Ntrepid

Last updated
Ntrepid
Type Software, hardware, and cyber security company
FoundedOctober 25, 2010 (2010-10-25)
Headquarters,
U.S.
ProductsPassages
ION
Nfusion
Timestream
Tartan
Virtus
ELUSIV
Subsidiaries Anonymizer
Website ntrepidcorp.com

Ntrepid is an American software, hardware, and cyber security company, registered in Florida and based in Herndon, Virginia. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

In 2008, the Anonymizer company was acquired by the Abraxas Corporation, which was purchased by Cubic in 2010 for $124 million. [4] Some of Abraxas' former employees left to form Ntrepid that same year. [4] Lance Cottrell, founder of Anonymizer, is the chief scientist at Ntrepid. [5] Anonymizer is wholly owned by Ntrepid. [6] [7]

Military contract

In March 2011, Ntrepid won a $2.76 million contract from the U.S. military for "online persona management." [2] The contract was for the creation of technology which would allow for blogging activities on websites, exclusively outside of the United States, to "counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda." [6] [8] It would allow for one operator to anonymously create and control up to ten personas from one computer. [3]

The project is overseen by U.S. Central Command (Centcom), whose spokesman Commander Bill Speaks stated that the operation would be carried out in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. [2]

The project is thought to be connected with Operation Earnest Voice. [2]

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References

  1. "Business Entity Detail: Ntrepid Corporation". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cobain, Ian; Fielding, Nick (2011-03-17). "Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  3. 1 2 Alex Spillius, "Pentagon buys social networking 'spy software'", The Telegraph, March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Anonymizer tied to company selling TrapWire surveillance to governments". Network World. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  5. "Using System Fingerprints to Track Attackers". Tripwire. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  6. 1 2 Shaun Waterman, "U.S. Central Command ‘friending’ the enemy in psychological war", Washington Times, March 1, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  7. "Examining the ties between TrapWire, Abraxas and Anonymizer". ZDNet. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  8. "US Military Propagandizes Social Media With Fake Accounts". Vox News. Retrieved 22 April 2014.