Basic
A foreign/multinational mining company with branches in the region. They have national employees and an office in country. The company has continuously exploited the mineral and labor resources of the country.
Targets
- Environmental and human rights defender/ activists.
- Journalists and environmental organizations that expose the harm and environmental degradation caused by the mining company.
Motivation
The motivation is economic.
Complaints, protests, and other actions carried out by environmental activists at times have driven legal actions that has paused or delayed the mining company’s work (and therefore its revenue cycle). Activism has driven an increase of environmental regulation and protections around the world. The company is fearful of the effects of this sort of impact.
Intent
The company seeks to obstruct/cease the actions of activists, journalists, and environmental and human rights defenders.
Technical Capabilities
The company has the resources to hire people with technical expertise to investigate the digital profiles of environmental activists. They use fake profiles on social networks to attack them. The mining company is quite experienced with these methods having used them in other countries.
Favored Means of Attack
- Basic phishing and spoofing through fake accounts.
- Bullying through fake accounts.
- Hacking social media profiles and pages and emails.
- Intimidation through calls, messages and visits.
- Obtaining and spreading false information in an attempt to discredit those they have identified as opponents.
Resources
- Access to a large pool of financial resources to hire technical experts
- Ability to hire specialists to attack activists
- Sympathy from and alliance with the government
Constraints & Limitations
Publicizing the company’s actions through protest and social media has been key in bringing public attentions to the company’s illegal and corrupt actions. Through these means there have been some successes in demanding accountability.
