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Open Source Intelligence: a Strategic Enabler of National Security the Importance of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Has Grown in Recent Years

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Open Source Intelligence: a Strategic Enabler of National Security the Importance of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Has Grown in Recent Years CSS Analyses in Security Policy CSS ETH Zurich Vol. 3 • No. 32 • April 2008 OPEN SOURCE INTELLIGENCE: A STRATEGIC ENABLER OF NATIONAL SECURITY The importance of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) has grown in recent years. For the traditional intelligence community, OSINT is likely to remain one component of an all-source intelligence capacity that includes classified sources. For most government agencies, however, OSINT is the only intelligence they have access to, which renders it a strategic enabler of decision- and policy-making. Governments should consider formulating a national OSINT strategy and establishing an OSINT center to allow for the effective exploitation of open source information. is to be found. The media, public agencies, think-tanks, universities, NGOs, and the private sector all constitute open sources of information. The evolution of the OSINT debate can be attributed to three main factors. The first is the broadening of the security agenda over the past two decades. During the Cold War, intelligence services were pre- occupied with a limited number of largely state-centric challenges. Discovering the intentions and capabilities of the Soviet Union was the primary task of the West- www.istockphoto.com ern intelligence community. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, however, these threats Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) has information. However, the role and po- have multiplied and become more diverse gained considerable prominence in re- tential of OSINT remain a matter of some in terms of their agents and nature. cent years. Traditionally, intelligence has dispute. OSINT’s advocates believe it to be been the business of discovering secrets the answer to many of today’s intelligence Accordingly, the range of issues that intel- using a closed system of collection and challenges. They call for a new intelligence ligence agencies are required to deal with analysis. Key sources included human in- paradigm marked by a preponderance of has widened dramatically. Today, these in- telligence (HUMINT), signals intelligence open source information and a trans-sector clude, inter alia, terrorism, the proliferation (SIGINT), and imagery intelligence (IMINT). intelligence collaboration that includes a of weapons of mass destruction, organized Although open sources were frequently broad network of public and private actors. crime, fragile states, intra-state conflict, il- used in the intelligence process, their value But there are others who warn against legal immigration, and energy security. was seen as secondary. Classified informa- treating OSINT as more than a component Since the attacks in the US on 11 Septem- tion was deemed more valuable and often of a continuing, all-source approach to ber 2001, many government agencies have more credible. The systematic acquisition intelligence-gathering and analysis. had to contend with the securitization of of non-classified information was rarely their core concerns, whether they be trans- seen as an intelligence priority. OSINT drivers port, food, water, or the environment. The In order to understand the OSINT debate, broadening of the security agenda has Today, OSINT’s importance is widely it is useful to first define the concept. raised the demand for more information, acknowledged. It is estimated that OSINT OSINT is information gathered from pub- which in turn has fostered a growing ap- provides between 80 and 95 per cent of licly available sources for the purpose of preciation of the value and utility of OSINT. the information used by the intelligence meeting specific intelligence requirements. community. There is a growing debate These sources can be free or subscription- A second driver is technology. The evolu- within and between the various branches based, on- or offline. OSINT is not limited tion of the internet and the emergence of of government and the national security to the internet, although it is here that an the collaborative web have alerted security apparatus on how best to use open source increasing volume of valuable information actors to the potential of new tools and © 2008 Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich CSS Analyses in Security Policy Vol. 3 • No. 32 • April 2008 technologies for collecting, analyzing, and Open source information: Useful sites distributing knowledge on global affairs. The proliferation of websites, portals, wikis, The following websites provide a wealth of open source information for researchers and and blogs has opened a world of informa- analysts interested in global affairs: tion hitherto unavailable to most intelli- International Relations and Security Network ( www.isn.ethz.ch) gence professionals. Based at the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), the ISN collects and manages resources from hundreds of different think-tanks, re- search institutes, international organizations, and government agencies in its digital library. Google Earth provides more geospatial It also publishes a daily news analysis service, Security Watch, and indexes the content of intelligence than was available to most thousands of IR- and security-relevant websites. governments less than a decade ago. Even Oxford Analytica ( www.oxan.com) services such as Wikipedia are increasingly A premium rate strategic analysis and consulting service drawing on a network of university cited as intelligence sources. There is also researchers and faculty members at Oxford and other major universities around the world. a growing market for commercial intelli- Newstin ( www.newstin.com) gence vendors offering products and serv- An innovative news aggregation service that pulls content from thousands of different ices previously restricted to the public sec- media sources from across the globe. Newstin’s language translation features also allow visitors to read information published by foreign news and information sources at the click tor. Thanks to the information revolution, of a button. the traditional intelligence community no longer has a monopoly on the skills or in- shareable. Information collected by one non-state actors are just as likely to use formation needed to understand, analyze, organization can be given to another at open sources of information to broadcast or address today’s security threats. little or no cost. Second, OSINT collected inaccurate or misleading information. On using ethical means can be used in legal occasion, OSINT needs to be verified against The intelligence failures surrounding 11 Sep- proceedings without risking the exposure information from classified sources. tember 2001 and the invasion of Iraq have of sensitive intelligence assets. Indeed, also driven this development. Particularly OSINT constitutes almost zero risk com- The usefulness of OSINT does not always in the US, these failures have prompted a pared to intelligence operations using extend to providing actionable intelligence thorough reassessment of the way in which spies and other clandestine assets. Third, on the tactical or operational level. While intelligence is used to shape the policy- OSINT can be accessed, exploited, and it may provide a rich source of informa- making process. After successive commis- shared around the clock. And fourth, intel- tion on the grievances and motivations of sions stressed a need for the intelligence ligence gathered from authoritative public al-Qaida, OSINT will not necessarily reveal community to make greater use of OSINT (if sources can be used to inform the public of the exact location of Osama bin Laden or only to verify the opinions and conclusions serious threats to national security. the tactical information needed to cap- of classified sources), an Open Source Cent- ture him. As militant groups and organized er was established by the US Director of Na- Finally, and perhaps most important of crime syndicates become aware of just tional Intelligence in November 2005. Since all, OSINT provides context and aware- how large their “digital footprint” really is, then, the number of OSINT positions in the ness that is critical to an understanding they are more likely to go offline and stay US intelligence community has grown. The of the global security agenda. The growing below the radar. Similarly, while OSINT has OSINT debate has also intensified in other complexity and interconnectedness of our been used to acquire intelligence on Iran’s countries, particularly in Europe. world, and the declining degree of certain- nuclear program, it cannot provide real- ty and predictability, have underlined the time insight into exchanges of information OSINT benefits importance of horizon scanning and long- between Iranian scientists. OSINT advocates are keen to highlight its term strategic intelligence assessments benefits. Perhaps the most immediate of that draw on the knowledge of multiple Tailoring OSINT to individual needs these is the issue of cost. OSINT is consid- sources and disciplines. Two conclusions can be drawn from the erably less expensive than collecting infor- above assessment. First, making strate- mation via classified means. Researchers Limitations and weaknesses gic use of OSINT is necessary, feasible, and and journalists working in the field, for OSINT is not without its limitations. For tra- promising. Second, OSINT will mean dif- example, are a valuable source of human ditional intelligence agencies, it is unlikely ferent things to different people. For the intelligence. Helpful communications in- to offer a 100 per cent solution to their in- traditional
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