Rita Katz is the Executive Director and founder of the SITE Intelligence Group, the

world’s leading non-governmental counterterrorism organization specializing in

tracking and analyzing online activity of the global extremist community. Ms. Katz

has tracked and analyzed global terrorist and jihadi networks for over two decades,

and is well-recognized as one of the most knowledgeable and reliable experts

in the field.

Ms. Katz has infiltrated terrorist fronts undercover, testified before Congress and in

terrorism trials, and briefed officials at the White House and the Departments of

Justice, Treasury, and Homeland Security. Her investigations and testimony have

driven action by several governments against terror- linked organizations and

individuals. She has provided counterterrorism training sessions to military

leadership, intelligence analysts and law enforcement agents from numerous

government  agencies in the U.S. and abroad. She has led numerous workshops

for non-governmental organizations and academic audiences, and supported

policy makers and government institutions worldwide in their efforts to counter

terrorism and prevent violent extremism.

Ms. Katz received special recognition from FBI Director Robert Mueller for her

“outstanding assistance to the FBI in connection with its investigative efforts.”

Her counter-terror analyses have touched on such critical topics as messenger applications and ICT platforms, the value of open-source intelligence, evolving recruitment efforts, and the implications of various geopolitical developments, among other matters.

Ms. Katz is the author of Terrorist Hunter: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman who Went Undercover to Infiltrate the Radical Islamic Groups Operating in America (Harper Collins, 2003).

Born in Iraq and a graduate of Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University, Ms. Katz is fluent in Arabic.