www.meritalk.com Open in urlscan Pro
108.138.246.75  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

GET /

<form role="search" method="get" action="/" class="header-search-form">
  <div class="header-search-form-shade">
    <label class="sr-only" for="s">Search for:</label>
    <input class="header-search-form-field" type="text" value="" name="s" id="s" placeholder="Search...">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="post">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="news_post_type">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="event_post_type">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="session_post_type">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="speaker_post_type">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="research_post_type">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="resource_post_type">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="tv_post_type">
    <input type="hidden" name="post_type[]" value="attachment">
    <input type="hidden" name="orderby" value="publish_date">
  </div>
  <button class="header-search-form-button" type="submit">
    <i class="fa fa-search" aria-hidden="true"></i>
  </button>
</form>

POST /articles/justice-dept-seizes-domains-from-russian-ai-fueled-bot-farm/#gf_1

<form method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" target="gform_ajax_frame_1" id="gform_1" class="form-footer-subscribe" action="/articles/justice-dept-seizes-domains-from-russian-ai-fueled-bot-farm/#gf_1" data-formid="1" novalidate="">
  <div class="gform-body gform_body">
    <ul id="gform_fields_1" class="gform_fields top_label form_sublabel_below description_below validation_below">
      <li id="field_1_1" class="gfield gfield--type-text gfield_contains_required field_sublabel_below gfield--no-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_1_1"><label
          class="gfield_label gform-field-label" for="input_1_1">First Name<span class="gfield_required"><span class="gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk">*</span></span></label>
        <div class="ginput_container ginput_container_text"><input name="input_1" id="input_1_1" type="text" value="" class="medium" tabindex="1000" placeholder="First Name..." aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false"> </div>
      </li>
      <li id="field_1_2" class="gfield gfield--type-text gfield_contains_required field_sublabel_below gfield--no-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_1_2"><label
          class="gfield_label gform-field-label" for="input_1_2">Last Name<span class="gfield_required"><span class="gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk">*</span></span></label>
        <div class="ginput_container ginput_container_text"><input name="input_2" id="input_1_2" type="text" value="" class="medium" tabindex="1001" placeholder="Last Name..." aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false"> </div>
      </li>
      <li id="field_1_3" class="gfield gfield--type-email gfield_contains_required field_sublabel_below gfield--no-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_1_3"><label
          class="gfield_label gform-field-label" for="input_1_3">Email<span class="gfield_required"><span class="gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk">*</span></span></label>
        <div class="ginput_container ginput_container_email">
          <input name="input_3" id="input_1_3" type="email" value="" class="medium" tabindex="1002" placeholder="Email..." aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false">
        </div>
      </li>
      <li id="field_1_4" class="gfield gfield--type-text sr-only field_sublabel_below gfield--no-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_1_4"><label
          class="gfield_label gform-field-label" for="input_1_4">URL</label>
        <div class="ginput_container ginput_container_text"><input name="input_4" id="input_1_4" type="text" value="https://meritalk.com/subscribe-footer" class="medium" tabindex="1003" aria-invalid="false"> </div>
      </li>
      <li id="field_1_5" class="gfield gfield--type-hidden gform_hidden field_sublabel_below gfield--no-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_1_5">
        <div class="ginput_container ginput_container_text"><input name="input_5" id="input_1_5" type="hidden" class="gform_hidden" aria-invalid="false" value=""></div>
      </li>
      <li id="field_1_6" class="gfield gfield--type-honeypot gform_validation_container field_sublabel_below gfield--has-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_1_6"><label
          class="gfield_label gform-field-label" for="input_1_6">Name</label>
        <div class="ginput_container"><input name="input_6" id="input_1_6" type="text" value="" autocomplete="new-password"></div>
        <div class="gfield_description" id="gfield_description_1_6">This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.</div>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </div>
  <div class="gform_footer top_label"> <input type="submit" id="gform_submit_button_1" class="gform_button button" value="Subscribe" tabindex="1004"
      onclick="if(window[&quot;gf_submitting_1&quot;]){return false;}  if( !jQuery(&quot;#gform_1&quot;)[0].checkValidity || jQuery(&quot;#gform_1&quot;)[0].checkValidity()){window[&quot;gf_submitting_1&quot;]=true;}  "
      onkeypress="if( event.keyCode == 13 ){ if(window[&quot;gf_submitting_1&quot;]){return false;} if( !jQuery(&quot;#gform_1&quot;)[0].checkValidity || jQuery(&quot;#gform_1&quot;)[0].checkValidity()){window[&quot;gf_submitting_1&quot;]=true;}  jQuery(&quot;#gform_1&quot;).trigger(&quot;submit&quot;,[true]); }">
    <input type="hidden" name="gform_ajax" value="form_id=1&amp;title=&amp;description=&amp;tabindex=1000&amp;theme=legacy">
    <input type="hidden" class="gform_hidden" name="is_submit_1" value="1">
    <input type="hidden" class="gform_hidden" name="gform_submit" value="1">
    <input type="hidden" class="gform_hidden" name="gform_unique_id" value="">
    <input type="hidden" class="gform_hidden" name="state_1" value="WyJbXSIsIjUxODY0NGEzMzBkYmFjOGVhMzRhNTUwYzBlNGIyMWVlIl0=">
    <input type="hidden" class="gform_hidden" name="gform_target_page_number_1" id="gform_target_page_number_1" value="0">
    <input type="hidden" class="gform_hidden" name="gform_source_page_number_1" id="gform_source_page_number_1" value="1">
    <input type="hidden" name="gform_field_values" value="">
  </div>
  <p style="display: none !important;" class="akismet-fields-container" data-prefix="ak_"><label>Δ<textarea name="ak_hp_textarea" cols="45" rows="8" maxlength="100"></textarea></label><input type="hidden" id="ak_js_1" name="ak_js"
      value="1721288364015">
    <script>
      document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value", (new Date()).getTime());
    </script>
  </p>
</form>

Text Content

 * LinkedIn
 * Twitter
 * Search for:

 * State & Local
 * UniversIT
 * FITARA
 * FedRAMP

 * Home
 * News
 * Insight
 * Events
 * Research
 * Resources
   * AI
   * Cloud
   * Cyber
   * Data
 * MeriTV
 * Podcasts
 * Awards
 * STaQ
   * AI
   * Cloud
   * Cyber
   * Data

 * Advertise
 * About
 * Contact
 * Terms of Use

Menu
Details
By: John Curran
Jul 9, 2024
3:37 pm



JUSTICE DEPT. SEIZES DOMAINS FROM RUSSIAN AI-FUELED BOT FARM

The Department of Justice (DoJ) said today that it seized two domain names from
an unnamed individual working for the state-run RT news organization in Russia,
and alleged that the individual and others in Russia were using the domain names
to “create an AI-enhanced social media bot farm that spread disinformation in
the United States and abroad.”

The social media bot farm, DoJ said, “used elements of AI to create fictitious
social media profiles – often purporting to belong to individuals in the United
States – which the operators then used to promote messages in support of Russian
government objectives.”

DoJ defined the bot farm as “an enhanced software package which allows for the
creation of false personas on social media platforms,” adding that bot farms
“are enhanced by integrating components which contain artificial intelligence,
such as image production or text generation.”

According to DoJ, the unnamed Russian worked as a deputy editor-in-chief at the
RT news organization, and along with other unnamed persons began to purchase
infrastructure for the bot farm operation in 2022.

In 2023, the unnamed Russians worked with at least one Russian government
official to create a “private intelligence organization” that aimed to “advance
the mission” of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian
government, “including by spreading disinformation through the social media
accounts created by the bot farm.”

“With these actions, the Justice Department has disrupted a Russian-government
backed, AI-enabled propaganda campaign to use a bot farm to spread
disinformation in the United States and abroad,” commented U.S. Attorney General
Merrick Garland today.

“As the Russian government continues to wage its brutal war in Ukraine and
threatens democracies around the world, the Justice Department will continue to
deploy all of our legal authorities to counter Russian aggression and protect
the American people,” Garland said.

“Today’s action demonstrates that the Justice Department and our partners will
not tolerate Russian government actors and their agents deploying AI to sow
disinformation and fuel division among Americans,” added Deputy Attorney General
Lisa Monaco.

“As malign actors accelerate their criminal misuse of AI, the Justice
Department will respond and we will prioritize disruptive actions
with our international partners and the private sector,” she said. “We will not
hesitate to shut down bot farms, seize illegally obtained internet domains,
and take the fight to our adversaries.”

In connection with the domain name seizure, DoJ and the FBI, along with allied
law enforcement and cybersecurity authorities in Canada and the Netherlands,
published a joint cybersecurity advisory that details the technology behind the
bot farm.

“The advisory will allow social media platforms and researchers to identify and
prevent the Russian government’s further use of the technology,” DoJ said. It
added that social media operator X Corp. voluntarily suspended the remaining bot
accounts identified in DoJ’s court documents for terms of service violations.



Read More About
Civilian Agencies
Justice
Recent
 * Experts Call for New Strategic Approach to Fight Cybercrime
 * VA Missing Out on $665M in Revenue After Pausing Digital Tool
 * Commerce Inks $400M CHIPS and Science Wafer Funding Deal



More Topics


CATEGORIES

 * CIO Briefing Room+
   * CDM
   * Critical Infrastructure
   * Federal CIO Council
   * FedRAMP
   * FISMA
   * FITARA
   * MGT Act
   * Privacy & Civil Liberties
   * Supply Chain
   * TBM
   * TMF
   * Zero Trust
 * Civilian Agencies+
   * Agriculture
   * CFTC
   * CMS
   * Commerce
     * NOAA
     * NTIA
     * USPTO
   * Education
   * Energy
   * EPA
   * FCC
   * FDIC
   * FEC
   * FEMA
   * FTC
   * General Services Administration
   * Government Accountability Office
   * Health and Human Services
     * NIH
   * Homeland Security
     * CISA
     * USCIS
   * Housing and Urban Development
   * Interior
   * IRS
   * Justice
   * Labor
   * NASA
   * National Science Foundation
   * NIST
   * Nuclear Regulatory Commission
   * OPM
   * SEC
   * Small Business Administration
   * Social Security Administration
   * State
   * Transportation
     * FAA
   * Treasury
   * USAID
   * Veterans Affairs
 * Congress+
   * Budget
   * Hearings / Oversight
   * Legislation
 * Defense & Intelligence+
   * Air Force
   * Army
   * CIA
   * DARPA
   * DIA
   * DISA
   * DIU
   * DOD CIO
   * FBI
   * GEOINT
   * IARPA
   * JAIC
   * Marine Corps
   * Navy
   * NGA
   * NSA
   * ODNI
   * Space Force
   * U.S. Cyber Command
 * Emerging Tech+
   * Artificial Intelligence
   * Big Data
   * Blockchain
   * Broadband
   * Cloud Computing
   * Customer Experience
   * Cybersecurity
   * Data Center
   * Data Management
   * Digital Service
   * Election Security
   * Health IT
   * Hybrid Cloud Infrastructre
   * Industry
   * Innovation
   * Internet of Things
   * Mobility
   * Open Government
   * Quantum
   * Telework
 * Happy Holidays+
 * Industry News+
 * Judiciary+
   * Supreme Court
 * White House+
   * NARA
   * OMB
   * ONCD
   * OSTP
   * U.S. Digital Service
 * Workforce Issues+
   * Education
   * STEM
   * Women in Tech

About
John Curran
John Curran is MeriTalk's Managing Editor covering the intersection of
government and technology.

Tags
AI
bot farm
DOJ
Russia



Connect with MeriTalk
 * Twitter
 * LinkedIn

921 King St., Alexandria, Virginia 22314
info@meritalk.com
 * Home
 * News
 * Insight
 * Events
 * Research
 * MeriTV
 * Awards

 * About
 * Advertise
 * Contact
 * Privacy
 * Terms of Use


Subscribe
 * First Name*
   
 * Last Name*
   
 * Email*
   
 * URL
   
 * 
 * Name
   
   This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.



Δ

200 queries. 1.878 seconds.


Notifications




May we use cookies to track your activities? We take your privacy very
seriously. Please see our privacy policy for details and any questions.Yes No