Army of Fake Social Media Friends to Promote Propaganda

By Darlene Storm, Computerworld Feb 23, 2011 2:03 pm

It's recently been revealed that the U.S. government contracted HBGary
Federal for the development of software which could create multiple fake
social media profiles to manipulate and sway public opinion on
controversial issues by promoting propaganda. It could also be used as
surveillance to find public opinions with points of view the powers-that-be
didn't like. It could then potentially have their "fake" people run smear
campaigns against those "real" people. As disturbing as this is, it's not
really new for U.S. intelligence or private intelligence firms to do the
dirty work behind closed doors.

EFF previously warned that Big Brother wants to be your friend for social
media surveillance. While the FBI Intelligence Information Report Handbook
(PDF) mentioned using "covert accounts" to access protected information,
other government agencies endorsed using security exploits to access
protected information.

It's not a big surprise that the U.S. military also wants to use social
media to its benefit. Last year, Public Intelligence published the U.S. Air
Force social media guide which gave 10 tips for social media such as, "The
enemy is engaged in this battlespace and you must engage there as well."
Number three was "DON'T LIE. Credibility is critical, without it, no one
cares what you have to say...it's also punishable by the UCMJ to give a
false statement." The Air Force used the chart below to show how social
media influences public opinion.


The 6th Contracting Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base sought the
development of Persona Management Software which could be used for creating
and managing fake profiles on social media sites to distort the truth and
make it appear as if there was a generally accepted agreement on
controversial issues. "Personas must be able to appear to originate in
nearly any part of the world and can interact through conventional online
services and social media platforms." What happened to don't lie and the
Uniform Code of Military Justice?

Everything revealed after Anonymous leaked emails from private security
firm HBGary Federal is disturbing on many levels. However, the Daily Kos
said with the Persona Management Software it would take very few people to
create "an army of sockpuppets" which could distort the truth while
appearing to be "an entire Brooks Brothers riot online."

So again I ask, what happened to number three . . . the rule about not
lying that was also "punishable by the UCMJ to give a false statement"?

President and CEO of Plessas Experts Network, Inc, Kirby Plessas pointed
out some of the unethical and potentially illegal activities that Aaron
Barr's leaked emails suggested like "Chumming and baiting" which sounded
like "entrapment of some sort." There would be no warrant for the data
collected on individuals which could then be stored for how long? "THIS is
the entire reason Intelligence Oversight was created - to avoid this sort
of thing from ever happening again."

According to Redacted News, the leaked emails showed how names can be
cross-referenced across social media sites to collect information on people
and then used to gain access to those social ciricles. The emails also
talked of how Facebook could be used to spread government messages:

Even the most restrictive and security conscious of persons can be
exploited. Through the targeting and information reconnaissance phase, a
person's hometown and high school will be revealed. An adversary can create
a classmates.com account at the same high school and year and find out
people you went to high school with that do not have Facebook accounts,
then create the account and send a friend request.

Under the mutual friend decision, which is where most people can be
exploited, an adversary can look at a targets friend list if it is exposed
and find a targets most socially promiscuous friends, the ones that have
over 300-500 friends, friend them to develop mutual friends before sending
a friend request to the target. To that end friend's accounts can be
compromised and used to post malicious material to a targets wall. When
choosing to participate in social media an individual is only as protected
as his/her weakest friend.

Lots of people have multiple online aliases, Facebook or Twitter accounts
for both business and private life. What most bothers me is the lying and
seemingly unethical means to an end. Although the government says it
doesn't approve of censorship, etc, when its secrets come to light, it
seems to be Okay with recommending underhanded tactics.

Secretary Clinton delivered a speech called, "Internet Rights and Wrongs:
Choices and Challenges In A Networked World." To help promote and support
Internet freedom, the State Department intends to award $25 million in
grants. While that is great news, the EFF reported, "For every strong
statement about preserving liberty, freedom of expression, and privacy on
the global Internet, there exists a countervailing example of the United
States attempting to undermine those same values."

Secretary Clinton later told "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpou that
most Americans "are in favor of human rights, freedom, democracy. We know
that ultimately the most progress that can be made on behalf of human
beings anywhere is when those individuals are empowered, when they have
governments that are responsive." Clinton added, "At the same time, we
recognize that this process can be hijacked. It can be hijacked by both
outside and inside elements within any country."

So while the U.S. government can talk a good talk, what it does and what it
says often doesn't seem to jive. Gasp, I know, it's not a big shocker but
sometimes I find that utterly frustrating. The President wanted an Internet
Kill Switch, the FBI keeps pushing for backdoors on all-things-Net. What
happened to a code of ethics? Does it disappear behind closed doors, dirty
deeds done in the dark and used against the American people who are
supposed to be free to express themselves?