{"id":10567,"date":"2013-09-23T13:48:16","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T13:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praag.org\/?p=10567"},"modified":"2013-09-23T13:48:16","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T13:48:16","slug":"software-army-of-fake-virtual-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praag.org\/?p=10567","title":{"rendered":"Software army of fake virtual people"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"fake\"<\/a>These days, with Facebook and Twitter and social media galore, it can be increasingly hard to tell who your \u201cfriends\u201d are.<\/p>\n

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But after this, Internet users would be well advised to ask another question entirely: Are my \u201cfriends\u201d even real people?<\/p>\n

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In the continuing saga of data security firm HBGary, a new caveat has come to light: detailed proposals for software that manages online \u201cpersonas,\u201d allowing a single human to assume the identities of as many fake people as they\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

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The revelation was among those contained in the company\u2019s emails, which were dumped onto bittorrent networks after hackers with cyber protest group \u201cAnonymous\u201d broke into their systems.<\/p>\n

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In another document unearthed by \u201cAnonymous,\u201d one of HBGary\u2019s employees also mentioned gaming geolocation services to make it appear as though selected fake persons were at actual events.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

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While there are certainly legitimate applications for such software, such as managing multiple \u201cofficial\u201d social media accounts from a single input, the more nefarious potential is clear.<\/p>\n

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The software would require licenses for 50 users with 10 personas each, for a total of 500. These personas would have to be \u201creplete with background , history, supporting details, and cyber presences that are technically, culturally and geographacilly consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It continues, noting the need for secure virtual private networks that randomize the operator\u2019s Internet protocol (IP) address, making it impossible to detect that it\u2019s a single person orchestrating all these posts. Another entry calls for static IP address management for each persona, making it appear as though each fake person was consistently accessing from the same computer each time.<\/p>\n

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The contract also sought methods to anonymously establish virtual private servers with private hosting firms in specific geographic locations. This would allow that server\u2019s \u201cgeosite\u201d to be integrated with their social media profiles, effectively gaming geolocation services.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPersona management software\u201d can be used to manipulate public opinion on key information, such as news reports. An unlimited number of virtual \u201cpeople\u201d could be marshaled by only a few real individuals, empowering them to create the illusion of consensus.<\/p>\n

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You could call it a virtual flash mob, or a digital \u201cBrooks Brothers Riot,\u201d so to speak: compelling, but not nearly as spontaneous as it appears.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s precisely what got a DailyKos blogger: the potential for military-run armies of fake people manipulating and, in some cases, even manufacturing the appearance of public opinion.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t know about you, but it matters to me what fellow bloggers think,\u201d the blogger wrote. \u201cI consider all views. And if there appears to be a consensus that some reporter isn\u2019t credible, for example, or some candidate for congress in another state can\u2019t be trusted, I won\u2019t base my entire judgment on it, but it carries some weight.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s me. I believe there are many people though who will base their judgment on rumors and mob attacks. And for those people, a fake mob can be really effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It was this blogger who was first to highlight the Air Force\u2019s \u201cpersona\u201d contract, which was available on a public website.<\/p>\n

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A call to MacDill Air Force Base, requesting an explanation of the contract and what this software might be used for, was answered by a public affairs officer who promised a call-back. No reply was received at time of this story\u2019s publication.<\/p>\n

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Other e-mails circulated by HBGary\u2019s CEO illuminate highly personal data about critics of the US Chamber of Commerce, including detailed information about their spouses and children, as well as their locations and professional links. The firm, it was revealed, was just one part of a group called \u201cTeam Themis,\u201d tasked by the Chamber to come up with strategies for responding to certain bloggers and others.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTeam Themis\u201d also included a proposal to use malware hacks against certain organizations, and the submission of fake documents in an effort to discredit established groups.<\/p>\n

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HBGary was also behind a plot by Bank of America to destroy WikiLeaks\u2019 technology platform, other emails revealed. The company was humiliated by members of \u201cAnonymous\u201d after CEO Aaron Barr bragged that he\u2019d \u201cinfiltrated\u201d the group.<\/p>\n

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A request for comment emailed to HBGary did not receive a reply.<\/p>\n

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A list of interested vendors responding to the Air Force contract for \u201cpersona management software\u201d included HBGary subsideary HBGary Federal, further analysis of a government website has revealed.<\/p>\n

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Other companies that offered their services included Global Business Solutions and Associates LLC, Uk Plus Logistics, Ltd., NevinTelecom, Bunker Communications and Planmatrix LLC. – Raw Story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These days, with Facebook and Twitter and social media galore, it can be increasingly hard to tell who your \u201cfriends\u201d are. But after this, Internet users would be well advised to ask another question entirely: Are my \u201cfriends\u201d even real people? In the continuing saga of data security firm HBGary, a new caveat has come … Continue reading “Software army of fake virtual people”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,86],"tags":[6424,6423,6426,2283,6425,1638],"class_list":["post-10567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-technology","tag-bloggers","tag-fake-virtual-armies","tag-hbgary","tag-internet","tag-manufacturing-consent","tag-us"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/fake.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10569,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10567\/revisions\/10569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}