DHS’s “Masked Engagement” Program Threatens Our Online Privacy

As if there weren’t enough reasons to be vigilant on social media, here’s another one: Ken Klippenstein, an independent journalist who covers national security and U.S. politics, reports that “Feds could be in your group chat.”

He explained that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allegedly started a program called “masked engagement,” which “allows homeland security officers to assume false identities and interact with users—friending them, joining closed groups, and gaining access to otherwise private postings, photographs, friend lists and more.”

This program means increased surveillance of American citizens.

“Masked engagement” goes beyond DHS’s standard “Open Source Intelligence” (OSINT) collection because it dismantled the firewall between observation and interaction. In other words, DHS officers are no longer prohibited from engaging with people online.

For example, DHS officers can now ask an administrator “for entry into a private group or to “friend” a target to see non-public posts.” “Substantive engagement” isn’t allowed, but according to Klippenstein, that term is vaguely defined. Additionally, federal government employees or contractors can fake their identities/credentials to obscure “their official affiliation.”

The tools DHS uses for this program means the government’s digital footprint is invisible. “To a Facebook admin or a Signal group moderator, the federal agent appears as a local user with a standard smartphone.”

Klippenstein notes that the lack of strict oversight is a major concern:

By labeling this a “middle ground” between monitoring and full-blown undercover work, the DHS allows agents to infiltrate private digital spaces without the rigorous internal approvals and legal checks required for a formal undercover “sting.”

Social media users won’t know their information is being shared. Such tactics could erode our trust in the federal government as well as the online communities in which we participate.

Masked engagement is purportedly being used to target pro-Palestinian groups and Mexican/Mexican-American communities, but it has troubling implications for any activists who use online tools to communicate and organize.

Tips for protecting our privacy

How can we safeguard our privacy in the face of such invasive government overreach? Here are some suggestions:

• Don’t share personal information online
• Take advantage of privacy setting tools
• Be aware that connecting your social media accounts or using one account to sign on to another creates roadblocks to locking down your privacy
• Create secure passwords and regularly monitor them
• Be aware that background details in any photos or videos you share could reveal information about you
• Regularly review your “friends” or “followers” list
• Use two-factor authentication when possible
• Log out of public/shared devices
• Avoid suspicious websites and apps
• Communicate with friends, family, and groups you’re involved in about refraining from sharing personal information about you online
• Organize offline whenever possible

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