in “Sociology and Methodology of Social Research” (2011, Catholic University of Milan), with a thesis on activism and participation in political movements. After a second PhD in Political Science at Monash University, Melbourne (Global Terrorism Research Centre), Matteo is now Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalization at Deakin University. Matteo’s major area of expertise is the study of politically motivated violence and hate, with a main focus on the empirical evaluation of prevention and reduction programs. He has experience in researching hate against immigrants and religious groups, and the online propaganda of violent political groups. Matteo has a good working knowledge of quantitative research, experimental methods and mixed-methods research approaches. Research blog: http://matteovergani.wordpress.com; Google Scholar:https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=axROSpwAAAAJ&hl=en ; Twitter: @teoverga