The agency is prepared with tactics for both individual targets and companies

Feb 25, 2014 14:49 GMT  ·  By

A new set of documents from the Snowden stash reveals that intelligence officers from the GCHQ engage in a few dirty tricks to destroy people’s reputations.

The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald reports that while in the past few weeks he has worked with NBC on a series of articles about the British intelligence agency’s tactics, there is more to say.

JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group) is a secret unit within the GCHQ that tries to “control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse,” effectively threatening the integrity of the Internet itself.

This unit worked to inject false material into the Internet, details that would destroy the reputation of its targets. A second purpose of this group is to use various means to manipulate online discourse to reach the outcome that the agency desires.

In the presentation files that the GCHQ shared with the National Security Agency, the intelligence agency details the playbook, making a list of various operations.

GCHQ's Operational Playbook
GCHQ's Operational Playbook

The agency also makes a clear list on how to discredit a particular target. For instance, agents could set up a so-called “honey-trap,” a method that uses intimate relationships to lure targets, whether they’re journalists, diplomats or other individuals.

Another point on the GCHQ’s list is the change of a target’s photograph on social networking sites, as well as the creation of a blog purporting to be one of their victims. The last step is to send emails and text messages to the target’s colleagues, neighbors or friends.

The tactic when it comes to discrediting a company differs to some point. The list includes leaking confidential information to companies or the media via blogs, or posting negative information on forums. Lastly, stopping deals and ruining business relationships of the target company can also be accomplished.

The revelations paint a scary picture about the extent that the agencies will go to to destroy the reputations of their targets.

In another slide, the GCHQ describes that the JTRIG’s purpose is to use online techniques to make something happen in the real or cyber world. This can be done through technical disruption or via Information Ops, including influence or disruption.

It’s obvious with every new slide that this isn’t just about infiltrating terrorist organizations, something that intelligence agencies have been known to do. After all, when it comes to such operations, it was already known that the NSA used its powers to discredit various extremists by planting data on their computers.

As a reminder, agencies such as the GCHQ and NSA have said on countless occasions that their job is to collect intelligence in order to protect national security from various threats, including terrorism.

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The GCHQ has some dirty tricks up its sleeve
GCHQ's Operational Playbook
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