Tech firms bring facility security into the dark web

As the security challenges around sports venues increase, teams and universities now have access to the portion of the World Wide Web where terrorists lurk.

They’re turning to an advanced form of social media intelligence, customized software programs that monitor and analyze an array of sources on the web and social media and help identify potential threats. That adds an extra layer of protection at arenas and stadiums from major attacks, as well as more everyday challenges.

The topic is so sensitive that some of the facility managers and security directors tapping into the new technology are hesitant to discuss specifics. But most agree that the use of programs from providers such as Babel Street and Geofeedia is growing across sports, and the tech companies say more teams and schools are interested in purchasing these targeted software packages, especially after recent high-profile attacks like those in Paris and Orlando.

Social media “is used by the majority of people who frequent our venues,” said Ray Johnson, director of executive services and computer forensics for Ilitch Holdings, parent company of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings. “The available tools allow us to be more proactive to try and prevent incidents, rather than reactive after an incident occurs.”

Social media is a vast landscape, considering that about 2 billion people worldwide use it and that 78 percent of Americans have a social media profile, numbers compiled by market research site Statista show. In sports, customizable systems such as those from Babel Street and Geofeedia expand upon the typical social media surveillance already in place for teams to catch potential field-jumping and other acts of mischief posted in the public domain through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other outlets. The specialized software cuts through the clutter of social media, news sites and message boards to glean information teams might miss or not have access to.
 
Babel Street, whose CEO, Jeff Chapman, was a military intelligence officer, aggregates content from 30 social media sites and can translate messages into English from 200 languages.

The firm’s technology is also designed for users to conduct anonymous searches on the dark web, an area of the World Wide Web outside the reach of traditional search mechanisms. That includes sites occupied by extremist groups that could potentially pose a threat.

Multiple systems scanned social media posts as part of the security plan for Super Bowl 50. Photo by: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

To date, the dark web plays a bigger role with colleges and law enforcement groups than with professional teams, although Babel Street officials present the option in every sales pitch, said Clem McDavid, the firm’s vice president of new markets and corporate development.

“The dark web is where the most nefarious activities occur and schools in particular are interested in that because of their campuses being vulnerable,” McDavid said. “Teams do inquire, but it’s not top of mind for them … yet.”

Baylor University, the tech vendor’s first college account, uses Babel Street’s system (see related story) for college football and basketball games in Waco, Texas, plus other major events at the school. Campus police monitor social media activity on game days at McLane Stadium, and the technology provides a tool to gauge the mood of the crowd and take appropriate action if necessary, said Mark Childers, associate vice president of Baylor’s department of public safety.

“It allows us to build in additional assets when needed and pay attention to the hot spots,” said Childers, a retired Secret Service agent. “It’s part of a bigger security platform.”

Babel Street offers on-site training in the use of the technology, which goes beyond merely searching for words: It can specify the intended meaning behind a key word, a critical piece of the system for teams and schools monitoring sites. For example, “bomb” is often used as a sports term, in addition to describing an explosive device.

The technology, called sentiment analysis, uses algorithms to determine the “attitude of a post and the intended emotion,” said Ilitch Holdings’ Johnson.

The interpretations extend to the use of emojis, a key component considering some extremist groups use those symbols to avoid text analytics, according to Babel Street’s white paper prepared for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security conference last month in Phoenix.

Babel Street allows clients to sift social media for security threats.

Location-based technology is also a key feature in surveillance platforms, Johnson told attendees during two sessions at the conference tied to social media monitoring. Johnson, a former Wayne County, Mich., sheriff’s deputy, specialized in online intelligence during his 20-year law enforcement career before Ilitch Holdings hired him two years ago.

Ilitch Holdings has found Geofeedia’s system especially useful by drawing a “virtual fence” around Comerica Park and Joe Louis Arena, including the parking lots, in which to capture social media posts, Johnson said.

In Detroit, the biggest issue is the threat of field jumpers and Geofeedia helps curb those attempts, Johnson said. A Tigers fan, for example, may post on Twitter that if they get 100 retweets they’ll run on the field and hug first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Using Geofeedia tools, Ilitch Holdings can narrow in on the fan’s seat location, and by digging deeper into the poster’s profile, officials may find photographs of the person that help them better identify the individual.

“Keyword searches are like a chainsaw,” Johnson said. “Location-based searches are like a scalpel. They’re more precise. We’ve been very successful with that technology.”

Location-based technology has its limitations, though, and that’s why Johnson encourages teams and schools to use multiple intelligence tools to cover all the bases on game days.

Kevin Kempcke, director of security and personnel for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and a conference attendee, pointed out that a small percentage of smartphone users activate their locations at sports events, so it can be difficult to rely on those systems alone.

Over the past three years, MLSE, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors, has used TweetDeck, a free dashboard application aggregating Twitter posts, to monitor social media activity for NHL and NBA games at Air Canada Centre.

The organization is seeking more user-friendly programs with better search fields and parameters and will consider paying for products such as those offered by Geofeedia and Babel Street, but TweetDeck has helped MLSE respond to potential security threats against opposing players and referees during the Raptors’ run in this year’s NBA playoffs.

“We had approximately four threats a game [during the playoffs] coming through social media that were credible threats,” Kempcke said. “A lot of people link all their accounts and you have to be your own detective to try and figure out what’s credible and where they are sitting.”

The 49ers, meanwhile, are part of the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, a government group formed to stop terrorist activity. On game days, the intelligence center, a client of both Babel Street and Geofeedia, operates at Levi’s Stadium with team officials and public safety officers involved.

At Super Bowl 50, multiple systems scanning social media posts uncovered no major threats to the event. The extra layer of security enabled the command center, in tandem with the NFL’s security force, to intercept four potential field-jumpers before they could go through with their proposed stunts.

“We leveraged some chatter we were seeing [online] about a few folks that felt that it was going to be entertaining, funny and exciting to potentially jump on the field,” said Jim Mercurio, San Francisco 49ers vice president of stadium operations and general manager. “What we were able to do was stop it before it can happen. The whole effort started and ended with social media.”

The Carolina Panthers do business directly with Babel Street. In Charlotte, the Panthers enter their second NFL season using the system to analyze social media discussions for events at Bank of America Stadium.

Without getting specific, Lance Emory, the Panthers’ executive director of risk management, said team officials monitoring social media sites last season found some things they thought were concerning, and Babel Street’s system allowed them to address those issues before they got to game day.

(Many stadium officials would not go into specific details for how they use these new platforms. “I get nervous talking about some of the things we do, because we don’t want the bad guys to stop doing what they’re doing in their communications, so it doesn’t put us at a disadvantage,” Mercurio said)

Most recently, after the Panthers announced that for the first time tickets were required for their preseason fan fest, which is a free event, gauging reaction on social media enabled team officials to prepare for the event. It adds another crowd management resource as much as anything else, Emory said.

“People brag on social media, so if it gives us a better picture on the security plan, then it’s all valuable,” said Emory, a retired FBI special agent. “If we ask for the right filters and look for the right information, it can be very helpful.”

In Santa Clara, the 49ers have found that boasting on social media about illegal activities is not restricted to the Super Bowl. A young woman attending last year’s Taylor Swift concert at Levi’s Stadium used social media to document her plan to sneak backstage, including taking selfies of her seat location.

The command center picked up on the posts and the 49ers were able to send somebody to her seat to advise her not to do it. The woman ended up posting a warning on social media to others considering sneaking backstage that she had been exposed, and that it was not a good idea.

“It’s like the dumb criminals,” Mercurio said. “You don’t want to tell the dumb criminals to stop being dumb because it’s the dumbness that helps us when we’re trying to catch those guys. It’s when people that are doing bad things and aren’t talking about it that makes it more difficult to track.”