Operation Earnest Voice: USA Sockpuppets the World

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Earnest_Voice
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-sponsored_Internet_propaganda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntrepid

Operation Earnest Voice is an astroturfing campaign by the Federal
government of the United States.[1] The aim of the initiative is to
use sockpuppets to spread pro-American propaganda on social networking
services based outside of the US.[1][2][3][4] The campaign is operated
by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM)

10 sockpuppets controllable by each user.[2]
Sockpuppets are to be "replete with background, history, supporting
details, and cyber presences that are technically, culturally and
geographically consistent." Sockpuppets are to "be able to appear to
originate in nearly any part of the world."[2]
A special secure VPN, allowing sockpuppets to appear to be posting
from "randomly selected IP addresses," in order to "hide the existence
of the operation."[7]
Fifty static IP addresses to enable government agencies to "manage
their persistent online personas," with identities of government and
enterprise organizations protected which will allow for different
state agents to use the same sockpuppet, and easily switch between
different sockpuppets to "look like ordinary users as opposed to one
organization."[7]
Nine private servers, "based on the geographic area of operations the
customer is operating within and which allow a customer's online
persona(s) to appear to originate from." These servers should use
commercial hosting centers around the world.[7]
Virtual machine environments, deleted after each session termination,
to avoid interaction with "any virus, worm, or malicious software."[7]



https://ntrepidcorp.com/
Name Ntrepid
Type Software, hardware, and cyber security company
Founded October 25, 2010
Headquarters Herndon, Virginia
Products        Passages ION Nfusion Timestream Tartan Virtus ELUSIV
Subsidiaries    Anonymizer

Ntrepid is an American software, hardware, and cyber security company,
registered in Florida and based in Herndon, Virginia.[1][2][3]

History
In 2008, the Anonymizer company was acquired by the Abraxas
Corporation, which was purchased by Cubic in 2010 for $124 million.[4]
Some of Abraxas' former employees left to form Ntrepid that same
year.[4] Lance Cottrell, founder of Anonymizer, is the chief scientist
at Ntrepid.[5] Anonymizer is wholly owned by Ntrepid.[6][7]

Military contract
In March 2011, Ntrepid won a $2.76 million contract from the U.S.
military for "online persona management."[2] The contract was for the
creation of technology which would allow for blogging activities on
websites, exclusively outside of the United States, to "counter
violent extremist and enemy propaganda."[6][8] It would allow for one
operator to anonymously create and control up to ten personas from one
computer.[3]

The project is overseen by U.S. Central Command (Centcom), whose
spokesman Commander Bill Speaks stated that the operation would be
carried out in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.[2]

The project is thought to be connected with Operation Earnest Voice.[2]