Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group


The Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group is a unit of the Government Communications Headquarters, the British intelligence agency. The existence of JTRIG was revealed as part of the global surveillance disclosures in documents leaked by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Mission

The scope of the JTRIG's mission includes using "dirty tricks" to "destroy, deny, degrade disrupt" enemies by "discrediting" them, planting misinformation and shutting down their communications. Known as "Effects" operations, the work of JTRIG had become a "major part" of GCHQ's operations by 2010. Slides leaked by Snowden also disclose the deployment of "honey traps" of a sexual nature by British intelligence agents.

Operations

In 2011, the JTRIG conducted a denial-of-service attack on the activist network Anonymous. Other JTRIG targets have included the government of Iran and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Campaigns operated by JTRIG have broadly fallen into two categories; cyber attacks and propaganda efforts. The propaganda efforts, National Crime Agency, Border Agency, Revenue and Customs, and National Public Order and Intelligence Unit. It is also involved in what it calls "missions" with various other agencies described as "customers", including the Bank of England, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Info-weapons held or being developed by JTRIG can be used to send bulk email, spoof SMS messages, impersonate Facebook posts for individuals or entire countries, artificially increase traffic to a website and change the outcome of online polls.