The concept of Open Source intelligence (OSINT) has been placed in too high regard within the intelligence community and to the detriment of the value of other forms of collection, such as Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). While useful in the Analysis function of the intelligence cycle, OSINT, as it has become known, is not and should never be the only form of intelligence collected. In order to be of use in achieving a comparative advantage for decision makers, OSINT must be combined with covert sources like SIGINT. Effective collection of OSINT enables prioritized and efficient SIGINT collection requirements.
OSINT is largely provided by the Open Source Branch within the Office of National Assessments (ONA), while SIGINT is the exclusive
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OSINT is not a new concept. Rathmell and Valeri state that Intelligence Agencies have always used foreign newspapers, academic consultants and debriefings from international travellers. According to Hulnick, OSINT makes up 70-80% or more of the United States Intelligence Database. Flood confirms that this is the case in Australia and with the ONA. With the development of computing technology, the creation of the Internet and the ease in which anyone can publish information, Hulnick informs that the problem is not where the intelligence is, but rather “the ability of analysts to sort through it”. While he continues to say that credible intelligence product can be developed from OSINT alone, Treverton takes this point to its logical conclusion. He predicts that analysts will have to compete with CNN, academics, and private organizations like Jane’s or STRATFOR in providing their product. If this is the case, then what separates intelligence collection from researchers of opinion pieces or journal articles?
The separation is that ‘other’ forms of intelligence collection are conducted “without the authority of the government or group who ‘owns’ the information”. The value that other intelligence collected can provide to analysis cannot be overstated. In the case of the Echelon system, to which Australia contributes, SIGINT
Since 2010, integration has been the vanguard initiative of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). This initiative has been successful in several areas to include: the creation of National Intelligence Managers (NIM) for all primary geographic regions and functional areas; enhanced transparency; and the focus on the negative impacts of over classifying documents. However, not all efforts to integrate the intelligence community (IC) have been successful. For instance, the ODNI did not succeed at creating a comprehensive sharing environment, and has not fully integrated federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. Although, these failed areas of integration can be mitigated in the future through the appropriate initiatives taken by the ODNI.
The three great conflicts of the twentieth century: World Wars I and II and the Cold War impacted the progression of the intelligence revolution. During these conflict the United States leadership “looked to intelligence as a weapon of defense and as an aid to victory. ”1 Further, it was the pressures of these wars that the intelligence community expanded, moving closer to the inner circle of the government.2 Furthermore, as the intelligence community expanded, and intelligence professionals developed their skills in conducting threat assessment. In view of, a need to expand the intelligence community it began the rise of the intelligence community in the 20th century.3
The 1776 united States of America Declaration of Independence contain the words that succinctly describe our national objective, strategy, and message, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” In today’s United States of America, the world acknowledges American’s as the preeminent owner of individual freedoms, holding and promoting these three basic principles for some 240 years. During these years, the U.S. has employed the use of intelligence to shape its objectives and strategies, and then in times of war used the same intelligence to shape strategic messages against foreign powers. However, as hostilities decline and give way to the restoration of relative peace, the use of intelligence for strategic messages against foreign powers ceases. Under these circumstances, the void created by secession of U.S. messages, provides a communication opportunity to foreign powers for transmission of anti-U.S. messages. Attempts have been made to reinstate the offices that during war countered these anti-U.S. messages to a comprehensive reorganization of the U.S Government intelligence community. This paper does not support creation of a new agency or department to utilize existing strategic intelligence.
As we have seen throughout the entire history of warfare, ancient world terrorism, political intrigue and elitist terrorism of the middle ages, and into modern terrorism, intelligence is of vital importance on both sides. Armed forces have always used intelligence of some form be it sneaking up a hill and scouting what is on the other side to the use of modern platforms such as
Intelligence analysis?is the process of taking known information about situations and bodies of strategic, operational, or tactical importance, characterizing the known, and, with appropriate statements of probability, the future actions in those situations and by those entities (Richards, 2010).?The descriptions are drawn from what may only be available in the form of deliberately deceptive information; the?analyst?must correlate the similarities among deceptions and extract a common truth. Although its practice is found in its purest form inside national?intelligence agencies, its methods are also applicable in fields such as business intelligence?or?competitive intelligence.
After World War II American intelligence had the need to be transformed. The inexperience along with bureaucracy and poor coordination among American intelligence officers obligated the United States intelligence community to change dramatically in order to confront the new challenges that emerged after the end of WWII. From Early America through WWI the intelligence system of the United States of America was involved in operations in which they had to construct intelligence systems virtually from scratch (Andrew 1995). Human intelligence was already developed, but with certain limitations and other intelligence disciplines were underdeveloped and very seldom sophisticated. After WWI America recessed and settled in a period of peace. The
Dangers to the country are tireless and continually developing. Local and remote psychological warfare and the growing range of transnational composed wrongdoing syndicates crosswise over the internet, worldwide outskirts, and jurisdictional limits of the United States highlight then proceeded with need to manufacture and manage successful knowledge and data sharing organizations among the government; state, nearby, tribal, and regional (SLTT) governments; and the
Interesting post. The interest on open sources resulted in the creation of a new office dedicated to Open Source which is under the direction of the Director of National Intelligence, which is managed by the Central Intelligence Agency.1 Unfortunately, in previous years OSINT was viewed as unnecessary to national intelligence due to the low reliability of sources coming from “the misinformation, secret messages, disinformation, and nonsense content of OSINT sources”2 The intelligence community identified that OSINT when properly used is believed to be as crucial as any other intelligence collection platform.3 Together with other forms of intelligence collection, OSINT provides information about the adversaries and its intention.
The United States has the most capable intelligence apparatus of any country in the world. The information produced by various agencies gives the United States a substantial advantage when it comes to understanding world events, predicting and preparing for unsettled times, fielding military forces, and making a host of other political and economic decisions. From an ethical perspective, it means that the United States Intelligences information can create the risk of security for the United
Abstract: In this analysis, it is shown throughout the many different agencies how the intelligence cycle is interpreted. Within each of the different agencies everyone has their own way of obtaining information and different policies that they follow, within the constriction of the US constitution. The intelligence cycle states the many different steps taken to obtain intelligence from domestic to foreign information.
The United States Intelligence community draws on advanced technology and analytical techniques. An intelligence process that sets objectives, collects, analyzes, and report findings, with feedback loops integrated throughout. Explicitly, the intelligence community advantages technology and tradecraft within a proscribed process. However, estimation of threats and decision-making are outcomes of human thinking. Analysts and policymakers create mental models, or short cuts to manage complex, changing environments. In other words, to make sense of ambiguous or uncertain situations, humans form cognitive biases. Informed because of personal experience, education, and specifically applied to intelligence analysis, Davis
Intelligence is a dependable instrument of its own to generate information that establishes the base of National Security in the United States. Intelligence has been used since the beginning of history to provide information on enemy threats and how to prevent a mass disasters. It has been used for wars, national security, military tactics, etc. Intelligence has been available since the revolutionary war and our first president George Washington and other leaders of the world have used intelligence to protect their countries. Intelligence is the dominant and the backbone of homeland Security and it is ceaseless learning about it. National Intelligence agents train tirelessly to fight and create
Data can be collected through human sources, satellites, wiretapping, signals, and internet traffic. However, intelligence organizations must be in compliance with the law to ensure that they are not illegally collecting information (Chesney, 2012). Collection occurs because a threat is likely to occur or agencies are trying to find out what information our foreign adversaries possess about the nation’s assets. Intelligence collection occurs in both domestic and foreign territories. Intelligence agencies collect information about foreign adversaries in order to exploit their weaknesses or vulnerabilities (Gentry, 2008). Furthermore, government agencies and political leaders want to discover which of the nation’s assets are seen as vulnerable to the enemy (Gentry, 2008).
In most cases these INTs community compete among each other to provide needed intelligence information to policy makers to justify their budgetary allocations (Lowenthal, 2014). However, intelligence collection can be divided into five main categories referred to as “intelligence collection disciplines” or the “INTs”. These include Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Signals Intelligence
The use of intelligence within law enforcement intelligence agencies is not always perfect. There may be a way to safeguard against the misuse of intelligence processes to assure proper use it at all times, but it has not yet been discovered. The only way that agencies can try and control the misuse of intelligence is to study the historical failures of the past.