A Chinese disinformation effort against a Pentagon contractor who is building a rare earth factory in Texas could bring a new era of such tactics against Western companies.
On Tuesday, the U. S. defense of the U. S. The U. S. Government said they and the “partner countries” were reviewing the crusade against Lynas Rare Earths, an Australian company with a $120 million contract to build a separation facility in Texas.
They credited cybersecurity firm Mandiant with discovering the campaign of the Organization Dragonbridge, which works to advance the interests of the Chinese government, or PRC. Mandiant’s report said the organization had designed social media posts to give the impression that Texas citizens were opposed to the new environmental policy. They also addressed the Biden administration’s recent efforts to build the rare national source of terrestrial minerals.
“While the activity we detail here does not appear to have been particularly effective and garnered only limited participation from likely genuine people, the campaign’s micro-targeting of express audiences suggests the option of similar means to manipulate public discourse around other U. S. policy issues. “The U. S. government in order to gain advantages from the People’s Republic of China,” the Mandiant report states.
The crusade was not particularly sophisticated. The authors made undeniable mistakes, such as taking inventory for profile shots and creating many accounts at the same time.
But John Hultquist, vice president of Mandiant Threat Intelligence, told Defense One on Wednesday that he hopes to refine his technique.
“They’re still facing all the complexity of cross-cultural communication,” Hultquist said. “There are language disorders and, in fact, commitment disorders . . . But they’re obviously involved. “
China’s foreign efforts could be nascent, but its government has extensive experience in propaganda aimed at domestic consumption. The state employs up to a fraction of a million other people in social media messaging, cybersecurity firm Recorded Future estimated in 2019.
Unlike Russia’s high-profile campaigns to influence U. S. policy, China’s efforts focus more on economic interests.
“One of the things that sets Chinese activity apart, compared to some of its peers, is that they’re still very focused on the economy,” Hultquist said.
This means that while American politicians are informed to deal with disinformation attacks, private companies have not had to.
“There is a whole new organization of goals that have not forged delight in dealing with this problem,” he said.
The case of Lynas Rare Earth also highlights an attack vector: moderate environmental concerns. Essentially, it is a strategy that militarizes the NIMBY.
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