Us Gov. Software Creates 'fake People'

[peanutbutter]

US Gov. Software Creates 'Fake People' on Social Networks to Promote Propaganda

Posted by Darla, ADMIN / National Director on February 19, 2011 at 2:41pm in Patriot Action Alerts

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By Sean Kerrigan

The US government is offering private intelligence companies contracts to create software to manage "fake people" on social media sites and create the illusion of consensus on controversial issues.

 

The contract calls for the development of "Persona Management Software" which would help the user create and manage a variety of distinct fake profiles online. The job listing was discussed in recently leaked emails from the private security firm HBGary after an attack by internet activist last week.

 

Click here to view the government contract (PDF)

 

According to the contract, the software would "protect the identity of government agencies" by employing a number of false signals to convince users that the poster is in fact a real person. A single user could manage unique background information and status updates for up to 10 fake people from a single computer.

 

The software enables the government to shield its identity through a number of different methods including the ability to assign unique IP addresses to each persona and the ability to make it appear as though the user is posting from other locations around the world.

 

Included in HBGary's leaked emails was a government proposal for the government contract. The document describes how they would 'friend' real people on Facebook as a way to convey government messages. The document reads:

 

"Those names can be cross-referenced across Facebook, twitter, MySpace, and other social media services to collect information on each individual. Once enough information is collected this information can be used to gain access to these individuals social circles.

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."

 

 

 

Other documents in the leaked emails include quotes from HBGary CEO Aaron Barr saying, "There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas... Using hashtags and gaming some location based check-in services we can make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise, as one example."

 

Additional emails between HBGary employees, usually originating from Barr, discuss the vulnerability social networking causes.

 

One employee wrote, "and now social networks are closing the gap between attacker and victim, to the point I just found (via linked-in) 112 females, wives of service men, all stationed at Hurlbert Field FL - in case you don't know this is where the CIA flies all their "private" airlines out of. What a darn joke - the U.S. is no longer the super power in cyber, and probably won't be in other areas soon."

 

Barr also predicted a steady rise in clandestine or secret government operations to stem the flow of sensitive information. "I would say there is going to be a resurgence of black ops in the coming year as decision makers settle with our inadequacies... Critical infrastructure, finance, defense industrial base, and government have rivers of unauthorized communications flowing from them and there are no real efforts to stop it."

 

The creation of internet propoganda software is only one of HBGary's controversial activities. According to Wikileaks competetor and occasional collaborator Cryptome.org, several other progressive organizations were intended to be targeted including anti-war activist, anti-torture organizations and groups opposed to the US Chamber of Commerce.

 

The emails also include a number of other embarrasing entries including the purchase of the book "The Multi-Orgasmic Man: Sexual Secrets Every Man Should Know" from Amazon for $6.76.

 

Examiner.com: US Gov. Software Creates 'Fake People' on Social Networks to Promot... http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-national/us-gov-software-cr ...

 

http://www.patriotactionnetwork.com/forum/topic/show?id=2600775%3ATopic%3A3237602&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic

[+Silverblue]

More of the continuing war on The people. War, war, and more war. This war been taken to a whole new low.

Sb

[Guest 1TokeOverLine]

Nah, nothing new. Before the internet I worked as a crypto cypher tech in the military and government even had programs for secret encrypted messages. Of course, they always cite patriotic Nation Security garbage to justify stomping on "civil rights."

:growl: :growl:

1T

[+Silverblue]

The electronic Frontier Foundation has some interesting comments on fake accounts. If anyone's interested, look here: EFF

 

When an oppressed people get mad enough, they fight back. This is very scary to the oppressors. The horrible truth to all this is, we're NOT asking for anything that's unreasonable! BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS is NOT an unreasonable request. Remember, anything we have was hard fought for. Any freedoms are still being hard fought for. It's not fair that freedom must constantly be fought for. It's SO WRONG.

 

Sb

[Guest knucklehead bob]

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance ." -Thomas Jefferson-

[+Silverblue]

Eternal vigilance, yeah, I know. That doesn't make it right. It's like playing a game, someone wins, and someone loses. The winner gets the prize. If the loser fights the winner for the prize, and takes it, the winner has to fight to gain it back, and the struggle continues till someone finally walks away with it. If the winner played fairly and won it honestly, that should be the beginning and end of it. The problem is many are such sore losers and they can't handle not winning, so they'll try to win at any cost; deception takes many forms, and those who sneak around in the shadows know they cannot win unless they play unfairly. We have Honor and Integrity on our side. What do they have? Sore losers, insecure, scared, cowardly, bullying brats who know no other way to get the advantage, who think they're better than we are because they're so clever and powerful. They don't like to share. When they were kids, they were taught to share and be fair but they didn't want to so they decided when they grew up they would be as mean, selfish, and deceitful as possible, to win at any and all costs, just to preserve their own hide. They believe their own rhetoric, like, being compassionate is a sign of weakness, walking away from a fight is a sign of weakness. It takes a lot of courage to stand down and refuse to fight. Concepts like non violence, civil disobedience, conflict resolution, diplomacy, negotiating, talking, LISTENING, and compromising are alien to them, UNLESS they can take advantage. "What's in it for me?" History is written by the meanest s.o.b. on the block. It won't be as easy as they think to accomplish their goals. They NEED an enemy. If they can't find one, they invent one. People are wising up. Now more than ever we must use our Intuition and common sense to guide us. In every war there will be infiltrators, traitors, spies, etc. Some people just wanna be on the winning side, some people will see the folly of it all and cross the lines. Our rights are on the line in more ways than one. Be Aware- The Whole World's Watching.

 

Sb

[thanks2]

The will of the people? Imagine the things we never find out about.

[MORE COWBELL]

i had the feeling they were creating virtual VOTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!