Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group
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The Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) is a unit of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British
intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...
. The existence of JTRIG was revealed as part of the global surveillance disclosures in documents leaked by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.


Mission

The scope of the JTRIG's mission includes using "dirty tricks" to "destroy, deny, degrade nddisrupt" enemies by "discrediting" them, planting misinformation and shutting down their communications. - contains the DISRUPTION Operational Playbook slide presentation by GCHQ Known as "Effects" operations, the work of JTRIG had become a "major part" of GCHQ's operations by 2010. Slides leaked by Snowden also disclose the deployment of " honey traps" of a sexual nature by British intelligence agents.


Operations

In 2011, the JTRIG conducted a denial-of-service attack (DoS) on the activist network
Anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...
. Other JTRIG targets have included the government of Iran and the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
in Afghanistan. Campaigns operated by JTRIG have broadly fallen into two categories; cyber attacks and
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
efforts. The propaganda efforts (named "Online Covert Action") utilize "mass messaging" and the "pushing fstories" via the medium of
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, Flickr,
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
and
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Online " false flag" operations are also used by JTRIG against targets. JTRIG have also changed photographs on
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
sites, as well as emailing and texting colleagues and neighbours with "unsavory information" about the targeted individual. JTRIG developed a URL shortening service called Lurl.me to manipulate and collect intelligence on social media users. The service was used to spread pro-revolution messages in the Middle East during the Arab Spring. A computer virus named Ambassadors Reception has been used by GCHQ "in a variety of different areas" and has been described in the slides as "very effective." The virus can "encrypt itself, delete all emails, encrypt all files, ndmake hescreen shake" when sent to adversaries. The virus can also block a user from logging on to their computer. Information obtained by GCHQ is also used in "close access technical operations," in which targets are physically observed by intelligence officers, sometimes in person at hotels. Telephone calls can also be listened to and hotel computers tapped, the documents asking "Can we influence hotel choice? Can we cancel their visits?". In a "honey trap", an identified target is lured "to go somewhere on the Internet, or a physical location" to be met by "a friendly face", with the aim to discredit them. A "honey trap" is described as "very successful when it works" by the slides. The disclosures also revealed the technique of "credential harvesting", in which journalists could be used to disseminate information and identify non-British journalists who, once manipulated, could give information to the intended target of a secret campaign, perhaps providing access during an interview. It is unknown whether the journalists would be aware that they were being manipulated. A JTRIG operation saw GCHQ "significantly disrupt" the communications of the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
in Afghanistan with a "blizzard" of faxes, phone calls and text messages scheduled to arrive every minute. Specific JTRIG operations also targeted the nuclear programme of Iran with negative information on blogs attacking private companies, to affect business relationships and scupper business deals. JTRIG also undertook cyber-operations as part of a wider GCHQ mission to prevent the Argentine takeover of the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
. The scope of the cyber tactics used in this operation was unclear. The name given to JTRIG's role was Operation Quito. In June 2015, NSA files published by Glenn Greenwald revealed new details about JTRIG's work at covertly manipulating online communities and internal activities within the United Kingdom. UK agencies that JTRIG says it co-operates with include the Metropolitan police, Security Service (MI5),
National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a Law enforcement agency#natlea, national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; Human trafficking, human, Arms trafficking, weapon and Illegal drug t ...
(NCA), Border Agency, Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and National Public Order and Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). It is also involved in what it calls "missions" with various other agencies described as "customers", including the Bank of England, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Info-weapons held or being developed by JTRIG can be used to send bulk email, spoof SMS messages, impersonate Facebook posts for individuals or entire countries, artificially increase traffic to a website and change the outcome of online polls.{{cite news , last1=Miller , first1=Carl , title=Inside the British Army's secret information warfare machine , url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/inside-the-77th-brigade-britains-information-warfare-military , accessdate=16 April 2019 , publisher=Wired , date=14 November 2018


See also

* Zersetzung * COINTELPRO * Hacktivism * Internet manipulation * State-sponsored Internet sockpuppetry * Mass surveillance * Psychological warfare * 77th Brigade (United Kingdom)


References


External links


How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations
- The Intercept
Hacking Online Polls and Other Ways British Spies Seek to Control the Internet
- The Intercept Espionage projects GCHQ operations United Kingdom intelligence operations Internet manipulation and propaganda