Navid Sobbi is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of NSI Global. He is an expert across geopolitical and private intelligence, digital forensics, technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) and managed counterintelligence — a combination very few operators deliver under one principal-led practice. He has worked in the field since 2002, founded the firm in 2004, and leads its UAE practice, NSI Global Management Consultancy L.L.C. (DET Trade Licence 1277584) based in Downtown Dubai. He is also the founder of the Geopolitical Intelligence Group (GIG), now NSI Global’s geopolitical intelligence arm.
Geopolitical Intelligence · Digital Forensics · TSCM · Managed Counterintelligence
Fields of Expertise
- Geopolitical risk & private intelligence — geopolitical risk analysis, country and regional threat assessment, travel and executive intelligence, and strategic risk advisory for government and corporate decision-makers.
- Counterintelligence & TSCM — managed counterintelligence programmes, technical surveillance countermeasures, counterespionage and insider-threat detection.
- Digital forensics — mobile device and computer forensics, incident response, electronic discovery, and cellular tower and location analysis; court-recognised expert witness in Australia.
Geopolitical & Intelligence Practice
Navid leads NSI Global’s geopolitical and intelligence work through its Global Intelligence Operations Centre (GIOC) and the Geopolitical Intelligence Group (GIG). The practice produces country and regional risk assessments, threat and travel intelligence, and executive briefings grounded in verified, source-referenced analysis — the same discipline applied whether the output is a private client briefing or public commentary. His UAE-focused analysis addresses the risks that matter to organisations operating from Dubai and across the region: regional conflict spillover, maritime and supply-chain disruption, critical-infrastructure exposure, and information operations.
Published Analysis
Selected public analysis authored or led by Navid (his private client intelligence is confidential; these published pieces demonstrate the analytical approach):
- Iran Escalation — What Dubai & UAE Businesses Should Do Now (NSI Global, 2026) — a sourced, confidence-graded assessment of regional strike activity and its practical impact on UAE operations.
- Navigating Troubled Waters: Piracy and Drone Attacks in the Red Sea (NSI Global) — maritime and shipping-risk analysis for a critical regional trade corridor.
- Intelligence Briefing: The Unfolding Crisis in Israel & the Palestinian Territories (GIG) — a briefing on the conflict’s security and stability implications for the region and exposed organisations.
- Iran-Backed Houthis Defy New US-Led Alliance (GIG) — analysis of Houthi Red Sea operations and their challenge to the US-led maritime coalition.
- Fixed-Wing Loitering Munitions Showcased by Militant Groups in Gaza (NSI Global) — capability and threat analysis.
Qualifications
Navid holds Australian qualifications in law, intelligence and security:
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB) — Charles Darwin University
- Master of Intelligence — Macquarie University
- Master of International Security and Counterterrorism (majoring in Digital Forensics) — Macquarie University
- Diploma of Security Risk Management, Government Fraud Control and Investigative Services — Australian Security Academy
Experience
Navid founded NSI Global in 2004 and has led it since as CEO, remaining personally active across all his fields — geopolitical and intelligence analysis, managed counterintelligence, TSCM, and as the firm’s lead digital forensic examiner. He founded the Geopolitical Intelligence Group (GIG), a geopolitical risk advisory firm he established in Canberra in 2018, and in 2022 brought it under NSI Global — combining dedicated geopolitical forecasting with the firm’s counterintelligence, forensics and TSCM capabilities (announced via PR Newswire, March 2022). From the firm’s Dubai practice he serves government, corporate, legal and private clients across the UAE, MENA and internationally, supported by NSI Global’s wider network of offices. Over more than two decades he has delivered intelligence advisory, technical surveillance work and forensic examinations at the highest levels of sensitivity.
Forensic Evidence - Court-Tested in Australia
Navid’s forensic expertise is not only practised but court-tested: in Australia, he prepares expert forensic reports and gives expert evidence, with his methodology and findings scrutinised and tested under cross-examination. His reports document the evidence examined, the methodology applied, the limitations encountered and the basis for any opinions expressed.
His forensic evidence has been considered by Australian state and federal courts across 2012–2026 — the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the NSW Court of Appeal, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, the Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit and Family Court — in civil, criminal and family matters. In Peek v Wheatley [2025] NSWSC 554 and the appeal Wheatley v Peek [2025] NSWCA 265, he acted as the joint court-appointed digital forensic expert examining a disputed iPhone will; his evidence was undisputed and the digital note was admitted to probate. The full set of judgments is cited inline: Tan v Commissioner of the NSW Police [2012] NSWSC 1580; Zou v Superway Pty Ltd [2021] FedCFamC2G 144; Raine v Islam [2026] FCA 203; and, before the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, Habambo v The King [2023] NSWCCA 328 and Mehajer v The King [2024] NSWCCA 226.
Published Work
Navid co-authored the chapter “Cyber Crime Applications” in Applications in Intelligence-Led Policing: Where Theory Meets Reality (2018; ISBN 9781720476542).
Media Appearances & Commentary
Navid is an international media commentator on intelligence, geopolitical risk, surveillance and digital forensics. Selected appearances:
- 7News — “NSW Government begins counter-surveillance sweeps of ministerial offices” (April 2020)
- Xinhua — “Petwrap ransomware virus has no “kill switch” or “weaknesses”: Australian Expert”. Mr Sobbi quoted as an Australian cyber expert (June 2017).
- The Sydney Morning Herald — “The machine that can crack almost any phone” (18 December 2014).
- Asia Pacific Security Magazine — “Bug Sweeping with Navid Sobbi” (26 September 2011).
- Channel Nine News — Apple/encryption and mobile-device commentary (February 2016).
- Broadcast commentary has also included 60 Minutes, Today Tonight, A Current Affair, ABC Radio and Sky Business News.
Industry: BlackBerry SecuSUITE — Asia-Pacific partner network expansion (2022), NSI Global as a regional partner.
Professional Memberships & Affiliations
- International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA) — founding member of the IALEIA Australian Chapter
- Association of International Risk Intelligence Professionals (AIRIP)
- Australian Institute of Professional Investigators (AIPI)
- Associate Member, Law Society of New South Wales (Australia)