Tal Hanan
Israeli former special forces operative who ran the election-interference group "Team Jorge"
| Tal Hanan | |
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| Nationality | Israeli |
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| Occupation | Private intelligence and disinformation contractor |
| Known for | Head of Team Jorge |
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Tal Hanan is an Israeli former special forces operative who, under the pseudonym "Jorge", runs a private unit that sells hacking, sabotage and automated social-media disinformation services to clients seeking to influence elections. A 2023 investigation by a consortium of reporters from 30 outlets, including The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País, exposed the unit, which called itself "Team Jorge". Hanan responded: "I deny any wrongdoing."[1][2]
Team Jorge
The Guardian described Hanan, then 50, as "a former Israeli special forces operative who now works privately using the pseudonym 'Jorge'". It said he appeared to have been working "under the radar in elections in various countries for more than two decades". Undercover reporters posing as consultants met Hanan and four colleagues at an office in Modi'in, outside Tel Aviv. The colleagues included his brother Zohar Hanan, who was described as the group's chief executive. Hanan told them: "[We have completed] 33 presidential-level campaigns, 27 of which were successful."[1]
One of the unit's main services was a software package called Advanced Impact Media Solutions, or Aims. It controlled thousands of fake social media profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, Gmail, Instagram and YouTube. Hanan told the reporters he would charge between €6 million and €15 million for interference in an election.[1]
The Guardian reported that Hanan appeared to have run at least some of his disinformation operations through an Israeli company, Demoman International, which was registered on a website run by the Israeli Ministry of Defence to promote defence exports. The ministry did not comment.[1]
Cambridge Analytica
Emails leaked to The Guardian suggested that in 2015 Hanan asked Cambridge Analytica for $160,000 for an eight-week campaign in a Latin American country. In 2017 he pitched to work for it in Kenya, but was rejected. Leaked documents showed that Team Jorge worked covertly on Nigeria's 2015 presidential election alongside Cambridge Analytica.[1]
See also
- Team Jorge
- Cambridge Analytica
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Manisha Ganguly, David Pegg, Carole Cadwalladr and Jason Burke, Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections The Guardian, 15 February 2023.
- ↑ OCCRP, Hacks, Bots and Blackmail: How Secret Cyber Mercenaries Disrupt Elections Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, February 2023.