The Honorable Shannen L. Rossmiller (Ret.) is a Senior Instructor in Cyber-CounterIntelligence (CCI) Forensics. With more than seven years experience as a counter-intel asset for the FBI, she is credited as the nation’s first online operative and for pioneering the new espionage field of CCI. With the help of approximately 30 fictitious Muslim male characters for communicating and tracking the enemy, the judge has monitored Arabic language Internet forums for threats against national security, along with assisting the Bureau on a variety of computer intrusion investigations. Since 9/11, Judge Rossmiller has delivered more than 200 cases of actionable intelligence and stings -- including the largest conviction in the War on Terror, in The United States of America, Department of the Army v. Spec. Ryan G. Anderson. As documented in a DOD case study and in international media reports since 2004, Judge Rossmiller’s skills are derived from a complex background in criminal justice (focus on behavioral science), foreign language (self-taught Arabic, French and Spanish), and the law (20 years). In 1999, the then-29-year-old Ms. Rossmiller was appointed as a Municipal Court Judge, which, as confirmed by the National Association of State Courts, made her the youngest female judge in American history. She sat on the bench for over six years, adjudicating civil and criminal cases. She is currently the senior civil litigation specialist with the Montana Attorney General’s office, where she is responsible for the coordination and oversight of all civil cases filed against the state. Ms. Rossmiller received her Bachelor’s Degree with honors from the Sisters of Providence College of Great Falls, with a double major -- Criminal Justice and Legal Studies -- graduating summa cum laude.

Honorable Rossmiller (Ret.) will discuss PENETRATING MINDS OF MAYHEM: INSIDE THE PSYCHE OF AN ISLAMIC EXTREMIST. based on her journey from mother of three, to Municipal Court Judge, to the West's most successful cyber-operative in the Global War on Terror (GWOT). To date, her radical Muslim male characters and online stings have resulted in 214 cases of actionable intelligence -- including two of the largest convictions in the GWOT for the United States Government: 1) United States Army v. Spec. Ryan Anderson (5 life sentences for attempted espionage and providing material support to a terrorist group during time of war); and 2) United States v. Michael Reynolds (30 years to life for providing material support to a terrorist group during a time of war). The Judge's experience and expertise are the result of more than fifteen years of civil and criminal litigation (including a six-year bench assignment), plus her pioneering efforts with the FBI to create the new field of "cyber counter-intelligence." This presentation will briefly detail how the Judge, as a private citizen, funneled her rage over 9/11 into real-time action — combining her unique skills in technology, behavior analysis, languages, and the law to mount a one-woman war against terrorism. She will further discuss the Internet as a new-age virtual theatre of war, as well as the various threats terrorist groups pose to national security. Topics will include: a brief analysis of terrorist groups' motivations and capabilities in the context of cyber jihad; the importance of understanding the strategy and psychology of terrorist organizations and their radical followers; the latest threats they pose domestically and internationally; understanding of the mindset, behavior patterns, methods and the objectives of a cyber jihadist; and finally, a few case studies from the Judge's operational files.