๐ฃ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PSYOP), have been known by many other names or terms, including MISO, Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Minds", and propaganda.
The term is used "to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people".
Various techniques are used, and are aimed at influencing a target audience's value system, belief system, emotions, motives, reasoning, or behavior.
It is used to induce confessions or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator's objectives, and are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. It is also used to destroy the morale of enemies through tactics that aim to depress troops' psychological states.
Target audiences can be governments, organizations, groups, and individuals, and is not just limited to soldiers. Civilians of foreign territories can also be targeted by technology and media so as to cause an effect in the government of their country.
In June 2015, NSA files published by Glenn Greenwald revealed details of the JTRIG group at British intelligence agency GCHQ covertly manipulating online communities. This is in line with JTRIG's goal: to "destroy, deny, degrade [and] disrupt" enemies by "discrediting" them, planting misinformation and shutting down their communications.
Operation methods/techniques. All of JTRIGโs operations are conducted using cyber technology. Staff described a range of methods/techniques that have been used to-date for conducting effects operations. These included:
1) Uploading YouTube videos containing โpersuasiveโ communications (to discredit, promote distrust, dissuade, deter, delay or disrupt)
2) Setting up Facebook groups, forums, blogs and Twitter accounts that encourage and monitor discussion on a topic (to discredit, promote distrust, dissuade, deter, delay or disrupt)
3) Establishing online aliases/personalities who support the communications or messages in YouTube videos, Facebook groups, forums, blogs etc
4) Establishing online aliases/personalities who support other aliases
๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด
โThe more a social engineer can make his contact seem like business as usual, the more he allays suspicion. When people donโt have a reason to be suspicious, itโs easy for a social engineer to gain their trust. Once heโs got your trust, the drawbridge is lowered and the castle door thrown open so he can enter and take whatever information he wantsโ (Kevin D Mitnick).
