Western spy agencies build ‘cyber magicians’ to manipulate online
discourse
Satellite dishes are seen at GCHQ’s outpost at Bude, close to where
trans-Atlantic fibre-optic cables come ashore in Cornwall, southwest England
(Reuters/Kieran Doherty)
Secret units within the ‘Five Eyes” global spying
network engage in covert online operations that aim to invade, deceive, and
control online communities and individuals through the spread of false
information and use of ingenious social-science tactics.
Such teams of highly trained professionals have
several main objectives, such as “to inject all sorts of false material onto
the internet” and “to use social sciences and other techniques to
manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers
desirable,” The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald reported based on
intelligence documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The new information comes via a document from the Joint
Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) of Britain’s Government
Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), entitled ‘The Art of Deception: Training
for Online Covert Operations,’ which is top secret and only for
dissemination within the Five Eyes intelligence partnership that includes
Britain, the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
(Image from firstlook.org)
The document outlines what tactics are used to
achieve JTRIG’s main objectives. Among those tactics that seek to “discredit
a target” include “false flag operations” (posting material online
that is falsely attributed to a target), fake victim blog posts (writing as a
victim of a target to disseminate false information), and posting “negative
information” wherever pertinent online.
Other discrediting tactics used against individuals
include setting a “honey-trap“ (using sex to lure targets
into compromising situations), changing a target’s photo on a social media
site, and emailing or texting “colleagues, neighbours, friends etc.”
To “discredit a company,” GCHQ may “leak
confidential information to companies/the press via blog…post negative
information on appropriate forums [or] stop deals/ruin business relationships.”
JTRIG’s ultimate purpose, as defined by GCHQ in the
document, is to use “online techniques to make something happen in the real
world or cyber world.” These online covert actions follow the “4 D’s:”
deny, disrupt, degrade, deceive.
(Image from firstlook.org)
As Greenwald pointed out, the tactics employed by
JTRIG are not used for spying on other nations, militaries, or intelligence
services, but for “traditional law enforcement” against those merely
suspected of crimes. These targets can include members of Anonymous, “hacktivists,”
or really any person or entity GCHQ deems worthy of antagonizing.
“[I]t is not difficult to see how
dangerous it is to have secret government agencies being able to target any
individuals they want – who have never been charged with, let alone convicted
of, any crimes – with these sorts of online, deception-based tactics of
reputation destruction and disruption,” Greenwald wrote.
In addition, the targets do not need to have ties
to terror activity or pose any national security threat. More likely, targets
seem to fall closer to political activists that may have, for instance, used “denial of service” tactics, popular with
Anonymous and hacktivists, which usually do only a limited amount of damage to
a target.
(Image from firstlook.org)
“These surveillance agencies have
vested themselves with the power to deliberately ruin people’s reputations and
disrupt their online political activity even though they’ve been charged with
no crimes, and even though their actions have no conceivable connection to
terrorism or even national security threats,” Greenwald wrote.
In addition to the personal attacks on targets,
JTRIG also involves the use of psychological and social-science tactics to
steer online activism and discourse. The document details GCHQ’s “Human
Science Operations Cell,” which focuses on “online human intelligence”
and “strategic influence and disruption” that are used to dissect how
targets can be manipulated using “leaders,” “trust,” “obedience,” and “compliance.”
Using tested manipulation tactics, JTRIG attempts
to influence discourse and ultimately sow discord through deception.
When reached for comment by The Intercept, GCHQ
avoided answering pointed questions on JTRIG while insisting its methods were
legal.
“It is a longstanding policy that we do
not comment on intelligence matters. Furthermore, all of GCHQ’s work is carried
out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that
our activities are authorized, necessary and proportionate, and that there is
rigorous oversight, including from the Secretary of State, the Interception and
Intelligence Services Commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and
Security Committee. All our operational processes rigorously support this
position,” GCHQ stated.
