What’s the Intelligence Value of Jihadi Social Networks?
I’ve written two articles for PJ Media centered on the use of Facebook and other social media sites by jihadists, as well as those who merely seek Israel’s destruction. On both of these articles, several people have made comments to the effect that we should leave these groups in place for their intelligence value. This has been the subject of an ongoing debate in the “counter-jihad” community, but I suspect those who advocate this hands-off approach do not fully grasp the situation.
First, there are far too many of these groups for the Arabic-, Farsi-, Urdu-, and other foreign language-speaking analysts and translators at our intelligence agencies to monitor. By reducing their number, members are in effect funneled into fora that can be monitored.
Second, individuals in these groups may be unintelligent or uneducated, but that does not mean the aggregate is stupid. They know they are monitored, and in most cases, sensitive intelligence is not posted in plain sight. Instead, social media is used to organize people and collect data enabling other forms of communication:
A. Email accounts are shared by conspirators, with messages concealed by leaving them in the drafts folder. Emails unsent stay off the radar of intelligence services.
B. Such groups often post addresses for websites containing recruiting and indoctrination materials that are prohibited at social network sites. This allows the group or profile page to maintain the appearance of innocence, while funneling people to locations where they can be recruited more effectively. Again, these sites are too numerous for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to monitor them all.
C. Conspirators can be given links to encrypted files they can download, containing recruiting materials, operational details, or instructions on terrorist tradecraft like bomb making manuals, hosted on file sharing sites like MegaUpload, RapidShare or BitTorrent.
D. Similarly, terrorists use websites built on platforms like Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress to conceal communications on the site’s “back end” or in restricted content. This means that visiting the website will not reveal anything untoward, but if you log in to the site’s administration panel, or if you have special access privileges, you will find “unpublished” or restricted articles containing the classified information.
E. Some groups at Facebook are closed to uninvited members, masking their communications from prying eyes, and at YouTube illicit videos can also be made private and shared with a select audience. These may afford somewhat greater intelligence value, as less sophisticated or incautious members may be more willing to divulge sensitive information because they believe they are safe, but it also requires the ability to infiltrate or “hack” the group to see what they are saying.
Whelp this helps make my decision to get a degree in homeland security starting in the fall seem all the more good.
Sadly I’m not a kid anymore, I’ve spent the last 5 years paying down my dads funeral debts and the hell hole of an “estate” he left.
Bro-tip: Don’t die with property filed in a fake name and debt up to your eyeballs.
So finally effing finally I’m going to college at 25, I want to do homeland security for obvious reasons (Travel, 6 digit salary etc,) and now my family thinks I’m insane for not getting a typical degree like Comp Sci or Economics or something.
Thank you. I needed this. Next time my Mom, her new boyfriend and my sister call me stupid for pursing a non-typical degree I’ll remember this article and it’s links.
When I graduate and have Chinese 2, Arabic 3, and Spanish 2 under my I’m in the rich.
This is EXACTLY why we need to get rid of the fools in the CIA, FBI, DIA, & State Dept. These numbskulls couldn’t find their posterior end with a searchlight, 100 bureaucrats & a mirror. After all they only missed the fall of Communism, 911, the Pakistani nuke program, the recent Arab revolt, countless spies in the CIA & FBI, the fall of the Berlin Wall as well & still can’t find bin Laden! Disband ALL of these agencies now & make a new type of OSS that actually KNOWS and DOES something. The current crew is as useless as teets on a boar.
It is high time to dumb the 3 Stooges & make a new intelligence agency & let then do whatever they need to do, no questions asked, including reading everyone’s email.
Terrorists play for keeps. The idiots above play jacks.
Ok, then let’s just snap our fingers and make this happen, preferably not with flawed human beings, but omniscient Big Brother.
Most of us know that all this intelligence gathering stuff cuts more than one way. Do we really want an agency or agencies large and or competent enough to catch EVERYTHING (including us)?
Hi D-White. Happy Easter!
“Most of us know…” Oh no, the Ping Pong Tongue has more than a “centrist” personality. “Most” usually implies 3 or more, and in D-White’s case it appears that the Tower of Babel is getting a run for it’s Red Pencil reserves.
So you’re Babylonian too? Hmmm… Let’s see here…. “…omniscient Big Brother.” “…snap our fingers…”… flawed human beings…”jihad… Human trafficking… Ok.
D-White, maybe you can trade this “Alaska” one in -
38. Dwight
“I am fascinated by Alaska, but not quite so much by her any more. It’s like she works at sounding like a hick. I like to hunt, explore, and do most the outdoorsy stuff, but she just gets more grating by the month, and her voice gets more shrill…”
October 20, 2010 – 5:14 am
– for a nice mellowed toned tweed clad STCC New England model that goes to the packie for you at the drop of a of a bottle of Haffenreffer.
Then the Fear of a Mr. President Health Plan surfaces –
“Do we really want an agency or agencies large and or competent enough to catch EVERYTHING.”
And he says, “Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan”.
Robert – you make a convincing argument for stricture, but how can this be accomplished practically? One of the worst aspects of the Islamic onslaught against the West is their parasitization of our laws and habits of free association, free speech, and freedom of movement. Our laws and customs are exploited by Muslims to wage what I term “Jihad Jujitsu” against our civilization. In short, our freedoms and technologies are twisted into weapons for our destruction. The internet, cell phones, airplanes, and even ping pong balls (!) are turned into weapons in Muslim hands. The sheer presence of millions of Muslims in the West, I’d argue, is the greatest threat.
But I agree that limiting the conduits Muslims exploit to wage Jihad is necessary if we are to survive their widespread non-stop subversion.
I am wondering where Facebook’s political contributions go? I am now assuming it’s to Obama and the Democrats. I also wonder to what lengths Mr. Zuckerburg will go to, to help the Obama Administration? For example, will he allow personal information on Obamas enemies to get to Obamas cronies? Scary!
The Onion News Network has a funny video about how Facebook is a massive CIA data collection program. The first 15 seconds are a commercial but stick with it. The video is worth the wait.
Well, one can only hope that both the CIA, the FBI, and the NSA are monitoring these web sites as well. They probably are, but I’m not sure how useful it will be to them. Cracking codes is hard work and even codes found in the open on Facebook could be difficult to break. But with the help of major computers today and some tech-savvy young people who really know the Internet, there could be some hope. Let’s hope that at least some of Homeland Security’s gigantic budget is dedicated to this.
This articles account of National Security Agency/Central Security Service, ECHELON, GCHQ etc capabilities is many years out of date-
Cisco, Google, Facebook, Oracle, etc are US intelligence assets.
We can now capture cell communication where ever and when ever we want to.
Statistical machine translation has taken quantum leaps in capability in the last 3 years alone as has social network mapping technology.
We are very strong in Statistical machine translation capabilities.
Our SIGINT capabilities are excellent
–what we need is enhanced HUMIT and we are getting there fast.
The value of information gathering, compiling and selling became common knowledge years ago when a Boston business dealing in nothing but the above sold for $2 billion. If the DEA at that time had used its $2 billion in assets seized without any charges being filed to purchase the Boston business maybe they could have sold the data to black budget government contractors to enable a quantum info leap. What could be better than one more Big Brother except the whole damn family?
Our intelligence and law enforcement services are vastly understaffed with qualified translators and analysts.
Going by what went on just after 9/11 when the FBI refused Jewish Arabic translators because of the hyped sensitivity of those Muslims they employed, I think that before worrying about Facebook a complete spring cleaning of the Intelligence services is needed.
If they continue employing those who refused to tape fellow Muslims apprehended at the time, of what use will Facebook data be?
Facebook’s Zuckerberg is indeed an Obot- while it has been difficult to get Jihad and hate sites removed – the enormous population of Muslims on FB almost insures harassment for any oppostion group (pro Israel, pro Jewish) The irony being the perpetual calls for Muslims to boycott Facebook (as if) b/c it is owned by a “Zionist” (Zuckerberg)
Facebook only responds to complaints and of course the numbers favor Muslims –
as for FREEDOM OF SPEECH- FAcebook may be free to join, but it is a PRIVATE owned server and as such has no ‘free speech”- all users are bound by the TOS (terms of service) which forbid certain types of speech and behavior. If enough reports get filed on you- wham you are banned!
and guess who gets banned a lot?? JEWS- the cyber war is not confined to Facebook- same censorship of info and consistent cyber-war on pro Israel people is found on wiki reddit and more
link here
http://toolbar2.wibiya.com/search.php?type=blog&q=facebook&site_name=Jewish Internet Defense Force&site_url=http://www.thejidf.org
sorry the long link got broken
http://is.gd/4ToEIe
It is time to declare Marshall Law on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube against Islamic Jihadists. These are American companies that need to be reigned in. If this was World War II and those companies were recruiting and organizing for Hitler, wouldn’t we have done that?
We need to get Obama out of office and elect a president that will do this.
Let them be. If/When they understand the Public Key technology, we’ll all be in a world of hurt.
It was only dumb luck recently that some idiot terrorist decided that a spreadsheet based substitution cipher was better than public key technology because “the Kuffar invented it”, and he figured that it must be broken.
There are too many of these wide-eyed idiots to watch. I propose we broadcast lots of western TV to the states where fundamentalist Islam is running rampant. People, especially people in Islamic countries need to learn how to question their leaders.
How about an equivalent program to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington but with Arab characters?
Many US organizations raised money for the Nazi war machine, and openly did business with them including Prescott bush and the Bush Family, the brown / Harriman banking partnership,IBM, NY Banks, etc, etc.
Many US organizations raise money for and do business with Jihadists and Taliban, with Heroin Growers and Mexican Drug Dealers. Don’t kid yourself and don’t confuse President of the United States with groups that regularly break laws to generate their profit.
Both President Bush’s, President Clinton and President Obama serve big money interests, its just which sector; petroleum, banking, unions, etc.
The problem with most articles on this site is they are superficial at best, never touching upon source of most issues.
This site needs to get serious regarding underlying issues in the Banking system, with political environment, with corruption and graft in Government, regardless who is in office.
OK! — SO ALEX HOW WOULD YOU PROPOSE THE WRITERS EDITORS AND POSTERS TO THIS SITE EXACTLY DO THAT-? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!
Were it up to me any “Islamic” site would be shut down or at the least be treated as if it were pornography, which it more or less is. The enemies of western civilization deserve NOT AT ALL any of its technological advances.I also would not have allowed the sale of AMD to GCC interests.
Dr. Shalit