Ntrepid
 | |
| Company type | Software, hardware, and cyber security company |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 25, 2010 |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Products | Passages ION Nfusion Timestream Tartan Virtus ELUSIV |
| Subsidiaries | Anonymizer |
| Website | ntrepidcorp |
Ntrepid is an American software, hardware, and cyber security company, registered in Florida and based in Herndon, Virginia.[1][2][3]
History
[edit]In 2008, the Anonymizer company was acquired by the Abraxas Corporation, which was purchased by Cubic in 2010 for $124 million.[4] Some of Abraxas' former employees left to form Ntrepid that same year.[4] Lance Cottrell, founder of Anonymizer, was the chief scientist at Ntrepid.[5] Anonymizer is wholly owned by Ntrepid.[6][7] In October 2018, Ntrepid transitioned Anonymizer.com consumer anonymity accounts to Invincibull to focus on managed attribution.[8]
Military contract
[edit]In March 2011, Ntrepid won a $2.76 million contract from the U.S. military for "online persona management."[2] The contract was for the creation of technology which would allow for blogging activities on websites, exclusively outside of the United States, to "counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda."[6][9] It would allow for one operator to anonymously create and control up to ten personas from one computer.[3]
The project is overseen by U.S. Central Command (Centcom), whose spokesman Commander Bill Speaks stated that the operation would be carried out in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.[2]
The project is thought to be connected with Operation Earnest Voice.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Business Entity Detail: Ntrepid Corporation". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d Cobain, Ian; Fielding, Nick (2011-03-17). "Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ^ a b Alex Spillius, "Pentagon buys social networking 'spy software'", The Telegraph, March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- ^ a b "Anonymizer tied to company selling TrapWire surveillance to governments". Network World. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "Using System Fingerprints to Track Attackers". Tripwire. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ a b Shaun Waterman, "U.S. Central Command ‘friending’ the enemy in psychological war", Washington Times, March 1, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- ^ "Examining the ties between TrapWire, Abraxas and Anonymizer". ZDNet. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "Ntrepid Transitions Anonymizer VPN Accounts to InvinciBull". Businesswire. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "US Military Propagandizes Social Media With Fake Accounts". Vox News. Retrieved 22 April 2014.