A closemouthed Israeli cyber party is behind influence operations direct at elections all over the existence , a pool of more than 30 news organizationsreports . The CEO of the company , a former Israeli special forces agent identify Tal Hanan , gasconade to undercover journalists that his team of psychological warfare operator had been involve in “ 33 presidential - spirit level [ political ] campaign , 27 of which were successful , ” according to the syndicate ’s stories .
Reporters from a cadre of well observe news outlets includingThe Guardian , Der Spiegel , Haaretz , Le Monde , and wads of others , worked together to investigate the bodily function of “ Team Jorge”—a shadowy cyber firm that claims to do contract work for intelligence agencies , corporations , and political party . Hanan , who admitted on television that his fellowship is currently “ involve in one election in Africa , ” also said that his team was involve with two “ major projects ” inside the U.S. , though he says he never works at the “ company - level [ of ] politics ” in America
Journalists from several of the outlet run undercover disguised as prospective “ Jorge ” clients , in an effort to tantalize out the true identity of its CEO and to well understand the activities of the company . In secretlyrecordedmeetings at one of the business firm ’s billet in Modi’in , Israel , Hanan and his blood brother , Zohar , who also works for the company , claimed that they offered a diversity of murky serve , some of which sound blatantly illegal . For a high-pitched price , “ Jorge ” allegedly handle hacking tools , disinformation , and blackmail to clandestinely manipulate political race and disrepute public figure throughout the world .
Image: ogichobanov (Shutterstock)
Among other things , Team Jorge claims to sell a disinformation software , Advanced Impact Media Solutions , or AIMS , which generate and then leverage hordes of bogus societal sensitive accounts to manipulate on-line conversations and residential district . Jorge pairs this software with other disinformation tactics , such as fake Facebook groups and blog , to overspread information quick throughout online ecosystem and to overdraw targeted smirch run .
AIMS is said to be able-bodied to generate convince social media profile that can then be used in disinformation operations . The Guardian report :
Demonstrating the Aims interface , Hanan scrolled through dozens of avatars , and prove how bogus profiles could be created in an instant , using tab to choose nationality and gender and then matching visibility mental picture to epithet . “ This is Spanish , Russian , you see Asians , Muslims . lease ’s make a campaigner together , ” he evidence the undercover newsman , before settling on one picture of a lily-white cleaning woman . “ Sophia Wilde , I wish the name . British . Already she has email , date birth , everything . ”
This kind of automated , “ disinformation - as - a - serve ” platform has been written about before . Areportlast year take that a cybersecurity firm in Russia , 0Day Technologies , was in self-control of a like tool that could manipulate social media trends on a “ massive scale ” through automated bot account genesis and manipulation . However , Hanan ’s computer software sounds potentially more advanced than that . For one thing , Haaretzreportsthat the software package can …
… automatically create swan story on twelve of site . These go well beyond Twitter and Facebook , and include communicating app Discord and interactive livestreaming service Twitch , as well as site such as Reddit , Amazon and Airbnb , and even gaming site .
Hanan also distinguish reporters that his team use residential proxies — a VPN - similar service , that can bedim the true origins of web dealings — to dupe the social metier platform on which they operate into think the account are run by real people .
There are many more bizarre and alarming call that Hanan made to newsman throughout their conversation . Among the most frightening is that “ Jorge ” routinely uses hack military operation purport at insecure telecommunication protocols to violate into Gmail and Telegram accounts . During the on the QT recorded coming together , Hanan claim to show reporters an example of an African official whose Telegram account had been cut up . Hanan seemed able-bodied to scroll through the official ’s contacts , messages , and other sensitive information . Such hacking operations are often part of targeted efforts to name damnatory info and leak it , or to pick up apposite information that can then be used to sow division or dramatic event between a finical individual and their physical contact .
“ One of the biggest thing is to put sticks between the right people , you realise , ” Hanan told reporters . “ And I can compose him what I intend about his married woman , or what I conceive about his last speech , or I can tell him that I promised him to be my next gaffer of staff , hunky-dory ? ”
Russia and Israel are also places “ Jorge ” does n’t meddle , he aver . The Guardian further reports that Hanan ’s company is enunciate to have worked alongside Cambridge Analytica — the now defunct psychological war contractile organ thatworked forDonald Trump ’s presidential campaign in 2016 — during a 2015 operation to influence the presidential wash in Nigeria .
Who is Hanan , really ? Both the Hanan brothers were operating under fake names when interviewed by reporters . However , investigation by the outlets uncover an online life history that claimed Tal Hanan is a former extra forces operative who specialized in explosive . He also claim to be the CEO of at least two other companies , Tal Sol Energy , and an intelligence firm , Demoman International Ltd. , that isincludedin an official denial firm register on the Israeli Ministry of Defense internet site . He has also apparently claimed to have experience education law enforcement agencies , including federal representation inside the U.S. Hanan has also apparently claimed that Team Jorge has as many as six function and one hundred employees worldwide .
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