Information: North Torbia

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Information Overview

The Democratic People’s Republic of Torbia (DPRT), also known as North Torbia, is a repressive information environment, with the government controlling all important information environment elements to deter internal and external opposition parties. North Torbia is very adept at information control, utilizing programs in place for years to monitor and direct communications. By severe repressive measures, North Torbia attempts to control the information that every North Torbian resident receives.

Onset of Information Age

Up until about 2010, the North Torbian government attempted to control the message received by its citizens. They did this by attempting every aspect of communication in the country—newspapers, television, radio, Internet, etc. The North Torbian government even attempted to control word of mouth by making illegal for three people to meet on the street unless it was sanctioned by the local authorities or part of a nuclear family. 

With the arrival of cellular telephones, the North Torbian government found themselves without the means to control all telephone calls. To mitigate the risk of outside telephones, the North Torbian government created their own brand of cell phones, manufactured with stolen technology from the west, to sate the people’s need to similar to the rest of the world. The government also introduced their own version of the Internet that limited the sites that users could access. In the current technological environment, the government is learning that they continue to possess less control each successive day. 

Most common citizens never possessed their own landline, but were exposed to telephones at their place of business.  Almost overnight, people started to obtain the North Torbian cell phone models and other types of electronic devices. Most urban families possess their own radio, television, and other electronic devices. Rural parts of the country are the same as they were two plus decades ago without access to a cell phone or other electronic devices.

Contemporary Situation

North Torbia’s urban population are being increasingly exposed to electronic media. This includes cellular telephones, primarily manufactured by North Torbia. Most urban families are still without Internet access, but can reach it either at the local library, their office, or rarely at an Internet café. People watch television on big screens placed throughout the large cities or read newspapers at kiosks on street corners while waiting for the bus. 

North Torbia still prevents the vast majority of its citizens from accessing the true Internet. Only those working for the government that have been approved can access the Internet. Even then, those individuals are kept under watch by other government workers. Schools and other organizations can access the North Torbian Internet that consists of sites approved by the government and usually maintained by the government.

Information Industries

Information Products (Content Industries)

News Media

The North Torbian people, like much of the rest of the world, are hungry for the news, however all forms of news media (e.g., newspapers, radio, or television) are controlled by the government and purposefully shaped to fit the Torbian Worker’s Party (WPT) narrative. While the government has previously been successful at isolating the population from the rest of the world, this task is becoming more difficult with every day that passes. With information leaking from external sources into North Torbia, more of the people are being exposed to a reality that runs counter to what the North Torbian government has led them to believe, and realizing that much of the rest of the world has a better quality of life than them. This contradicts the previous official policy where the North Torbian government tried to convince the people that no matter how bad things are in their country, other countries are in much worse shape.

Entertainment Media

Like the news, the North Torbia government and WPT controls all entertainment media in the country. The state films and distributes movies to the cinemas. The government approves all plays and musical performances as well as approving when these activities will occur. The government holds tryouts annually for individuals that wish to become part of an orchestra, band, or other cultural group. Contraband media does make it into the country from time to time, and while the government has harsh laws prohibiting the possession of external media, North Torbians are particularly fond of television sitcoms from the late 1990s.

Social Media

North Torbia has created their own social media account similar to Facebook. The government has yet to embrace anything similar to Twitter or all the other types of social media accounts that are available. The government monitors the social media for anything subversive and will not hesitate to lock-out a user or arrest the individual for crimes against the state.

Information Services

Financial Institutions

Most North Torbians never deal with banks, insurance, or other financial institutions as they are not part of a communist system. The government directs where a person will live and even what house so there is no need to pay rent or purchase property.  The exceptions are those that work for the government and deal with financial agencies outside the country. Inside the country, most recordkeeping, including payroll at businesses, still use paper and pencil.

Control/Regulation

The North Torbian government fully controls all financial institutions in the state. There are no legal entities that operate outside of governmental control. The government strictly regulates all contact that is made with entities outside the country for business purposes.

Medical System

North Torbia claims to offer free healthcare to all its citizens. However, international sanctions have made the healthcare for the bottom 75% of the people haphazard at best. Traditional herbal treatments are often used in lieu of modern medications due to a lack of medical resources. The politically connected Elite are much more likely to have access to the best hospitals in the country, and can expect a higher level of treatment. For the most part, all medical records are kept using traditional methods with paper and pencil. Medical records are not digitized or kept in a central database.

Control/Regulation

The government controls all access to healthcare. Medical records belong to the state rather than the individual. People must see the doctor in their local area and must receive a referral approved not only by the physician, but the local government authorities as well. With medical resources in short supply, the government is not going to waste resources on those that it may deem unreliable. The public has been convinced that forgoing medical care is a worthy sacrifice that they are making for their nation. Several years ago, a foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) named “Blind No More” was allowed to visit North Torbia to help out patients with glaucoma. The medical team brought state of the art equipment and medicine in able to perform 100 surgeries in four days. The WPT selected all the patients based on their political reliability and the propaganda message they would convey. The NGO filmed their work (overseen by North Torbian handlers) and when the people took off their bandages, they could see again. Instead of thanking the doctor that performed their surgery, every patient went to the front of the room and thanked the picture of the current North Torbian leader for giving them back their sight. As part of the approval process, the NGO had to leave their medical equipment and any excess medicine behind in North Torbia when they departed.

Legal/Criminal Records

Every person in North Torbia has a personal paper dossier maintained by the government. This dossier begins with a child starts school and the file stay with them through the rest of their life. This personal file initially contains the individual’s name, parents, grandparents, and where they currently reside. The individual’s school performance starting in elementary school is listed and continues through high school, and even college/graduate school if a person goes that far. The primary copy is maintained at the local level (school for elementary and high school students; business entity for adults), but a copy could be sent to the national level if requested. If a person or his family is allowed to move, a copy is sent to the local police/school. The sender keeps a copy, however, so there could be several files on the same person in various areas of the country.

Control/Regulation

The North Torbian government controls its people through this personal dossier. It contains information on how supportive the individual (and their family) are of the current regime and if they have violated any of the multitude of criminal laws for relatively minor offenses. The teacher will put in the student’s file not on their performance by subject area, but if they have musical talent, spoke out against the government, or rebelled against authority. The student’s performance in class and on standard tests will determine what path they will take in high school and even post-secondary educational opportunities. The government tells the students that are selected for education beyond high school what university they will attend and what degree they will major in based on their past performance. 

Once the individual enters the job market, the employer will maintain the primary file on the individual. This will list the employee’s absentee rate, quota production (if in the manufacturing field), their participation in the daily mandatory self-evaluation program, and future role(s) within the company. If an individual wants to change job fields or even the location of their work, the dossier will help decide if approval will be granted. The local government will determine if the individual’s transferred request be granted or even a request to move to a larger house. If an individual is convicted of a crime or sent to a local jail or regional gulag, the individual’s dossier will travel with them to the prison facility.

Navigation (Global Positioning)

North Torbia does not have its own Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and must rely on outside GNSS systems. The military uses Donovian and Olvanese satellite navigation systems; they may use western GPS systems as well. Additionally, it is possible North Torbia uses commercial sector technologies adapted to support military objectives.

Control/Regulation

North Torbia tightly controls who has access to any global positioning system. The military has priority and non-military usage must be approved by government officials. The North Torbian government lives in fear that defectors with access to a global positioning device will use it to escape the country.

Electromagnetic Spectrum Management (Radio Frequency)

All radio frequencies are reserved for use of the North Torbian government. All infrastructure is built and controlled by the government. Radios produced in North Torbia can only listen to the DPRT sponsored radio stations.

Control/Regulation

There is no need for private companies to have access to radio frequencies since there are no private television, radio, or cellular phone companies. The North Torbian government regulates all frequency usage through the Central Information Agency for Technology (CIAT). While North Torbia strictly regulates the electromagnetic spectrum across the entire country, areas near the border with South Torbia represent a challenge, with a constant threat that South Torbian propaganda might overpower the North Torbian state signal and bleed across the border.

Information Distribution

Internet

North Torbia is a relative newcomer to the internet and has not adopted mainstream internet technology due to its isolationist ways. The internet is viewed by the WPT as a potential threat, as it allows access to a variety of views and opinions not consistent with the government’s stance. To protect against this, the WPT exerts strong control of internet infrastructure development. The country has some broadband infrastructure, to include fiber optic links between major institutions. Online services for most individuals and institutions are provided through a free domestic-only network known as Net-Torbia, with limited global access to a select group of users.

Infrastructure Support

In addition to the new but limited internet access, North Torbia developed a nationwide intranet fifteen years ago, with a sophisticated architecture and a backbone capacity of 1 GB per second. This intranet is controlled by the CIAT, who also has the responsibility for connecting all government institutions at the national, provincial, and county levels. The intranet is filtered by the CIAT, which regulates information deemed acceptable by the government. The majority of the general population does not seem to have a problem with no outside internet access, as most have no knowledge of what the internet is due to the restrictive policies currently in place by the government.

Control/Regulation

The Central Information Agency for Technology (CIAT) controls all of the country’s internet address allocations and thus all internet access. Internet connection in North Torbia is provided by a joint venture between North Torbia and Olvana. Prior to this joint venture, internet access was available only through a satellite link with an unidentified European country, though the government also accessed through connections with Olvana in the recent past. Only certain groups within North Torbia are permitted to access the internet, such as WPT members and some Cabinet-level government organizations. Additionally, foreign diplomatic missions, joint ventures, and foreign individuals staying in Baguio, have full—but monitored—access to the internet at their workplaces and at certain international hotels.

Television

More than fifty percent of the population has television access. State television is always off air until its evening news broadcast at 1700. Exceptions to this are Sundays, when it begins at 0600, emergency events, live events, and national holidays.

Infrastructure Support

There are seven nationwide television channels, as well as a local channel at the provincial level. All broadcast media in some way promotes the regime's ideologies and positions. Two years ago, a state-approved video streaming service was launched to stream live national TV, on-demand video, and newspaper articles from state controlled news services over the internet. The service is currently available only to citizens in the capital due to the country's limited internet access. The national population is prohibited to tune into any foreign broadcasts, as they are deemed to portray a negative image of the regime.

Control/Regulation

Television in North Torbia is subject to the control of the Central Committee for Radio and Television. Televisions are supplied pre-tuned to only official North Torbian stations, and are subject to inspection for compliance. Anyone that has been caught trying to tune in stations from outside the country is subject to arrest, fine, and incarceration.

Radio

Due to the economic conditions in the country and the short broadcast day, 0900 to 1500, radio is the most widely used medium. The national AM stations, Baguio Broadcasting Station (Radio Baguio) and Voice of Torbia (DPRT Central Broadcasting Station), as well as the national FM station, One Torbia, are the main domestic radio media. In addition, smaller community stations air local programming. The national broadcast radio stations operate throughout the country, providing the majority of the information to the average citizen.

Infrastructure Support

All radio infrastructure support is owed, operated, and maintained by the North Torbian government. There are enough towers throughout the country that over 90% of the country’s population can access the approved radio stations. 

North Torbian exiles and refugees created an independent radio station near the Torbian border in an attempt to better inform and influence the population of North Torbia, using loudspeakers and black market radios. Radio Free Torbia broadcasts daily to North Torbia’s population and serves as an independent news outlet for the populace, allowing international news to reach them.

Control/Regulation

The WPT controls all radio broadcasts originating in the country. All legal radios are modified to receive only government stations. Any person visiting North Torbia—for business or pleasure—is banned from bringing a radio into the country.

Print

North Torbia has eight principal newspapers and thirteen major periodicals, all published in Baguio and shipped to different regions for distribution.

Infrastructure Support

All printing is done in Baguio and then shipped to the rest of the country. Many people cannot afford to purchase their own newspaper so there are kiosks on many street corners in the larger cities. While people are waiting for their bus or other public transportation, they will read the newspaper to receive the news of the day—or the news that the WPT wants its people to know.

Control/Regulation

Censorship abounds, as the regime limits the ability of the citizens to access outside information. Those that attempt to listen to or read any outside media risk harsh penalties, such as forced labor. Only senior WPT officials are permitted access to external news sources. North Torbian journalists all belong to the WPT, and use their positions to consolidate national unity. 

Foreign journalists are typically defamed in official government media for attempting to destabilize the government. Foreign journalists are encouraged to not enter North Torbia—unless invited by the government—and are not allowed to have or use cell phones and GNSS devices. Foreign journalists are warned not to speak about sensitive political issues with citizens, and their movements are very strictly restricted. They are typically accompanied by a guide at all times, to prohibit them from visiting restricted areas without prior permission.

Telephone/Telecommunications

Thirty percent of Baguio citizens between the ages of twenty and fifty have a mobile phone. North Torbian telephone architecture operates with a combination of landlines and mobile services. North Torbia has an estimated 1.07 million landlines and 3.16 million mobile subscribers. North Torbia has a nationwide fiber-optic network and mobile-cellular service.

Infrastructure Support

North Torbian mobile phones use a digital signature system to prevent unauthorized access to certain files, as well as login usage information that can be physically inspected. No mobile provider can dial into or out of the country. The current 3G network covers eighty percent of the population, but only covers sixteen percent of the territory. 

The domestic telecommunications network connects to international telecom networks via satellite links, fiber optic cable, and other international connections. A satellite ground station near Baguio provides direct international communications using the International Telecommunications Satellite Corporation (Intelsat) Indian Ocean satellite. Additionally, a satellite communications center was installed in Baguio fifteen years ago, with Western technical support.

Control/Regulation

Landline phones are generally only installed for senior government officials; someone wanting a phone installed must fill out a form indicating their rank, why they want a phone, and how they will pay for it. Most of these are installed in government offices, collective farms, and state-run businesses, with only perhaps fifteen percent controlled by individuals or households.

Postal/Carrier

North Torbia’s postal service—The Post of DPRT—is operated by the Ministry of Information's Post and Telecommunications Maintenance Bureau (PTMB), which oversees postal communications, telegrams, newspapers, and other related materials. People can send mail to North Torbia and North Torbians can send mail outside the country as long as they know there is a good chance that their letter/package will be examined by government agents.

Infrastructure Support

Each province has a branch of the PTMB. Each village has a postal service office to deliver letters, packages, and telegrams. PTMB delivers mail to each area warden. An area warden, normally a middle-age woman, is responsible for ten to thirty homes in the area. Besides holding area meetings and being responsible to turn in any subversives who speak out against the government, they will also deliver the mail to the individuals.

Control/Regulation

Agents of the State Security and Inspectors Department are stationed at the Ministry's offices to open, read, and surveil citizens to ensure their loyalty to the state. It can be assumed by anyone sending a letter or package to North Torbia that it has been opened and examined to determine if there are any indications of subversion against the government. If determined yes, the North Torbian government will arrest the individual. Sentences can range from a censure to a fine to a local jail to life at hard labor in a gulag for the most serious offenses.

Oral Communication

Word of mouth is an important communications apparatus, especially in rural North Torbia. Messages and directives from the government are often distributed through the school system or through local work forces. Despite having a postal system and a rudimentary form of internet, word of mouth remains the most common way that information is spread throughout the country.

Infrastructure Support

At the lowest level, the area warden is responsible for the reliability of ten to thirty houses in the area. Normally, this is a middle-age woman that amounts to serving the government as the local busybody. The Area warden is to make sure that any work quotas are met, the government provided housing is taken care of by the family residing in the home, and turning in to the officials anyone making negative comments about the regime. While many people do not want to be the area warden, some relish the “power” it gives them locally over the other families in the area as well as a few extra perks provided by the government.

Control/Regulation

With the current regime, any type of speech, verbal or printed, not approved by the government is dangerous and could lead to detention or even death. To combat the possibility of collusion among the people, a recent law forbids the congregation of more than three people without the approval of local government officials, work, cultural events, etc. The only exception is family as family members may gather in any number.

Satellite

North Torbia is in the early stages of manufacturing and launching their own satellites. Presently, North Torbia operates one earth observation satellite that utilizes X-Band transponders to communicate images for download while in a sun-synchronous polar orbit. This satellite is projected to be operational for at least four to eight years, and is claimed to be used for agriculture, exploration, mapping, utilities management, and urban planning.

Infrastructure Support

North Torbia has been known to use satellites from Olvana, Donovia, or other nations to advance its weapons research programs. This includes the GNSS satellites for global positioning.

Control/Regulation

All satellite related activities are authorized by and controlled by the North Torbian government. There are no private entities involved in the satellite business and none expected in the foreseeable future. The North Torbian government will continue to control any satellite related activities indefinitely

Internet of Things

Due to the need to try to protect the regime from outside influences and information, this prevents North Torbia from embracing the Internet of Things. There is no such thing as a “smart home” where a myriad of activities are being ran from one’s cellular smart phone. Until North Torbia allows freedom of information for its people, the country will be unlikely to use many of the technological innovations found in the rest of the world.

Infrastructure Support

There is no infrastructure support for an Internet of Things.

Control/Regulation

The government controls or at least attempts to control the information environment within North Torbia. Increasingly this is harder to do resulting in more draconian crackdowns on anyone smuggling outside cell phones into the country (useful along the border with South Torbia). The standard North Torbian response to any new information technology is to ban it and punish those that try to use it.

Information Cohorts (Information Consumption)

There are three cohorts of information users in North Torbia, but none are based on their age. Information consumption is based on whether the individual has access to the true internet, the Net-Torbia waterdown vers

Cohort: Politically Connected

These are the individuals high enough in the North Torbian government to have access to the true Internet because of their job. It also includes some professors that work at universities because they need access to the real Internet.  This entire group amounts to less than five percent of the population, probably a lot less.

Biases (Positive, Neutral, and Negative)

These individuals know what the rest of the world is like, but are not willing or too scared to let the general public know about what is truly happening in the world. They enjoy the perks of being part of the North Torbian elite and will continue to support the current leadership in order to remain in their current post.

Perceived Antagonist Cohorts

The politically supports the government’s attempt to control the message the masses receive. As such, they continue to support the watered down version of the Internet offered to the North Torbian people. Their challenge is to maintain the party line, and therefore they have a mandate to challenge and suppress any individuals or groups who may attempt to break from the approved ‘truth’ disseminated by the government.

Media Engagement/Perception

These people watch the local media (television, radio, and print) and understand that what the government feeds the people is contradicted by their access to the Internet. If an individual decides that want to explore the freedoms on the Internet, they are usually suppressed by the fear of being caught and punished. Thus, they do nothing about the lies told through the state-run media outlets and what they know to be true.

Presence/Activity in Cyberspace

This group operates on the true Internet for their job or for university research. Most try to make sure they do not go to websites that government oversight will determine as subversive. They use the North Torbian issued cell phone unless they have approval for a western cell phone.

Net-Torbia Users

These are the individuals that compose the 15-20% of the population that accesses the watered down version of the Internet that the North Torbian government allows their citizens to see. This group also includes high school students and some university students.

Biases (Positive, Neutral, and Negative)

This group has been conditioned to accept information from government authorities.  While there may be individual instances where they might not agree with the State, fear of being identified as a dissident keeps them from voicing their opinions with others, to include family members. This group is relatively unaware of the fact that the information they receive through the Torbian-net is heavily censored.

Perceived Antagonist Cohorts

Information is power, and this group has what it believes to be a high degree of access to information. They are unaware of the fact that others may have access to an even broader information environment. As a result, they are defensive of the information reality that they know, and are likely to be distrustful of any one who presents an alternative perspective.

Media Engagement/Perception

What the Net-Torbia users see is the news that the North Torbia government wants them to see. While some may be skeptical of what they read and see, most take what they read at face value.

Presence/Activity in Cyberspace

This group has the government built cell phone and uses Net-Torbia. They do not have access to the true Internet. While the social media aspects of Net-Torbia continue to grow, most activity is usually related to work or classroom research, and heavily regulated by the government.

Non-Internet Users

This group consists of roughly 80% of the North Torbian population. It consists of people whose work does not require them to have access to information technology (i.e., farmers, factory workers, construction workers, etc.). They do not have access to Net-Torbia and do not own a cell phone. Their information environment consists almost entirely of what is disseminated by the government through television, radio, newspaper, or word of mouth.

Biases (Positive, Neutral, and Negative)

For the most part, most of this group probably does not even consider the other 20% of the population. The non-internet users are too busy trying to eke out a living to be jealous of those with internet privileges. For the most part, they feel that the other citizens that live a better life style then themselves deserve it.

Perceived Antagonist Cohorts

None, this group is typically not even aware of the possibility that there might be others who have more information or different information than they receive.

Media Engagement/Perception

For the most part, the non-internet users believe whatever news they receive from the government. They have spent their entire lives immersed in the government narrative, believe that the government is honest and trustworthy, and that any sacrifices that they government requires them to make is for the betterment of the Torbian people as a whole.

Presence/Activity in Cyberspace

None

Information Suppression

There is significant information suppression in North Torbia as the government attempts to control what information its people receive, especially about anything external to the country.

Government Censorship

The North Torbia government sponsors censorship everywhere in attempt to control the message received by the people while eliminating any negative comments about the current regime. This means that government censors are involved in every aspect of the media from approving stories to selecting directors for films to choosing what topics to cover during a given broadcast.

Public (Popular) Censorship

Since all the media works for the government, it all could be considered government censorship. If given some latitude, in any medium, those participating will choose to err on the side of caution. They will kill a story rather than risk arrest, jail time, life in a gulag, or even a death sentence. Thus, the media censors itself even if not directly censored by someone from the government. The population has been convinced to prioritize the needs to the state over all other needs. Therefore it is not unheard of for a family member to report dissidence to the local authorities.

Non-Government Entity Censorship

There are no non-government entities that attempt to censor ideas or information in North Torbia. The government is near omnipresent throughout all organizations and groups. Some private South Torbian organizations have been known to attach propaganda leaflets to helium balloons in the hopes that they will drop into North Torbia. This can only be done when the wind is blowing in the right direction. The South Torbians attempt to let their cousins to the north about the truth the government is hiding from them. While there is no measure to determine the effectiveness of this leaflet campaign, some South Torbians continue to try. Balloons continue to be the most relied upon method of delivery, however some groups are beginning to experiment with small commercially available drones. The North Torbian Government threatens extreme punishments for any of its citizens found in possession of these leaflets.  

Cyberspace

A very small percent of the North Torbian population has accessed to the true Internet. A slightly larger percent has access to the water down version of the internet, Net-Torbia. The vast majority of the population has no access to the internet of any type.

Strengths

North Torbia’s control over its population is dependent upon its ability to control the information environment. Only the politically elite have access to what the rest of the world knows as the internet. Instead, North Torbians who engage with cyberspace use a heavily controlled and extremely isolated intranet. This limits the likelihood that the population might be exposed to counter-narratives that challenge the government’s authority. 

Another strength is that with so few people are the Internet, domestic organizations are relatively insulated from having their systems attacked by outside agencies. North Torbia has an extremely capable, though small, number of hackers at its disposal. These individuals usually work outside the country, and have been known to target the military and government agencies of western nations, as well as private companies that it perceives as threats.

Vulnerabilities

North Torbia’s biggest cyberspace vulnerability is perhaps a result of one of its biggest strengths.  Access to cyberspace is limited to a very small population, trusted population. While this allows the government to shield the majority of the populatin from external information, it also means that it may be easier for North Torbia’s adversaries to identify individual targets for influence.

OE Specific Challenges

Since so few North Torbians have been exposed to the internet, it currently is not a dependable way to reach the majority of the population. To influence the people in the country, one would need to rely on using television, radio, or print media outlets. Since all of these are controlled by the North Torbian government, free access to the actual truth will not occur until the current regime is no longer in power.

North Torbia does not have a MASINT capability and relies on its military partners for any such information.