NCJ Number
215897
Journal
Homeland Defense Journal Volume: 4 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2006 Pages: 42,44,47
Date Published
July 2006
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article proposes a framework for addressing the challenges associated with obtaining open-source intelligence (OSINT), which involves accessing and analyzing information that is available to the public.
Abstract
The challenges of developing OSINT are its "volume, variety, veracity, and velocity." Regarding volume, the Internet and other dynamic sources of information hold massive amounts of material that must be managed, organized, and identified as relevant to intelligence acquisition and analysis. The second challenge is the variety of packages in which the information comes. These packages include text, imagery, video, audio, domestic and international public records, news articles, scientific journals, dictionaries and taxonomies, etc. Veracity is a third challenge of OSINT. This involves an assessment of the accuracy and truthfulness of information, which consists of identifying and qualifying the reliability of information sources. The fourth challenge of OSINT is velocity, which pertains to the rapid production of new and changing information. This article outlines four phases for managing the challenges of OSINT: acquisition, refinement, fusion and analytics, and access and delivery. Acquisition involves identifying the sources of data that are likely to yield the types of information being sought. Refinement includes several steps designed to filter the base amount of data collected so that key elements are discovered, extracted, and processed. Data fusion and analytics refers to the rapid merging and integration of many datasets, files, and records. This involves technologies known as pattern analysis, data enrichment, clustering, linking, and detecting obscure relationships. Analytic capabilities provide the user with a filter that screens out all but the most useful information. The final phase, access and delivery, involves disseminating or sharing the information in the most appropriate manner with a broader community of interested parties.