[Reader-list] Cyberwar guide for Iran elections

[Monica Narula]

Cyberwar guide for Iran elections
Posted by Cory Doctorow, June 16, 2009 3:25 AM | permalink
SOURCE: boingboing.net


Yishay sez, "The road to hell is paved with the best intentions  
(including mine). Learn how to actually help the protesters and not  
the gov't in Iran."

The purpose of this guide is to help you participate constructively in  
the Iranian election protests through Twitter.


1. Do NOT publicise proxy IP's over twitter, and especially not using  
the #iranelection hashtag. Security forces are monitoring this  
hashtag, and the moment they identify a proxy IP they will block it in  
Iran. If you are creating new proxies for the Iranian bloggers, DM  
them to @stopAhmadi or @iran09 and they will distributed them  
discretely to bloggers in Iran.

2. Hashtags, the only two legitimate hashtags being used by bloggers  
in Iran are #iranelection and #gr88, other hashtag ideas run the risk  
of diluting the conversation.

3. Keep you bull$hit filter up! Security forces are now setting up  
twitter accounts to spread disinformation by posing as Iranian  
protesters. Please don't retweet impetuosly, try to confirm  
information with reliable sources before retweeting. The legitimate  
sources are not hard to find and follow.

4. Help cover the bloggers: change your twitter settings so that your  
location is TEHRAN and your time zone is GMT +3.30. Security forces  
are hunting for bloggers using location and timezone searches. If we  
all become 'Iranians' it becomes much harder to find them.

5. Don't blow their cover! If you discover a genuine source, please  
don't publicise their name or location on a website. These bloggers  
are in REAL danger. Spread the word discretely through your own  
networks but don't signpost them to the security forces. People are  
dying there, for real, please keep that in mind...

#iranelection cyberwar guide for beginners (Thanks, Yishay!)
Previously:

* Iran SMS networks "mysteriously" fail right before elections ...
* Iran: Activists Launch Hack Attacks on Tehran Regime - Boing Boing
* Iranian election uprising: Twitter tracks it real-time, Iranian ...

6. Denial of Service attacks. If you don't know what you are doing,  
stay out of this game. Only target those sites the legitimate Iranian  
bloggers are designating. Be aware that these attacks can have  
detrimental effects to the network the protesters are relying on. Keep  
monitoring their traffic to note when you should turn the taps on or  
off.

7. Do spread the (legitimate) word, it works! When the bloggers asked  
for twitter maintenance to be postponed using the #nomaintenance tag,  
it had the desired effect. As long as we spread good information,  
provide moral support to the protesters, and take our lead from the  
legitimate bloggers, we can make a constructive contribution.

Please remember that this is about the future of the Iranian people,  
while it might be exciting to get caught up in the flow of  
participating in a new meme, do not lose sight of what this is really  
about."

please share this article widely. This is our protocol.


Monica Narula
Raqs Media Collective
Sarai-CSDS
www.raqsmediacollective.net
www.sarai.net