Using Social Media for Global Security

Essential reading for cybersecurity professionals, security analysts, policy experts, decision-makers, activists, and law enforcement! During the Arab Spring movements, the world witnessed the power of social media to dramatically shape events. Now this timely book shows government decision-makers, security analysts, and activists how to use the social world to improve security locally, nationally, and globally--and cost-effectively. Authored by two technology/behavior/security professionals, Using Social Media for Global Security offers pages of instruction and detail on cutting-edge social media technologies, analyzing social media data, and building crowdsourcing platforms. The book teaches how to collect social media data and analyze it to map the social networks of terrorists and sex traffickers, and forecast attacks and famines. You will learn how to coalesce communities through social media to help catch murderers, coordinate disaster relief, and collect intelligence about drug smuggling from hard-to-reach areas. Also highlighting dramatic case studies drawn from the headlines, this crucial book is a must-read. * Illustrates linguistic, correlative, and network analysis of OSINT * Examines using crowdsourcing technologies to work and engage with populations globally to solve security problems * Explores how to ethically deal with social media data without compromising people s rights to privacy and freedom of expression * Shows activists fighting against oppressive regimes how they can protect their identities online If you're responsible for maintaining local, national or global security, you'll want to read Using Social Media for Global Security.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xxv Part I Understanding the Influence of Social Media Globally 1 Chapter 1 Understanding Social Media s Impact on Global Security 3 Organizing Revolutions and Riots 4 Arab Spring 4 London Riots 8 Recruiting Terrorists and Encouraging Attacks 10 Glorifying and Promoting Gang Culture and Violence 11 Acknowledging Social Media s Impact 13 Summary 14 Chapter 2 Understanding Global Social Media Use 17 Defining Social Media 17 Grasping Social Media s Popularity and Appeal 19 Growth of Social Media 19 Philosophy Behind Social Media 20 Social Media Technologies 22 Platform Types 22 Device Types 29 Social Media Use Differences Globally 34 North America (U.S. and Canada) 35 Latin America 36 Europe 36 East Asia 37 Southeast Asia 38 South Asia 38 Middle East 38 Africa 39 Summary 40 Part II Analyzing Social Media Data to Solve Security Problems 43 Chapter 3 Introduction to Social Media Analytics 45 Defining Analysis 45 What Is Analysis 46 Limits of Analysis 46 What Is Not Analysis 47 Analysis Overview 48 Preliminary Procedure 49 The Analytical Processes 52 Analysis Dos and Don ts 58 Analysis Methodologies 61 Variables 62 Methodologies in this Book 63 Methodologies Not in this Book 68 Summary 69 Chapter 4 Collecting and Managing Social Media Data 71 Understanding Social Media Data 71 Determining Collection Needs 74 What Data Will Solve the Problem? 75 How Much Data Is Enough? 76 Who Has the Data? 79 Will They Give the Data? 82 Collecting the Data 84 Data Framework 85 APIs 85 RSS Feeds 89 Crawlers 89 Filtering the Data 91 Storing and Managing the Data 93 Relational Databases 94 Non-Relational Databases 96 Third-Party Solutions 99 Summary 102 Chapter 5 Mapping and Analyzing Social Networks 105 Key Concepts and Defi nitions 105 Elements of Social Networks 107 Infl uence and Memes in Social Networks 110 Algorithms in SNA 111 Choosing SNA Software Program 113 First Example Identify Influencers 115 Creating the Data Set 116 Visually Map the Network 121 Analyze the Network 124 Second Example Identify Infl uencers 130 Create the Data Set 131 Visually Map the Network 131 Analyze the Network 132 Third Example Determine Top Memes 134 Create the Data Set 135 Analyze the Network 136 Summary 137 Chapter 6 Understanding and Forecasting Events 141 Introduction to Analyzing Events 141 Social Media Data as Intelligence 142 Monitoring Attacks through Social Media 143 Understanding Forecasting 145 Forecasting vs. Predicting 146 Forecasting Properly 147 Conducting Language and Sentiment Analysis 149 Determining Authorship 151 Tracking and Forecasting the Behavior of Rioting Violent Crowds 156 Correlation and Regression Analysis 161 Creating Tools to Provide Early Warnings for Famines with Artificial Data 163 Volumetric Analysis 170 Creating Tools to Provide Early Warnings for Famines with Artificial Data 170 Summary 174 Part III Crowdsourcing Intelligence, Solutions, and Influence 177 Chapter 7 Introduction to Crowdsourcing 179 What Is Crowdsourcing? 179 Defining Crowdsourcing and Its Relevance 180 Bolstering Crowdsourcing with Social Media 182 Why Use Crowdsourcing? 184 Solve More Problems and Get More Information 184 Work Quickly 185 Work Discreetly 186 Save Money 186 Relevant Examples of Crowdsourcing 187 OpenIDEO 187 DARPA Shredder Challenge 189 GCHQ Spy Recruitment Challenge 190 M-Farm 190 Knowing When to Crowdsource 191 When to Crowdsource 191 When Not to Crowdsource 193 Summary 194 Chapter 8 Building and Running Crowdsourcing Platforms 197 Overview of the Process 197 Select Objective and Scope 199 Refine Problem to Establish Clear Objective 199 Decide the Scope of the Platform 199 Analyze the Target Audience and Media Environment 200 Determine the Target Audience 201 Analyze the Target Audience 203 Analyze the Media Environment 204 Get the Information to Do the Analyses 205 Design the Platform 206 Determine the Platform s Look and Feel 207 Determine the Platform s Incentive Structure 209 Build the Platform 214 Market the Platform 215 Manage the Platform 218 Measure the Platform s Performance 220 Create and Choose Metrics 220 Collect Data to Populate Metrics 221 Wash, Rinse, Repeat 222 Summary 222 Chapter 9 Crowdsourcing Intelligence 225 Understanding the Scope of Crowdsourced Intelligence 225 Uniqueness of Crowdsourced Intelligence 226 Direct and Indirect Crowdsourced Intelligence 226 Appreciating the Limits of Crowdsourcing Intelligence 228 Uncooperative Target Audience 228 Higher Risk for Participants 229 Misinformation 229 Misinterpretation 230 Hawthorne Effect 231 Tweaking the Process for Intelligence Collection Platforms 231 Collect Intelligence from Hard-to-Reach Areas through SMS 233 Define Objective and Scope 233 Analyze the Target Audience and Media Environment 234 Design the Platform 236 Build the Platform 238 Market the Platform 241 Manage the Platform 241 Measure the Platform s Performance 241 Wash, Rinse, Repeat 242 Collect Intelligence from the Community for Law Enforcement 242 Define Objective and Scope 243 Analyze the Target Audience and Media Environment 244 Design the Platform 245 Build the Platform 250 Market the Platform 251 Manage the Platform 251 Measure the Platform s Performance 252 Wash, Rinse, Repeat 252 Collect Intelligence to Bolster Disaster Relief 253 Define Objective and Scope 254 Analyze the Target Audience and Media Environment 254 Design the Platform 255 Build the Platform 257 Market the Platform 260 Manage the Platform 261 Measure the Platform s Performance 262 Wash, Rinse, Repeat 263 Summary 263 Chapter 10 Crowdsourcing Solutions 265 Understanding the Scope of Crowdsourced Solutions 265 Formulating the Right Type of Problem 266 Formulating the Right Crowdsourcing Approach 269 Appreciating the Limits of Crowdsourcing Solutions 274 Unsolvable Problem 274 Incorrect Solutions 274 Adversarial Participants 274 Political Fallout 275 Tweaking the Process for Solution Platforms 275 Crowdsourcing Translations during Disaster Relief 276 Define Objective and Scope 277 Analyze Target Audience and Media Environment 278 Design the Platform 279 Build the Platform 281 Market the Platform 284 Manage the Platform 285 Measure the Platform s Performance 286 Wash, Rinse, Repeat 286 Crowdsource Tools to Identify Antagonistic Actors in Video Feeds 287 Define Objective and Scope 288 Analyze Target Audience and Media Environment 289 Design the Platform 290 Build the Platform 294 Market the Platform 294 Manage the Platform 295 Measure the Platform s Performance 296 Wash, Rinse, Repeat 296 Summary 297 Chapter 11 Influencing Crowds 301 Understanding the Scope of Influencing through Crowdsourcing 301 Delineating Influence Goals 302 Grasping How Influence Happens 304 Process of Influencing Others 305 Conceptual Overview of Influence Process 306 Real-World Implications of Influence Process 307 Appreciating the Limits of Influencing Crowds 309 Unrealistic Expectations 309 Adversarial Participants 309 Political Fallout 310 Unknown Unknowns 310 Tweaking the Process for Influence Platforms 310 Influencing to Collect Intelligence on Corrupt Officials 311 Define Objectives and Scope 312 Analyze Target Audience and the Media Environment 312 Define Objectives and Scope, Redux 313 Design the Platform 315 Build the Platform 321 Market the Platform 321 Moderate the Platform 322 Measure the Platform s Performance 323 Wash, Rinse, Repeat 323 Summary 323 Part IV Broadening Your Horizon 327 Chapter 12 Advanced and Emerging Analytical Methodologies 329 Expanding the Scope of Analysis 329 Cluster Analysis 330 The Process of Clustering 331 The Relevance of Clustering 333 Geo-Spatial Network Analysis 335 The Process of Geo-Spatial Network Analysis 336 The Relevance of Geo-Spatial Network Analysis 337 Agent Modeling 341 The Relevance of Agent Modeling 342 The Process of Agent Modeling 343 Summary 349 Chapter 13 Delivering Services through Crowdsourcing 353 Delivering Education 353 Understanding How People Learn 354 Delivering Education through Tablets and Mobile Phones (First Method) 356 Delivering Education through Mobile Phones Only (Second Method) 361 Side-Benefits of Delivering Education 362 Delivering Health 363 Diagnosing Health Problems 363 Collecting Health Information 366 Summary 369 Chapter 14 Protecting Privacy and Yourself 371 Considering Privacy and Free Speech 371 Reasons to Consider Privacy and Free Speech 372 Appreciating the Complexity Involved 372 Acting Legally and Ethically 373 Analyze Non-Personal Open Source Intelligence 374 Follow Rules of Social Media Data Sources 374 Do Not Involve Children 375 Identify Extra Restrictions 375 Do Not Store People s Personal Information 376 Help Your Participants Protect Themselves 376 Solicit Professional Help When Possible 377 Value Privacy and Strive for a Good Reputation 377 Imagine and Prepare for the Worst-Case Scenario 378 Be Aware of Changes in Laws and Norms 378 Protecting Your Identity and Speech 378 Set Basic Security Settings 380 Do Not Post Sensitive Information 380 Be Wary of Enabling Location Services 380 Use Technologies That Anonymize You 380 Use Social Media Platforms That Hide Your Identity 382 Identify Who Is Behind What and Why 382 Use Common Sense and Be Reasonable 382 Summary 384 Appendix Extra Information and Resources 387 Social Media Platforms 387 Software Tools 389 Index 391

About the Author :
Ravi Gupta is an entrepreneur who develops and commercializes technologies that use biological principles. He has created social media platforms, data processing algorithms, and crowdsourcing techniques to understand and solve security problems. Hugh Brooks is a security consultant for government and private clients. With a focus on creativity, he has produced innovative solutions for crowd-driven applications, behavior modeling, mobile health and education, and cyber security.