The FBI wants you to develop a social media tracking tool
According to reports from ethical hacking specialists, the FBI has revealed its intentions to gain access to an “early monitoring” tool of social media. Presumably, this kind of software would allow the agency proactive surveillance of potential national security threats.
The FBI reportedly aims to monitor the activity
of terrorist groups, intelligence agencies in other countries, organized crime
and other potentially dangerous groups that use social
media platforms to boost their activities.
“The agency’s research subjects frequently
use some of the existing social media platforms; as people who put national
security at risk, it is vital for the FBI to have a tool to identify relevant
information about the activity of these people of interest on Facebook,
Instagram before a situation arises catastrophic,” the agency’s request
mentions. The FBI filed the original application for almost a month, although
it was amended this week to extend the response period, which will expire on
August 27.
Ethical hacking specialists believe that social
media has increasingly become a showcase for illicit and violent activities. A
clear example is the mass shooting that occurred either year in New Zealand, in
which the perpetrator opened fire on two mosques, killing 50 people and
injuring dozens more. The attacker reportedly posted a manifesto of more than
70 pages on his social networks, and also transmitted the attack via Facebook
Live.
Another known case is that of the individual
who killed three people at a festival in California just a few days ago;
Authorities found online a version of a racist manifesto dating back to 1890
written by the shooter.
The FBI hopes to anticipate the occurrence of
these cases under the premise that “virtually all incidents of interest to
the agency are discussed online”, as mentioned by U.S. government officials
“Proactive work on social media would allow the agency to detect, prevent
and investigate thousands of security incidents.”
Ethical hacking experts mention that this tool
would require extensive capabilities to give the entire corporation access to
all resources available on social media through any web browser and any device.
Companies interested in participating in the development of this project should
present in their proposals some elements such as:
- The
ability to create filters to search for specific content - Sending
real-time alerts and notifications about relevant information - Wide
international reach and advanced translation and information adaptation
capabilities - Real-time
location-based information monitoring
According to specialists in ethical hacking of
the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) this crime prevention
activity could also be extended to subjects of interest who have been involved
in completed criminal investigations, with what the agency seeks to integrate
into the largest known crime-related database. The contract for this project
will be awarded according to variables such as cost and development time; the
agency intends to award a one-year base contract with four additional one-year
options.
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