Info-weapons and the national polls
We live in the age of information. From mundane matters of everyday life to vital decisions of national importance, information plays a significant role. According to a certain research institution, at a global level, every second over 40 thousand Google searches are conducted and over 2.6 million e-mails sent. Around 500 thousand tweets are posted per minute. The more information one has, the more powerful one is in this age of information. In fact, in many cases, an IT company can be more powerful than an entire state. However, while on one hand information can be used for research, medical treatment and other means of human welfare, it is also used as an effective weapon for ulterior motives, to achieve vested aims and objectives, and to annihilate the enemy.
In the age of information, whoever can enter the information highway and control information, can gain control in other sectors too. The need for information is on a steady increase and fresh information is on constant demand. Conventional ways of collecting information are defunct. We demand constant updated news. For a large section of the population, particularly the youth, radio, television and newspapers are no longer the primary source of news. Internet is their source of information which they access through their constant companion, the smartphone.
There is change in the flow of information too. Previously it was one-way and there was no choice but to rely on the state-run radio or television for news. Now the sources of information are many. The existing sources have changed and news ones have cropped up.
By virtue of social media, a person is both a consumer and a supplier of information. When a status is posted on the social media, it can go viral in a matter of minutes, reaching millions of people. The state no longer holds a monopoly on information. Any efforts to control information will only prove to be futile. While people can be controlled in the political arena, this is impossible in the world of digital information.
There is no way to deny the positive aspects of information. At the same time, the negative aspects cannot be ignored either. While using the Internet, we are generating known and unknown data which remains on record, even if deleted. Large IT companies preserve such information and use it. Our digital footprint reveals our likes and dislikes, our fears and phobias and even our weaknesses. The Internet of Things is steadily spreading out and is able to gather various details and information of the people. Such information can be analysed and used as a weapon against us. That means the very information we are providing, can harm us.
Internet is the main vehicle for information aggression, particularly social media. It is possible to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create a digital profile of any person and target them, or apply micro-targetting, and motivate them towards a particular ideology. So instead of providing everyone with common information, the information menu is customised, making it possible to influence their thought process and even change them to a great degree. The Islamic State (IS) is a strong example of this. In its drive to collect members, this international militant organisation provides ideology to the potential target at an individual level and thus creates members.
A review of current global events gives us a clear conception about the power of information. The consulting firm Cambridge Analytica worked for Donald Trump during his campaign for the 2016 presidential election. The firm unlawfully gathered information on around 90 million Facebook users, analysed this and used it for the election campaign. It is said that Russia-based hackers manipulated the last US election. The released false reports about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, ran propaganda trolls, and tarnished her image during the election.
Internet war is now also considered as an important tier alongside conventional war. We saw how effectively the information was was used in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. The Islamic State has taken Internet propaganda to another level. They used propaganda videos to call youth from all people around the world to join in jihad.
Bangladesh, like any other country is the world, faces the IT threat. A recent study shows that the number of Facebook users in Dhaka city is second in the world. According to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, the number of Internet users in Bangladesh till February 2017 stood at 70 million. Among 130 million mobile phones users, 60 million access the Internet through their mobile phones. The data they generate can, in turn, be used to influence and motivate them.
Bangladesh Bank had been victim of a major cyber heist. Most of the stolen money has not been recovered. According to news reports in Bangladesh, personal information of people in the country has been stolen. False posts on the Facebook led to attacks on the Buddhist community in Ramu. A 13 July report of the Daily Star reveals trolls and threats against the quota reform activists on Facebook.
And with the national elections coming up towards the end of the year, the risks are high. As the people of Bangladesh are widely dependent on the Internet and social media, it is relatively easy to use these to influence them and draw them towards certain political or extremist ideology. Major IT firms use Big Data and Deep Data to gather detailed information on persons. They use data mining and data tranching to generate all sorts of information.
The prevailing shrinking space in Bangladesh’s political arena will lead to the transfer of political activities to digital platforms. There are around 30 million voters among the country’s youth, most of whom are dependent on the Internet. Conventional meetings and rallies will continue, but the main media to reach the youth will be the Internet. Certain political parties have already instructed their candidates to open social media accounts and use these actively.
Internet is steadily gaining hold in rural Bangladesh too. To many in the rural areas, Internet means Facebook. Our studies show that there will be an increased trend to use Facebook as a tool for election campaigning. It will be possible to conduct online activities offline through information vendors. As the election nears, the internet wars, information aggression and misleading fake news will intensify. This will be done though SMS and video messaging and various other apps.
With the election ahead, we must be on alert so that the election process and the democratic environment are not challenged in any way by means of misleading cyber campaigns. It is not enough for just the government and the political parties to be cautious, the election commission and officials involved in the election process must be trained and their awareness enhanced in this regard. One cannot turn a blind eye to the immense power of information. Information technology must be harnessed and its positive aspects applied for for constructive use.
* Maj. Gen. Muniruzzaman (retd) is the president of the Dhaka-based security think-tank Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS). This article has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir