Archiv: Psy-Group


07.07.2019 - 15:09 [ New Yorker ]

Private Mossad for Hire

(18/25.02.2019)

Spies, private investigators, criminals, and even some journalists have long used false identities to trick people into providing information, a practice known as pretexting. The Internet made pretexting easier. Aviran thought that fake online personae, known as avatars, could be used to spy on terrorist groups and to head off planned attacks. In 2004, he started Terrogence, which became the first major Israeli company to demonstrate the effectiveness of avatars in counterterrorism work.

When Terrogence launched, many suspected jihadi groups communicated through members-only online forums run by designated administrators. To get past these gatekeepers, Terrogence’s operatives gave their avatars legends, or backstories—often as Arab students at European universities. As the avatars proliferated, their operators joked that the most valuable online chat rooms were now entirely populated by avatars, who were, inadvertently, collecting information from one another.

10.10.2018 - 05:49 [ CNN ]

New York Times: Top Trump campaign official requested online manipulation plans from Israeli company

The campaign official, Rick Gates, was ultimately not interested in the company‘s work, a person with knowledge of the discussions told the Times.
Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team, who are investigating Russian interference and possible coordination with the Trump campaign in the 2016 presidential election, have obtained copies of the proposals and questioned Psy-Group employees, according to people familiar with those interviews, the Times reports.

10.10.2018 - 05:44 [ Haaretz ]

Mueller Probe: Israeli Firm, Trump Campaign Discussed Smearing Rivals in 2016

According to the report, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating foreign interference in the 2016 election, is closely examining these contacts. His office, the report said, has interviewed workers from Psy-Group and collected documents from the company’s headquarters in Israel.

10.10.2018 - 05:38 [ New York Times ]

Rick Gates Sought Online Manipulation Plans From Israeli Intelligence Firm for Trump Campaign

A third proposal by the company, Psy-Group, which is staffed by former Israeli intelligence operatives, sketched out a monthslong plan to help Mr. Trump by using social media to help expose or amplify division among rival campaigns and factions. The proposals, part of what Psy-Group called “Project Rome,” used code names to identify the players — Mr. Trump was “Lion” and Mrs. Clinton was “Forest.” Mr. Cruz, who Trump campaign officials feared might lead a revolt over the Republican presidential nomination, was “Bear.”

10.10.2018 - 05:34 [ Middle East Monitor ]

Trump team asked Israel firm to create election smear campaign

Psy-Group has also alleged to have been involved in Israel’s efforts against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The Times of Israel reported that these revelations, which came to light in a separate investigation, showed that Psy-Group registered the website outlawbds.com. The site was believed to contain a “blacklist” with photos and email addresses of individuals believed to support BDS, but outlawbds.com has since disappeared from the internet.

14.07.2018 - 12:29 [ Mint Press ]

PSY-Group to Black Cube: Israel’s Role in Global Cyber-Election Meddling

Several Israeli companies decided to further monetize such digital dissonance by improving on Megaphone, mixing it with human intelligence tradecraft, and offering it to pro-Israeli politicians and political parties and movements around the world to affect the outcome of elections.

Wikistrat, Inc., along with Wikistrat Ltd., are related Israeli social media and election-meddling firms. Founded in 2010, Wikistrat combined the functionality of Facebook with Wikipedia in a platform called “Global Model” (GLOMOD). GLOMOD’s primary purposes is to manipulate Facebook and Wikipedia. Coincidentally, or not, Wikistrat moved its headquarters from Tel Aviv to Washington, DC, where it is conveniently located next to CNN’s Washington bureau.

21.05.2018 - 17:59 [ calcalistech.com ]

Israeli Company Investigated by Robert Mueller’s Team Shuts Down

Psy-Group, the company headed by the Israeli media specialist Joel Zamel, who is reportedly being investigated in connection with the alleged illegal intervention in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has shut down, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Calcalist on condition of anonymity.

21.05.2018 - 17:48 [ Times of Israel ]

As election probe spreads to Israel, Trump protests ‘witch hunt’ has gone global

US president slams New York Times over report on son‘s meetings with an Israeli media specialist, Arab emissaries and a private military contractor ahead of 2016 election

19.05.2018 - 21:33 [ New York Times ]

Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election

There were concerns inside the company, Psy-Group, about the plan’s legality, according to one person familiar with the effort. The company, whose motto is “shape reality,” consulted an American law firm, and was told that it would be illegal if any non-Americans were involved in the effort.

Mr. Zamel, the founder of Psy-Group and one of its owners, has been questioned about the August 2016 meeting by investigators for the special counsel, and at least two F.B.I. agents working on the inquiry have traveled to Israel to interview employees of the company who worked on the proposal.

19.05.2018 - 21:31 [ Haaretz ]

Mueller Investigators Questioned Witnesses in Israel and Seized Computers, Report Says

The report, citing four sources, said that a company linked to Zamel, Psy-Group, was working on an online manipulation campaign that involved usage thousands of fake social media accounts to help Trump get elected. The report, Zamel himself was questioned by Mueller‘s investigators and at least two FBI agents were sent to Israel to interview the company‘s employees. Mueller‘s team also worked with the Israel Police to seize computers of one of Zamel‘s firms. The New York Times notes that there were concerns inside the company about the plan‘s legality, since U.S. law prohibits non-Americans from being involved in the election.