OSINT

Global OSINT Market Growing Exponentially

The global open source intelligence (OSINT) market has grown at a phenomenal pace in the past few years due to improvements in the information management field. The industry is gradually achieving a high demand rate from sectors such as government and security agencies. 

The amplified level of competition in the market has prompted better use of open source intelligence tools to gather quality actionable data that can used effectually.

The industry is set to proliferate exponentially at a robust CAGR of 16.18% during period 2017 to 2023. This has been revealed by Market Research Future (MRFR)’s latest study.

The global market is segmented into several technologies – Text Analytics, Web Analysis, Cyber Security Video Analytics, Big Data Software, Social Media Analysis and Others.

Applications of OSINT intelligence range from military and defense, homeland security, to national security and the private and public sectors. 

Segments according to security types encompass Text Analytics, Content Intelligence, Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Dark Web Analysis, Big Data. 

Regionally, the industry is led by the North American region which is followed by the Asia Pacific region. This is chiefly due to the intensified cyber-attacks in the U.S. 

OSINT

How to Collect Open Source Intelligence

Open source intelligence (OSINT) is information that comes from publicly available sources. This type of information can be exploited, collected and disseminated to any audience.

For investigators or other individuals who need to collect background material on an individual, OSINT is highly useful. According to Michael Bazzell, a former FBI computer crime investigator and the author of several books on security, OSINT can be used to locate people or to conduct background checks or any online investigation.

Many Names and Addresses Publicly Available Online

Websites such as Spoke.com, Radaris.com, and Intelius.com allow users to search an individual’s name and address for free. These sites allow investigators to more easily use the information found on these sites to conduct background checks on potential employees, but are also used by criminals to find information for identity theft.

OSINT

How to Collect Open Source Intelligence

Open source intelligence (OSINT) is information that comes from publicly available sources. This type of information can be exploited, collected and disseminated to any audience.

For investigators or other individuals who need to collect background material on an individual, OSINT is highly useful. According to Michael Bazzell, a former FBI computer crime investigator and the author of several books on security, OSINT can be used to locate people or to conduct background checks or any online investigation.

OSINT

CIA DIRECTOR: OPEN SOURCE A ‘TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGE’

The CIA gained a major intelligence advantage by embracing something available to everyone: open source data sets.

The agency operates the intelligence community’s Open Source Enterprise and has been hiring open source specialists to analyze public data sets and combine them with classified data.

“It's been a tremendous, I think, advantage as far as trying to fulfill our various missions,” said CIA Director John Brennan.

Brennan made the remarks at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance event on July 19, where he discussed the CIA’s modernization efforts. Housing the Open Source Enterprise within the CIA’s new Directorate of Digital Innovation allows a combination of the right personnel and tools to get a more accurate analysis of world events, Brennan said.

OSINT

Interview: Former CIA Officer Robert Steele Discusses Why We Need an Open Source Revolution

The CIA is a bureaucracy. The normal U.S. ‘secret world’ mentality is that of a little gray man, who “goes along to get along.” In fact, the primary mission of a corporate organization like the CIA is to keep the money moving and grow the budget.

My class in 1979 was the first modern class where they changed the profile to recruit entrepreneurial self-starters who could think for themselves. And we were a disaster. Half my class quit within five years, I lasted nine. We simply could not tolerate or go along with toxic leadership and stupid procedures that did nothing to actually produce intelligence (decision-support).

The emphasis in the secret world is on spending as much money as possible, which translates into spending mostly on technical collection that is not processed– while neglecting human and open source collection as well as deep analysis that includes historical and cultural context.