Psyops and Perception Management Lecture 7

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Psyops and Perception ManagementLecture 7
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Reading List

• This class and next
• Denning Chapters 5, 6
• A review of FBI Security Programs,
  http//www.usdoj.gov/05publications/websterreport.
  pdf (Intro, conclusion)
• Insider threat to security may be harder to
  detect, experts say, http//www.computerworld.com/
  securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,70112,00.htm
  l
• Treason 101, http//rf-web.tamu.edu/security/secgu
  ide/Treason/Intro.htmTreason20101

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Perception Management

• Information operations that aim to affect
  perception of others to influence
• Emotions
• Reasoning
• Decisions
• Actions

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Covert Action

• attempt by one government to pursue its foreign
  policy objectives by conducting some secret
  activity to influence the behavior of a foreign
  government or political, military, economic, or
  societal events and circumstances in a foreign
  country.
• (Silent Warfare)

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Covert

• Total secrecy details or even the existence of
  activities are confidential
• Unaccounted actions are public knowledge,
  government involvement is concealed
• Goal direct furthering of national foreign
  policy objectives
• Wide range of activities
• Todays topic perception management

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Perception of a Foreign Government

• Goal change foreign governments policy to
  support offenses political interest
• Influence
• Foreign governments perception
• Perceptions of elements of foreign society

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Agents of Influence

• Influence directly government policy
• Data collection is not necessary
• Persuade colleagues to adopt certain policies
• E.g., government officials
• 1930-40s Soviet intelligence agents working for
  U.S. government (Harry Dexter White Assistant
  Secretary of the Dept. of Treasury)
• 1976 in France Pierre-Charles Pathe founded
  Synthese (political newsletter). 1979 convicted
  for espionage and being an agent of influence.

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Agent of Influence

• Trusted contact willing to work for a foreign
  government, no detailed instructions, not paid
• Controlled agent receives precise instructions,
  usually paid
• Manipulated agent unaware of serving a foreign
  government

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Use of Information and Disinformation

• Providing information (or misinformation)
• Influence a desired action
• E.g., revealing identities of opponents
  intelligence agents
• Origin of information
• Sender of information
• Misinformation
• Plausible
• silent forgery
• deception operation

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Perception of Foreign Society

• Hard to measure
• Cumulative effect over long period of time
• Agents of Influence
• Reach public journalists, TV commentator, etc.
• Prominent person political figure, aid
  organization, etc.
• Culture

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Unattributed Propaganda

• Black propaganda origin is concealed
• Disseminating opinions, information or
  misinformation via media
• Government may not be directly associated with
  materials
• Increase believability
• Government may not want to be associated with
  certain opinions

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Unattributed Propaganda

• Gray propaganda origin not public knowledge
• E.g., Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty
• Information about targets own countries
• Information about the West
• Set up as private U.S. organizations but were run
  by CIA
• Planting stories in independent news media

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Offensive Operations

• Information Space
• Communication Medium any (TV, radio, Internet,
  Web sites, e-mail, news groups, etc.)
• Target individuals, groups, nations, World

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Internet

• Global Access mass audiences
• Easy to set up Web sites
• Low cost (compare with broadcasting radio, TV,
  etc.)
• great equalizer
• Authority over Internet?

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Tools for Perception Management

• In War and Anti-War by Alvin and Heidi Toffler
• Atrocity accusations
• Hyperbolic inflations
• Demonization and/or dehumanization
• Polarization
• Claim of divine sanction
• Meta-propaganda

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Psyops

• Affect human psyche
• Goal influence behavior
• Means fear, desire, logic, etc.

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Lies and Distortions

• Widely used
• Destroys the integrity of the carrying media
• Ethical/unethical?
• Bad/Useful?
• Digital media
• Fabrication, spoofed originator, modification,
  etc.
• Easy to carry out
• Trust in observation (senses see, hear, touch,
  taste, etc.)

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Distortion

• Distort information
• Conscious/Unconscious
• Important elements ignored, down played
• Insignificant elements made to appear important
• Digital media
• Web page metatags hidden data

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Fabrication

• Fake information
• Must seem legitimate
• Goal influence decision/activities of enemy or
  competition, financial gain, popularity, etc.
• Can be very effective
• Must know target
• Errors and intentional fabrications

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Hoaxes

• Fabrications to
• Amuse
• Create fear
• Discredit/damage
• Digital media
• Easy to send hoax mail or post information
• Virus hoaxes

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Social Engineering

• Trick people into doing something they would not
  do if the truth is known.
• Means
• Impersonating
• Threatening
• Pretend position/relationship/urgency/etc.

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Denouncement

• Discredit, defame, demonize, or dehumanize an
  opponent
• Goal gain of support for the entity performing
  the denouncement and loss for the adversary
• Military/politics/economy/personal
• Hate groups
• Conspiracy theory
• Defamation damage the reputation and good name
  of another

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Harassment

• Targets opponent directly
• Unwanted, threatening messages
• Communication in person, via medium
• Examples
• Physical threat
• Hate mails
• Sexual harassment

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Advertising

• Scam cone artists lure customers into scam
• Fake prizes, telemarketing, etc.
• Internet easy solicitations junk e-mail, chat
  room, newsgroups, Web site, etc.
• Spam junk e-mail
• Time consuming read/process/delete
• Unwanted/useless/harmful data

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Censorship

• Offensive denies population access to certain
  materials
• Defensive protect society from materials that
  would undermine its culture or governance
• Internet makes censorship difficult
• Children Internet Protection Act, 2000
  (http//www.ifea.net/cipa.html ,
  http//www.cybertelecom.org/cda/cipa.htm )
• Free speech online
• Electronic Frontier Foundation http//www.eff.org/
  br/
• http//www.anu.edu.au/mail-archives/link/link9810/
  0378.html

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United State Restrictions

• First Amendment to the Constitution of the United
  States freedom of speech and press
• Exception child pornography, offensive and
  harmful speech, obscene material, etc.
• Materials depicting violence ?
• 1996 Communications Decency Act (US congress)
• Indecent material restricting access to minors
• Controversial civil liberties groups
• 1997 Supreme Court ruled that CDA sections 223
  and 224 abridged First Amendment rights