British Army wants computer whizzkids to counter the growing menace of ISIS propaganda

#ISIS #BritishArmy #77Brigade #psychologicalwarfare The British Army is struggling to locate suitable men to man the computers in order to take on the counterterrorism activities through a secretive psychological warfare unit. The purpose of this unit would be to combat Islamic State’s domination of the internet and social media. This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 11 April 2015.

The British Army had launched the specialized 77 Brigade with much fanfare in January in response to the jihadis’ mastery of online propaganda but it is total disarray because on non-availability of the right type of personnel.
It had been expected that the brigade would comprise 2,000 social media and psychological warfare exponents who would enable UK forces to fight wars ‘in the information age’. But, they just do not have the numbers. Even when fully operational, the brigade will number just 454 regular and reservist troops.
The worst part is that the commander of the brigade has admitted that he has failed to recruit enough ‘talent’ to challenge IS’s ascendency online.
The need of the hour, as explained by Brigadier Alastair Aitken, is computer whizzkids who are skilled in ‘social media, financial operations and counter-criminality’. Unfortunately, civilians who could have done the job are not natural recruits for the Army.
Their scope of duties should include covertly leaking messages about British successes to the enemy, through social media platforms like the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and also contacting jihadis directly and spread false information through them.
In the opinion of Brigadier Alastair Aitken, there would be a need to redesign the terms and conditions of service in the Army to attract those persons who possess the necessary skill sets.

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