Report: Air Force to spy with fake Facebook accounts

The U.S. Air Force wants to develop software to run an army of phony social networking accounts that could be used for spying and influencing public opinion on Facebook and other social networking sites, according to a media report.

The computer magazine PCWorld is reporting on a claim by the international collective known as Anonymous that it obtained a copy of an Air Force request for bids to write software that would allow operatives to manage multiple dummy accounts.

"Anonymous members say they think the software can be used as a tracking and infiltration mechanism on social media sites, both to build profiles of actual members and to influence discussions," PCWorld reported.

The effort, dubbed Operation Metal Gear, would create what the Air Force has referred to as a "persona management system." It would create false user accounts with culturally and geographically consistent histories and supporting details, the magazine reported.

A security expert told PCWorld that such software could be used to find information to discredit and to "friend" the children of investigative targets to learn personal information, such as the timing of family vacations.

According to an Anonymous post online, the software would allow a lone agent to command an "army" of sock puppets which could be used to influence perceptions and public opinion, which seems significant in the wake of reports that the revolution in Egypt started through networking on Facebook.

"It is sophisticated enough to develop a ‘profile' for each puppet to add a level of ‘realism' to each," the Anonymous web post said. "In short, there would be no ... way to distinguish between 100 people commenting on a subject, and 100 of these puppets doing the same."