The MI5-run ‘Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure‘ has launched a new spy-spotting app to help people spot approaches from foreign spies and criminals.
Really? How Big Is The Problem?
According to MI5, 10,000 UK nationals across society were approached last year via fake social media profiles, e.g. on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Who Are The Targets?
Although anybody can download the new spy-spotting ‘Think Before You Link’ app, it aims at people working in sensitive industries, government (e.g. civil servants), or high-tech business and academia.
How?
According to the CPNI, hostile actors and criminals usually contact the target by posing as an interested ’employer’ or recruitment consultant presenting a unique business opportunity. They then ask for further details about the target’s background and try to “sell” the business opportunity, insisting on discussing it privately, away from the initial website.
The CPNI says that this kind of engagement is an attempt to understand the individual’s level of access to sensitive information and then build a longer-term relationship. The idea is that the target remains unaware of the real purpose of the approach. In some instances, targets believe they are providing information to develop a legitimate business opportunity.
The Signs
The CPNI says that some of the signs of an approach by hostile actors include:
- offers that are ‘too good to be true.’
- lack of verifiable company information available online.
- The use of flattery.
- Attempts to introduce urgency.
- Selling an idea/opportunity as scarce/ one-off or exclusive.
- The imbalance of a disproportionate focus on the target’s company rather than validating the target as a candidate.
How Can The App Stop This From Happening?
The ‘Think Before You Link’ app, designed with the help of behavioural scientists, uses the following features to help protect the users from approaches by spies and scammers:
- Interactive learning provides the user with the knowledge of how to spot malicious approaches. Training includes tailored content and case studies with more relevance to the user’s sector and role.
- A social media profile reviewer includes a built-in reverse image search to identify re-used profile pictures and self-answer questions.
- A reporting mechanism to help the user to report a profile that might be malicious.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
With threats such as economic espionage, worries about how states such as China and Russia use social media to influence opinion, a proliferation of online scams (e.g. recent ones utilising the situation in Ukraine), and news of Pegasus spyware at 10 Downing Street, fears are running high. This app may be a valuable way to educate, alert, and remind those of today’s threats for those in sensitive professions. The app provides a fast and handy way for reporting, giving an accurate picture of the security threats to enable quicker responses. Although most of us are unlikely to be targeted by spies, at least this app may stop and flag up some of the many security compromises via fake social media profiles.
