US virtual spies to stalk social networks

The US Central Command (Centcom) has awarded a contract to California firm Ntrepid that will let it run multiple fake personalities on social networking sites.

The contract states that the software should set up 10 personas per user "with background, history, supporting details, and cyber presences that are technically, culturally and geographically consistent".

The fake profiles would be managed from a single terminal by the operator and would be capable of communication via standard electronic communications methods. The workstation would be run over a VPN and be masked behind a dynamically changing IP address.

"The technology supports classified blogging activities on foreign-language web sites to enable Centcom to counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda outside the US," Centcom spokesman Commander Bill Speaks told The Guardian.

He said that US citizens would not be targeted in such operations, since that was against the law, and they would initially be run in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Pashto.