ExtraTorrent | UK Ministry of Defense Investigates Online Habits

[Atreides]

You might be interested in the news that a branch of the UK Ministry of Defense is funding postgraduate research into the culture of hackers and the impact of social networks and online conspiracy theories in times of crisis.
 

The Ministry pays six-figure sums to individual PhD students to carry out researches on the rapidly evolving online world. This particular research targets a well-known hacking collective Anonymous, involving the researcher aiming to interact with the hackers, addressing "known unknowns" relating to the outfit, and understand its goals. However, the Ministry doesn’t just focus on hacktivism – it is also taking an increasing interest in broader issues of social media and online behavior. For example, they will host an invitation-only conference next month, which will be focused on “social influence†in our days.

Another funded project is researching collective action, particularly social identities and the influence of online and offline behavior. It emphasized the role of online social networks and mobile messaging, reminding everyone the events of London student protests or the summer 2011 riots.

Apparently, the UK Ministry of Defense wants to understand what influences people, when and how. The government may be interested in influences that might promote antisocial stuff they want to stop.

A national PhD sponsorship scheme was initiated three years ago, with researchers in a broad range of disciplines having been provided with thousands of pounds across a range of applications.