Poisoning the Online Well

Garbage in, garbage out. The latest from the ongoing Snowden/Greenwald revelation is a reminder that interested parties know how to plant false information on the Internet, and that some of them are probably doing it. It has implications for anyone looking for good information online, anyone with a reputation to protect, and—potentially—for everyone invested in the online world.

The piece itself is worth a look (How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations). The details are more disturbing than surprising, but as you read it, ignore the focus on the British intelligence agency GCHQ. It doesn't matter whether you trust your own government's actions, and the common distinction between a country's own citizens and everyone else is also irrelevant. The same tactics are available to every government—and any other motivated group. If they don't do this already, the newly released document provides the suggestion.

For the government intelligence guys, this is just a continuation of the second oldest profession: Get your enemy's secrets; protect your own. Deceive your enemy; avoid deception. It's a challenge when multiple entities are simultaneously trying to (a) get useful information from open sources online and (b) plant deceptive information in the same sources. I wonder how much blue-on-blue deception happens between information operations and open-source intelligence gathering, anyway.

For everyone else, this latest report should serve as a reminder of some of the risks in social media:

  1. Data quality risk
    People tell lies online—I know, but it's true. Some of the false information out there may have been placed by a motivated adversary who wants to mislead you (maybe even you, specifically). The target may be your organization, a related organization or someone who wants to work with you.

    The information you find online can be a useful source, but it's not the only source. If you're informing significant decisions, use all of your available resources, and be alert to the possibility of intentional deception.

  2. Reputation risk
    We're familiar with the concept of online reputation risk; corporate risk managers seem to think it's almost synonymous with "social media." If your business has potential exposure to government opposition (from whatever country), your risk may come from a better organized and funded source than the usual unhappy former customer.

  3. Target risk
    As people conduct their personal and political lives online, they expose themselves to snooping and more. The threats to personal privacy and freedom by government agencies have made the ongoing revelations newsworthy, but these public and semi-public channels are equally exposed to anyone who disagrees.

  4. Collateral damage risk
    Some of these information operations happen in the same online venues as normal personal use. As competing governments start viewing the online world through the cyber battlespace lens, normal users and the platforms themselves could take some damage. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of legal, market, and technical risks, but that's probably just a start.

    It's too much to go into in a post, but companies with significant exposure to covert online tactics would be well served to chase down the implications of those tactics, and don't limit the discussion to legal exposure. Beyond the specifics on any one program, the revelations of the last year indicate the willingness of government entities in multiple countries to use environments operated by private-sector companies in ways they weren't intended. The safe asumptions are that governments are doing more than we know, and so are other types of organizations.

Politically, it matters very much who is doing what to whom and why. As a practical matter, who and why don't much matter. It's enough to know that someone, somewhere is developing and using methods to use popular online tools against people and organizatons they don't like. If you depend on online tools and don't have a basic literacy in the concept of cyberwar, it's time to learn, so you can recognize it if it comes to your neighborhood.

One of the great strengths of the Internet is the way it overcomes the limitations of distance. A side effect is that it also does away with the concept of a safe distance from danger.

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About Nathan Gilliatt

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  • Voracious learner and explorer. Analyst tracking technologies and markets in intelligence, analytics and social media. Advisor to buyers, sellers and investors. Writing my next book.
  • Principal, Social Target
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