How to Maintain Your Cover When Engaging Online – HTCIA Conference 2018
When you’re setting up a managed attribution (MA) system for your specific mission, there are many different factors to consider that will determine your requirements. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to covert online operations. Every mission scenario or situation requires its own set-up. It is important to proactively think through these details and determine how they will affect the platform’s configuration.
Ordinarily, when you go online, you are overt. From your IP address to your specific cookies and accounts, everything about your digital fingerprint is visible. You are basically the same as a police officer in a marked patrol vehicle—everyone knows who you are and can see your pattern of activity. In contrast, when operators try to engage online in a covert way, they often try to remove all possible information. In an attempt to be ‘the ghost in the machine,’ they remove all identifiers, which actually tends to raise a red flag and draw more attention. Because online activity always leaves some kind of fingerprint, the operator is now easily recognized as an individual that is attempting to hide their identity.
The key is to thoughtfully and intentionally choose the fingerprint you’d like to have. Determine the story you’d like to tell to the sites you are visiting and the targets you engage with. Your fingerprint should be complete enough to stand up to the level of scrutiny that you expect to encounter.
In my speaking session from the 2018 HTCIA Conference, I discuss how to craft your specific fingerprint when building an online cover. I also identify the different ways that covert operations can go wrong, and share a few case studies to demonstrate the reality of these practices. Watch the full video here.
