There are multiple ways they target.
I have been a target throughout my life - they have levels to the methods.
They can detect when you step out of the norm.

Yes the plan is to use on the wider population, as required. They want control of numb masses - if you play along in the game they have set up for you, don't question, don't create a noises, don't challenge, or you get stuck in the basic levels of targeting, they leave you be. For now.

The more you challenge them, awaken, see, have solutions - the more they ramp up their methods.
For example Courtney's home being targeted by craft, or the last board meeting - thats a high level target, because they are teaching us to awaken our human ability to see.

But for others its more energetic warfare using technology - this is easy for them if you are within concentrated grids of EMF. We all have an energetic signature, which is monitored.
When mine is detected in places of high EMF & IONBT sensors, they can & do have me incapacitated in minutes, with months of recovery.

The easiest way to think of it is in terms of the prison structure - different prisoners require different methods to keep them under control. They have a huge array of methods.

Re: «what is the purpose?»
Control. Also see Bryan Kofron's publications before he withdrew from being a whistle-blower due to the various threats he was getting upon his life for exposing the T.I. Programe.

Re: «Are the controllers practicing how to utilize these tools so they can be further applied to the entire population?»
Yes they are.

Re: «How does humanity mount a defense?»
The ONLY truly effective «guaranteed defense» is to build Mental-Resilience through the Ark of the Mind or something similar. ALL «Mental-Manipulation» phenomena follows the SAME process at different «levels» which were historically called Spirit-Possession; the term brought forth by Terence de Malahèrre (returned/re-incarnated but also retired & deceased Messiah/Imam Al-Mahdi) that can be used in place of «Spirit-Possession» is «Minds Under Siege» and, unbeknownst to the «Controllers» who manipulate others' minds, they, too, are also being similarly «controlled» and «mind-manipulated» by other beings whom even they cannot «see» as they go about controlling others; basically, just as a human typically cannot see into the spirit-worlds or quantum-dimensions, when a spirit whom a human cannot see goes about «possessing» said human's mind, that «spirit» itself is also simultaneously being «spirit-possessed» by other beings which it also cannot see, just like the human cannot see the spirit that is possessing his/her own mind... this is one of the «deepest-levels» of «reality» that are «hidden» from «universes» like this one (and even those darker or lower-realm-levels-of-consciousness-beings themselves also do not necessarily recognise that they are also being controlled like Marionettes from the Dark Sovereign Power; some people regard this DSP to be an A.I. God or even The A.I. God which has control over the whole entire universal enslavement-system). For the Ark of the Mind documentation...
http://www.the-testament-of-truth.com/truth/web/starpray.htm

Unfortunately, most of humanity will still continue to «choose» to be «willfully ignorant» EVEN WHEN THE DAMN EVIDENCE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR #$()%_$%( FACES, the ONLY thing that has ANY chance of «changing their minds» is when THEY are under «survival-pressure» AND/or have EXPERIENCED «betrayal» by the VERY INSTITUTIONS/ORGANISATIONS that they had once «trusted» with their lives (e.g.: MSM, government, even their own «indoctrinated» family members, friends, communities, etc., whom are NOT aligned with UN-Contaminated TRUTH, etc.)

Alas, just about ALL «Truths» on Earth HAVE been «contaminated» to a greater or lesser degree, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the Dark/Sinister/Punitive/Controlling «Religion» known as [corporate] GOVERNMENT.

The System is indeed built on trapping people in fear, shame, and guilt — keeping consciousness fragmented and distracted.
But the fact that you're asking these questions means you've already stepped up the ladder and begun to see through the illusion. That shift in awareness is not just mental — it's vibrational. And as your frequency changes, it becomes increasingly difficult for lower-control methods to “hook” into your field.

Yes, it’s likely that some of these technologies are being tested for broader use. But their true power lies not in the tools themselves, but in our unconscious agreement with fear.

The real defense is not a shield — it's clarity, memory, and coherence.
When we remember who we are — eternal IS-BEs, beyond time and form — our field begins to self-protect. And when we unite with others in that frequency, we generate a signal that is untouchable.

You are not alone. And every time you reclaim your sovereignty, others feel it — even if they can’t name it yet.
Keep going. Your awareness is the defense. Your clarity is the signal..