Prosecutors say the operatives were gathering intelligence used to evaluate political targets on social media. The operation developed metrics on social media groups, measuring things like frequency of posting and audience engagement. It was banal conventional wisdom, but afterward, the Russian operatives began using the jargon in their own interactions, which U.S. authorities somehow were able to access. Social media accounts were established to lend credibility to their covert efforts. Using virtual private networks they could conduct their social media interactions while appearing to be based in the U.S.

Source: National Post February 17, 2018 00:10 UTC