Student Monitoring System to Track Protest Sentiment Online and on the Darknet
During our monitoring of the government procurement website, we discovered a tender from the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) for the “Provision of a simple (non-exclusive) license for software for an information-analytical system for monitoring, collecting, and automated risk analysis of big data from open Internet sources for a cluster of 6 servers.” The contract value is nearly 12 million rubles.
According to the technical specifications, the software RSUH is acquiring is expected to perform a wide range of tasks. In the section “Requirements for Automated Operational Collection of Information from Cyberspace,” the software must:
- Collect information from a user-defined list of websites using keywords;
- Conduct searches, including anonymous searches, across various information resources (networks) based on user-specified topics using specialized search tools (query language). Information resources include any media, such as electronic media, websites, search engines, RSS feeds, blogs, forums, chats, social networks, etc. (including the deep web and dark web);
- Automatically monitor information resources on a scheduled basis to find information required by the user, including from a customizable list of sources;
- Automatically collect, extract, and display required information from resources containing news, as well as from subscription news feeds of news agencies, with filtering by specified topics and keywords. Information collection should occur with minimal delay from the original source.
Information collection from the analyst-defined list of sources must be conducted around the clock. The software should allow users to establish and display connections between companies, individuals, and other monitored entities, with graphical visualization of these relationships.
The information gathered by the system must be processed. For example, the program should identify information objects (individuals, legal entities, geographic terms, brands, links), determine the nature of mentions (positive or negative), and collect statistics on the number of messages on specific topics appearing in electronic media over a set period. The software must also assess the actual importance of information based on selected criteria.
The system should promptly notify users in real time about the appearance of materials of particular interest, as well as about threats and important events within an hour.
Key Functions of the Program
The program’s tasks include:
- “Operational, detailed analysis of information materials in the fields of education, student life, and youth policy published on websites, social networks, blogs, and forums of interest to the customer. Early detection and rapid analysis of problematic publications, including high-profile topics requiring immediate response, as well as in-depth analysis of objects of interest to the customer.”
One of the most notable points is the “Requirements for Analytical Support.” Here, the goal is to provide detailed analysis of accumulated information, identify risks and threats in the information environment related to education, students, and youth policy. The system must analyze mentions of various individuals and companies, the activity of discussions about targeted news in the media and social groups. Automated risk analysis of the youth environment should cover the following areas:
- Identifying opinion leaders among students and faculty;
- Analyzing risks and threats related to opinion leaders;
- Analyzing influence groups within universities across the country;
- Assessing protest potential;
- Analyzing public opinion based on accumulated information;
- Assessing tension within universities nationwide;
- Researching risks and threats to universities in the country;
- Analyzing and auditing universities’ communication strategies.
Security and Vulnerability Scanning
The software is also required to scan for vulnerabilities. “The software for the internet resource security control subsystem is an integral part of the system and is designed to detect vulnerabilities and notify about threats of leaks of protected information on controlled internet resources,” according to the technical specifications. The purpose of the security control subsystem is to:
- Monitor controlled internet resources;
- Detect vulnerabilities on controlled internet resources;
- Prevent leaks of protected information, including official and confidential data;
- Generate reports and summaries.
The application deadline was June 23, 2021. We will continue to monitor any changes in this procurement and report the results of the auction on our website. Alternatively, you can track it yourself using our government procurement monitoring portal.
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