stratfor

The origin of Stratfor can be traced to the Center for Geopolitical Studies (CGPS) at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There, professors George Friedman and Leonard Hochberg built a team that researched geopolitics, built wargaming simulations, and advised companies on geopolitical risks and opportunities.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The company was founded in 1996 and named Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) by lead analyst Matthew S. Baker. It was moved to Austin in August 1997 with seven members of the CGPS team who served as part of the co-founding team along with founder George Friedman.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

George served as the head of analysis for the organization, and the business was led by several CEOs in the late 1990s and early 2000s as it refined its offerings. Chip Harmon{{Cite press release |url=https://www.stratfor.com/horizons/stratfor-appoints-chip-harmon-president-lead-next-phase-growth|title=Stratfor Appoints Chip Harmon as President to Lead Next Phase of Growth|publisher=Stratfor|language=en|access-date=2018-03-01}} was appointed president in February 2018.

Stratfor was acquired by RANE in 2020. {{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rane-acquires-geopolitical-intelligence-platform-stratfor-300998822.html | title=RANE Acquires Geopolitical Intelligence Platform Stratfor }}

Stratfor clients have included academic institutions, investment firms, and large corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, the Coca-Cola Company, and Dow Chemical Company.{{cite news|last1=Hastings|first1=Michael|date=28 February 2012|title=WikiLeaks Stratfor Emails: A Secret Indictment Against Julian Assange?|publisher=RollingStone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-a-secret-indictment-against-julian-assange-181655/|access-date=28 October 2019}}{{cite news|last1=Weber|first1=Paul J.|last2=Satter|first2=Raphael|date=28 February 2012|title=Leaked emails shine rare light on Stratfor|publisher=NBC News|agency=AP|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46555168/ns/us_news-security/t/leaked-emails-shine-rare-light-stratfor/#.XbZ6Fi1L0cg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303064557/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46555168/ns/us_news-security/t/leaked-emails-shine-rare-light-stratfor/#.XbZ6Fi1L0cg|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 3, 2013|access-date=28 October 2019}}{{cite news|last1=Vinograd|first1=Cassandra|last2=Satter|first2=Raphael|date=28 February 2012|title=WikiLeaks publishes leaked Stratfor emails|publisher=Yahoo|agency=AP|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/wikileaks-publishes-leaked-stratfor-emails-135816242.html|access-date=28 October 2019}} Many of Stratfor's operatives previously worked for the U.S. government.{{cite web |last1=Pfeffer |first1=Anshel |title=Israel, Kurdish Fighters Destroyed Iran Nuclear Facility, Email Released by WikiLeaks Claims |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-kurdish-fighters-destroyed-iran-nuclear-facility-email-released-by-wikileaks-claims-1.415066 |website=Haaretz |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=en |date=17 February 2012}}

Media coverage of their ideas about the 1998 bombing of Iraq brought Stratfor into the public eye.{{Cite magazine|last=Fisher|first=Max|date=2012-02-22|title=Stratfor Is a Joke and So Is Wikileaks for Taking It Seriously|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/02/stratfor-is-a-joke-and-so-is-wikileaks-for-taking-it-seriously/253681/|magazine=Atlantic|access-date=2021-07-05|quote=. . . Stratfor's first big break had come in 1999 with a spate of glowing articles such as this January piece in Time, which reported Stratfor's 'striking' theory that the U.S. bombing of Iraq in December 1998 was 'actually designed to mask a failed U.S.-backed coup.'}} At this time, the company had about twenty employees.{{Cite magazine|last=Hall|first=Michael|date=1999|title=The Spying Game|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-spying-game/|magazine=Texas Monthly|access-date=2021-07-05}} By 2008 they were up to 40 full-time employees in Austin. 2016 saw the number rise to about 100, three-quarters of whom were based in Austin.{{cite news|last=Grisales|first=Claudia|date=25 September 2018|orig-year=21 October 2015 (stated as 4 September 2016)|title=Austin's Stratfor raises $12 million to fund growth|work=Austin American-Statesman|url=https://www.statesman.com/business/20160904/austins-stratfor-raises-12-million-to-fund-growth|url-status=live|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023074915/http://www.mystatesman.com/news/business/austins-stratfor-raises-12-million-in-growth-plan/nn6zY/|archive-date=23 October 2015}} Stratfor often hired and trained interns from the nearby University of Texas.

Stratfor analysts pay for information, but also use open source information to predict where global crises will arise. Stratfor also obtains information by way of personal networks. Fred Burton indicated in leaked emails that he maintained contact with his trusted former CIA sources as a source of information, and that he was aware of the sealed indictment against Julian Assange in 2011.{{cite web|last=Laing|first=Jonathan R.|date=October 15, 2001|title=The Shadow CIA|url=http://online.barrons.com/article/SB1002927557434087960.html|access-date=December 19, 2010|publisher=Barron's magazine}} ([http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=13032 read complete article] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601025407/http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=13032|date=2011-06-01}}) Barron's Jonathan Laing has called Stratfor founder George Friedman "one of our favorite experts on geopolitics," saying, "His judgments tend to be more nuanced and long-term than those of the press or Wall Street."{{cite news|last1=Laing|first1=Jonathan|date=16 August 2014|title=Putin's Big Miscalculation|publisher=Barrons|url=http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB50001424053111904537004580094312032577890?mod=BOL_twm_col|access-date=19 August 2014}} More recently, The Atlantic's James Fallows referenced a Stratfor article on U.S. strategy in Iraq and Ukraine, following outbreaks of turmoil in those regions.{{Cite magazine|last=Fallows|first=James|date=June 24, 2014|title=Stratfor on American Grand Strategy in Iraq and Ukraine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/06/stratfor-on-american-grand-strategy-in-iraq-and-ukraine/373308/|magazine=Atlantic|access-date=9 July 2014}}

Friedman resigned from the company in 2015 to launch a new company, Geopolitical Futures.[https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/12/03/stratfor-founder-george-friedman-forms.html Pope, Colin (December 3, 2015). "Stratfor Founder George Friedman Starts Media Business," Austin Business Journal.]

Dun & Bradstreet's estimate of Stratfor's 2021 revenue is $11.61 million.{{Cite web|title=Stratfor Enterprises, LLC|url=https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.stratfor_enterprises_llc.03937e4d4db189a95b02a0741c76588a.html#financials-anchor|access-date=2021-07-05|website=D&B Business Directory|publisher=Dun & Bradstreet}}

In October 2015, Stratfor raised $12 million in funding through a growth equity investment by Dallas-based Teakwood Capital.{{cite news|last=Calnan|first=Christopher|date=22 October 2015|title=Austin security firm raises $12M, plans C-suite hire|work=Austin Business Journal|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/techflash/2015/10/austin-security-firm-raises-12m-plans-c-suite-hire.html|access-date=4 April 2019}} Stratfor planned to use the funds to expand its reporting networks, improve operational infrastructure, and move into new markets.

In April 2017, the company launched its core online publication under the name Stratfor Worldview.{{Cite web|url=http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/multimedia-update-stratfor-launches-worldview-revolutionizes-access-geopolitical-intelligence-2212225.htm|title=Stratfor Launches Worldview, Revolutionizes Access to Geopolitical Intelligence, Analysis and Forecasting|date=April 26, 2017|website=Marketwired}}

Kamran Bokhari, Stratfor's former vice president for Middle East and South Asian affairs, co-wrote Political Islam in the Age of Democratization (2013). Reviewer Amani el Sehrawey called the book "an invaluable tool for those seeking to gain knowledge of the nuances of the political systems of the Muslim world from a historical perspective, as well as to understand the contemporary changes happening in the region."{{cite web|last1=El Sehrawey|first1=Amani|title=Book Review: Political Islam in the Age of Democratization by Kamran Bokhari and Farid Senzai|url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2014/03/02/book-review-political-islam-in-the-age-of-democratization-by-kamran-bokhari-and-farid-senzai/#Author|website=European Politics and Policy|date=2 March 2014|publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science|access-date=9 July 2014|ref=March 2, 2014}}

{{main|Stratfor email leak}}

On December 24, 2011, Stratfor's website was hacked. Anonymous claimed responsibility, and also posted data they claim was taken from Stratfor, including credit card details, passwords, and addresses of Stratfor clients.{{Cite news|last=Perlroth|first=Nicole|date=2011-12-26|title=Hackers Breach the Web Site of Stratfor Global Intelligence (Published 2011)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/technology/hackers-breach-the-web-site-of-stratfor-global-intelligence.html|access-date=2020-11-29|issn=0362-4331|quote=The hackers posted a list online that they say contains Stratfor’s confidential client list as well as credit card details, passwords and home addresses for some 4,000 Stratfor clients. The hackers also said they had details for more than 90,000 credit card accounts.}} Their email system was also compromised.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203479104577120530217909036 |title=Anonymous Claims Hack of Credit Data From Security Group |date=December 25, 2011 |publisher=Wall Street Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226005704/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203479104577120530217909036.html |archive-date=December 26, 2011 }}

In November 2013, computer hacker Jeremy Hammond was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for his role in the Anonymous attack.{{cite news|last=Kopfstein|first=Janus|title=Hacker with a Cause|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/11/jeremy-hammond-and-anonymous-hacker-with-a-cause.html|access-date=8 March 2014|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=21 November 2013}} An FBI informant, Hector Xavier Monsegur (also known as "Sabu"), initially faced 124 years in prison for his role in the attack, but his sentence was reduced to time served plus one year's supervised release in May 2014 in exchange for his cooperation as an FBI informant.{{cite news|last1=Pilkington|first1=Ed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/27/hacker-sabu-walks-free-sentenced-time-served|access-date=26 June 2014|title=LulzSec hacker 'Sabu' released after 'extraordinary' FBI cooperation|newspaper=The Guardian|date=May 27, 2014}}

WikiLeaks announced the initial publication of more than five million of Stratfor's e-mail messages on February 26, 2012, under the name Global Intelligence Files.{{cite news| url=https://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html | work=WikiLeaks | title=The Global Intelligence Files | date=February 27, 2012}} Anonymous said it had leaked the emails to WikiLeaks.{{cite web|author=Andy Greenberg |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/02/27/wikileaks-tightens-ties-to-anonymous-in-leak-of-stratfor-emails/ |title=WikiLeaks Tightens Ties To Anonymous In Leak Of Stratfor Emails |work=Forbes |access-date=2012-02-27}}

George Friedman stated that third parties may have forged or altered the e-mail messages, but that Stratfor would not validate either alterations or authenticity.

{{cite news

| url= http://stratfor.com/hacking-news/subscriber-info | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120210084902/http://stratfor.com/hacking-news/subscriber-info | url-status= dead | archive-date= February 10, 2012 | work=Stratfor

| title=George Friedman on Email Theft and the WikiLeaks Release | date=February 28, 2012

| quote = Some of the emails may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies. Some may be authentic. We will not validate either [...]

}}

Stratfor condemned the release.{{cite news| url= http://stratfor.com/hacking-news | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120113042441/http://www.stratfor.com/hacking-news | url-status= dead | archive-date= January 13, 2012 | work=Stratfor | title=George Friedman on Email Theft and the WikiLeaks Release | date=February 28, 2012}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book|author=Friedman, George|title=America's secret war: inside the hidden worldwide struggle between the United States and its enemies|publisher=Random House|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7679-1785-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cz0qT-m1WdsC}}
• Friedman, George, [http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20090420_torture_and_u_s_intelligence_failure#axzz3LQKKLpE1 Torture and the U.S. Intelligence Failure], Stratfor, Geopolitical Weekly, April 20, 2009
• Judson, David, [https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/geopolitical-intelligence-political-journalism-and-wants-vs-needs Geopolitical Intelligence, Political Journalism and "Wants" vs. "Needs"], Stratfor, October 29, 2013
• Judson, David, [https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/stratfor-test-being-rorschach-test Stratfor: The Test of Being a Rorschach Test], Stratfor Worldview, On Stratfor, August 28, 2016
• Judson, David, [https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/new-generation-comes-new-worldview With a New Generation Comes a New Worldview], Stratfor Worldview, On Stratfor, May 21, 2017

• {{official}}

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Category:Companies established in 1996

Category:Intelligence websites

Category:Companies based in Austin, Texas

Category:Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States

Category:Open-source intelligence

Category:Political and economic think tanks in the United States

Category:Security studies

Category:Private intelligence agencies