Trapwire – designed by former CIA agents – can best be described as an advanced CCTV surveillance system.
According to documents obtained by the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks website, the system is powered by complex algorithms capable of analyzing individual profiles while red-flagging potential terrorist or criminal threats. Trapwire has already been deployed in a number of US cities, including Washington DC and Seattle.
Unsurprisingly, supporters of Anonymous recently issued a communiqué criticizing the surveillance system, saying it could be used to provide unprecedented surveillance and data-mining capabilities to governments and corporations.
“The more we learn about TrapWire and similar systems, it becomes absolutely clear that we must at all costs shut this system down and render it useless,” the supporters of Anonymous wrote.
“A giant AI electronic brain able to monitor us through a combination of access to all the CCTV cameras as well as all the online social media feeds is monstrous and Orwellian in it’s implications and possibilities.”
As such, the collective plans to work closely with the PLF, WikiLeaks and Project PM to “gather, collate, disclose and disseminate” as much information as possible about TrapWire.
“Already many sites and repositories of data on TrapWire are disappearing – being taken down by those who do not want you to know the truth about what they are doing,” the communiqué claimed.
“[Nevertheless], we will do this not only to educate the general public regarding TrapWire, but to move them to pressure their representatives to shut down funding for this and similar programs of massive surveillance, and to pass laws outlawing the creation of future projects of this type.”
The hacktivists also advocated a more aggressive approach towards Trapwire by pledging to “destroy the servers” where the AI “electronic brain” of the program is housed.
“This ‘monster’ doesn’t just have eyes that need gouging out – it also has ‘ears.’ TrapWire constantly monitors social media. In a strange twist of fate, the company that developed TrapWire also works on something called ‘sock-puppet’ programs.
“These are projects designed to create thousands of fake personas on social media. We will turn this idea and software against them, creating thousands of phony accounts and use them to produce a deluge of false triggers for the TrapWire program – essentially drowning it in ‘white noise,” the communiqué concluded.
