U.S. Special Forces Are Adding Social Media And Information Warfare To Their List Of Responsibilities

Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command

Washington Times: Special Ops targets social media

U.S. special operations forces, elite commandos engaged in high-risk operations around the world, are adding a new focus to their portfolio of activities: social media and other unconventional information warfare threats.

“Social media is another component of unconventional strategies, and the security environment in general, that is playing a central role in recruiting individuals to causes,” Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, said Wednesday in prepared testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.

“We must therefore develop our ability to interact with key influencers through this medium, or else risk blinding ourselves to this important conduit of information and influence in unfolding crises,” Gen. Votel said.

Update: Pentagon Special Ops Forces' New Task: Information Warfare -- Sputnik

WNU Editor: I can understand why US Special Operations Command is now focusing on unconventional information warfare .... the Islamic State has shown how effective of a platform it is in recruiting supporters and gaining intel. But is this the right organization to focus on this? I have my doubts .... social media is a forum that requires 100% dedication and focus in order to be successful .... but it looks like the warriors in U.S. Special Forces are now going to have additional duties and responsibilities on top of what they are doing right now.

CIA Director Brennan: 'Social Media And The Internet Have Greatly Amplified The Terror Threat'

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan listens to a reporter's question during a news conference at CIA Headquarters in Virginia in December. Social media and other technology are making it increasingly difficult to combat militants who are using such modern resources to share information and conduct operations, the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said on Friday. Larry Downing/Reuters

Daily Mail/Reuters: CIA chief voices concern over social media 'greatly amplifying' terror threat after 20,000 foreign fighters flock to Syria and Iraq

* CIA Director John Brennan, in a speech in New York, said e-communications only add to the difficulty of dealing with diffuse threats
* He added the new technologies can help attract new recruits, disseminate propaganda, and inspire sympathizers across the globe

Social media and other technology are making it increasingly difficult to combat militants who are using such modern resources to share information and conduct operations, the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said on Friday.

CIA director John Brennan, in a speech in New York, said such communications only add to the difficulty of dealing with diffuse threats and attacks across the world from groups like Islamic State, known also as ISIL, and others.

More News On CIA Director Brennan's Comments That Social Media And The Internet Have Greatly Amplified The Terror Threat

CIA director: 'Terrorism is greatly amplified' by Internet -- UPI
CIA chief: Social media hampers fight against 'terror' -- Al Jazeera
CIA Director Brennan: Social Media Makes It Harder to Fight Terror -- NBC
CIA director: Social media ‘greatly amplifies’ terror threat -- Washington Times
CIA chief: Cyber terror is the future -- The Hill
CIA director blames social media for strength of ISIS -- RT

The Growing Trend Of Jihadi Selfies

Muzaffar Salman/Reuters

Khaled Diab, Al Jazeera: The jihadist selfie is changing the image of holy war

Rambo-like selfies taken by western jihadists may be part of a deliberate strategy for recruitment.

t was a miracle of selfie-preservation. A 14-year-old British schoolboy on a skiing holiday in Austria improbably survived, with only a few bruises and scratches, a 500-metre drop after slipping while shooting a selfie.

And if his phone survived the fall too, the teenager may just have snapped himself the kind of digital self-portrait that will make him the awe of his Facebook friends, and could even go viral.

But it is not just young people who are doing it. A cursory glance shows that selfies have become one of the greatest fads around, with celebrities and even politicians embracing them. A group selfie at last year's Oscar ceremony became the most re-tweeted image of all time - a picture that apparently spoke a billion dollars. And with the fuss about selfies at this year's ceremony, it won't be too long before we start hearing about a "best selfie" category being introduced at the Academy Award

WNU Editor: VICE did an interesting post on this trend last year .... Jihad Selfies: These British Extremists in Syria Love Social Media (VICE News). Out of curiosity I put the phrase "Jihad selfies" in the Google image search box .... OMG!!!! .... these Jihadists must love themselves because there are literally thousands of images.

10 Cool Selfies Taken By Military Pilots

Stunning images of first @BoeingDefense 787 delivery to @Arke escorted by F-16 Demo Team RNLAF http://t.co/2IxIcfUPpN pic.twitter.com/rmZjlkef7r
— Aviation Report (@aviation_report) June 9, 2014

Military Times: 10 of the best military pilot selfies

It's the souvenir of a lifetime, and the Internet is just the scrapbook.

Military pilots stateside and abroad have been capturing their best flight selfies with cameras — mainly GoPros — in the cockpit, giving audiences a glimpse of what it's like on high.

WNU Editor:Those are some cool pics .... but my head spins when I look at them (I am definitely not fighter-jock material).

British Army Mobilizes 1,500 'Facebook Warriors' To Spread Disinformation

The Guardian: British army creates team of Facebook warriors

Soldiers familiar with social media sought for 77th Brigade, which will be responsible for ‘non-lethal warfare’

WNU Editor: Zero Hedge sums it up best .... Get ready, social media is about to get far more treacherous than it already is. Be extra careful jumping to conclusions, always think for yourself and use your best judgement. Government psy ops are about to go into overdrive.

More News On The British Army Mobilizing 1,500 'Facebook Warriors' To Spread Disinformation

Army Revives Chindits as ‘Facebook Warriors’ for Smart Battle -- Financial Times
British Military Creates A Social Media Army -- HNGN
British army establishes new unit to engage in cyber warfare -- News.com.au
The British Army is Creating a Battalion of "Facebook Warriors" -- Gizmodo
Cyber warfare: Army seeks Twitter troops and Facebook warriors -- Mirror
British Army Raising A Brigade Of ‘Facebook Warriors’ -- Ubergizmo

U.S. Military Families Are Deleting Their Online Presence Because Of Security Concerns

CNN: After ISIS Twitter threat, military families rethink online lives

WNU Editor: I have a good friend who works for Canada's RCMP .... when I asked him a few months ago on why he was not on Facebook .... he told me that it was against department policy. As he told me .... no point in making it easy for criminals to find out where you live, and to let them know who is important to you. This is actually becoming a growing trend ..... French law enforcement were told after the Paris attacks last week the same thing .... remove your social media presence .... Source: Terror cells activated in France, police told to remove social media presence (CNN). U.S. military have not been told to eliminate their social media presence .... but it will not surprise me if this does become the case if credible threats against U.S. personnel and their families become known .... especially if social media is being used to track them.

How The Islamic State Is Avoiding U.S. Surveillance

ISIS Is Getting Smarter About Avoiding U.S. Surveillance -- Daily Signal

Social media can be a double-edged sword for terrorists groups such as ISIS, a fact that its leadership appears to be aware of.

According to recent reports, the group’s top cadre has curtailed electronic communications, hoping to shrink its footprint and exposure to western intelligence agencies. A terrorist group of the 21st century, ISIS is adept at the use of social media, producing “cruelly effective” propaganda, as retired Marine Corps Gen. John Allen has put it. Yet, that same propaganda also has provided a wealth of information for the U.S. and other governments.

As reported by The Daily Beast’s Shane Harris, who cited U.S. intelligence sources, ISIS is changing its “communications strategy.” It is encrypting its electronic communications, limiting its online presence and using services that delete messages as soon as they are sent. Its top cadre uses couriers rather than electronic devices to deliver orders, making them elusive in the U.S.-led surveillance campaign. As human intelligence is hardly available on the ground, especially in Syria, and the number of unmanned drones is limited, cyber surveillance has been a key tool in the fight against ISIS.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Islamic State is lucky that the U.S. does not have intelligence assets on the ground .... but I am sure that this is going to change with time. As to using couriers .... this method of communications can only go so far.