Dr. Yaen Yaacov Sofer

Dr. Yaen Yaacov Sofer is a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Information Science and Artificial Intelligence Applications at Bar-Ilan University. His research and teaching focus on the intersection of artificial intelligence, open-source intelligence, cybersecurity, social media, competitive intelligence, and the study of terrorist activity in the digital environment.

Research Interests

Dr. Sofer's research examines the online activity of Islamist terrorist organizations and the ways in which they use social media platforms and the internet for propaganda, ideological dissemination, recruitment, identity and community building, influence operations, and mobilization.

His work combines quantitative and qualitative research methods with advanced computational approaches, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, text analysis, OSINT, and SOCMINT. This interdisciplinary approach enables the analysis of large-scale digital datasets, the identification of patterns and trends, the study of online discourse, and the extraction of meaningful insights from diverse information sources.

Alongside computational analysis, his research emphasizes the importance of cultural, religious, linguistic, rhetorical, and symbolic context in understanding digital communication. This approach seeks to integrate the analytical capabilities of AI systems with human expertise and contextual interpretation in order to achieve a deeper understanding of online information and behavior.

Additional research interests include open-source intelligence, social media analysis, the Dark Web, cyber intelligence, information behavior, network science, and the application of artificial intelligence to research, intelligence analysis, and decision-making processes.

Teaching

Dr. Sofer teaches courses in programming, cybersecurity, intelligence, artificial intelligence, and the relationship between technology and society.

Programming and Computer Science

• Introduction to Computer Science and Advanced Python Programming I
• Introduction to Computer Science and Advanced Python Programming II

Cybersecurity and Information Security

• Introduction to Information Security and Cybersecurity
• Advanced Cybersecurity

Competitive Intelligence

• Introduction to Competitive Intelligence
• Competitive Intelligence: Information, Strategies, and Technologies

Technology and Society

• Robots and Society

Areas of Expertise

• Applied Artificial Intelligence
• OSINT - Open-Source Intelligence
• SOCMINT - Social Media Intelligence
• Terrorism in the Digital Environment
• Social Media and Digital Discourse Analysis
• Cybersecurity and Information Security
• Dark Web Intelligence
• Competitive Intelligence
• Machine Learning and Text Analysis
• Network Science
• Information Behavior
• Digital Information Analysis
• AI-Enhanced Research and Intelligence Analysis