Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): merged thread

[Stan]

Humint, we used to call it globally. That included OSINT, but only a tinny part of HUMINT....can't hardly wait for Tom to log-on with his two cents.

OSINT, more or less what the more than 250 ARMY NCOs and Officers did for years (that would be 12 for me). Some were freebies at the local cocktail curcuits, others you had to work for.

Without a suitable background and language, you're up against a difficult task. Written press has its own slang, and context can get way outta hand if you have no idea what they are saying.

45 weeks in California does not get you there. Reading open source materials is one thing, but did you understand the overall context from say, an African's point of view ?

Regards, Stan

[bismark17]

I learned a lot from a great friend over coffee just outside of the gates of Ft. Lewis. Until my eyes started drifting over to more interesting sights in the coffee shop......The new Army Intel Analysis manual is pretty good. FM34-3??? There is also a great one on Intel Analysis in Urban environments. I will send you the links.

The great thing is all of this stuff is on the net. At the risk of making the military guys mad at me, I don't think the methodology is that critical. It's good and works well for them in their realms. But they have to do deal with a very complex variety of potential situations and areas of operation that civilians don't have to worry about.

I don't have to worry about having a pre built process to set up an intel shop in Baghdad or North Korea, I just have to know what's going on in that barber shop where my players are hanging in as an example.

[marct]

Hi John,

I learned a lot from a great friend over coffee just outside of the gates of Ft. Lewis. Until my eyes started drifting over to more interesting sights in the coffee shop......The new Army Intel Analysis manual is pretty good. FM34-3??? There is also a great one on Intel Analysis in Urban environments. I will send you the links.

Thanks, I'd appreciate it.

The great thing is all of this stuff is on the net. At the risk of making the military guys mad at me, I don't think the methodology is that critical. It's good and works well for them in their realms. But they have to do deal with a very complex variety of potential situations and areas of operation that civilians don't have to worry about.

I don't have to worry about having a pre built process to set up an intel shop in Baghdad or North Korea, I just have to know what's going on in that barber shop where my players are hanging in as an example.

Good point. Actually, I'm also wondering how much of it can be adapted for Anthropological fieldwork. I can just see the reactons ofsome of my colleagues when I assign a US Army manual as a textbook .

Marc

[Steve Blair]

I'd appreciate those links as well, if you don't mind. Some of this bleeds over into my own theories of insurgencies and may have some historical links as well.

[bismark17]

I tried to find them and am still looking. Whenever I find them I will pm them to you guys. The Open Source manual does have an interesting break down on basic research techniques that was also good.

You could cut and paste it with other items and create a great abstract for teaching. There is a lot of relevant material being created by the Military community that is applicable to anyone needing to understand what is going on in an area. Take care!

[Jedburgh]

I learned a lot from a great friend over coffee just outside of the gates of Ft. Lewis. Until my eyes started drifting over to more interesting sights in the coffee shop......The new Army Intel Analysis manual is pretty good. FM34-3??? There is also a great one on Intel Analysis in Urban environments. I will send you the links.

The great thing is all of this stuff is on the net...

As far as I know, the current FM 2-91.4 Intelligence in Support to Operations in the Urban Environment (AKO log-in required), dated Jun 05, is not available on the general 'net - if that is the one you are referring to.

FM 34-3 Intelligence Analysis, dated Mar 90, is readily available - but that version is dated. There was a much-improved draft dated May 98, but that isn't generally available. A new version has been in the works for a long time....

[Jedburgh]

...The new Army Intel Analysis manual is pretty good. FM34-3???...

...FM 34-3 Intelligence Analysis, dated Mar 90, is readily available - but that version is dated. There was a much-improved draft dated May 98, but that isn't generally available. A new version has been in the works for a long time....

A Draft - Not For Implementation copy of the new FOUO FM 2-33.4 Intelligence Analysis in now available for review to those with an AKO log-in. It has significantly changed from the previous versions that I referred to in my earlier post.

[Stan]

Jed,
It's getting better. I see some good improvements over the previous version. It will get even more practical as people use it and provide input.

It literally stands on OSINT as if this was the singular source and doesn't strike differences in clear terms for the typical Joe. A paragraph or two is used to strike distictions in intel gathering.

Relationships between two propositions with similar content and predicate, but differing in quantity or quality as in pro-govt. vs oppostion views are missing. Those situations tend to come up each day. Who then decides which version is more correct without anything else to go on ?

Those tend to be harder to grasp even for a seasoned player with a language background. Only with time does such an understanding come. How much time do we then allow before concluding the source is reliable ? It is after all, open and subject to 'opinions'.

The DC end of the coin has to make sense of this source. The FM doesn't address this adequately in my opinion. The end user will then determine on his/her own the significance ?

We often received inquiries from DC to recheck our info. Our views then were not just open, but from several sources put together in order to conclude we knew what we were talking about.

I welcome the FM and hope for success....Go Rangers !
Regards, Stan

[dusty]

I've been doing some IPB on a new AO, and have been using a massive amount of OSINT to do it. I balance it out with the classified stuff I get, but for the most part, between media from the region, media in the US, and scholastic reports on the history of the AO, I have a much better overall understanding of the AO and can convey that to my commander. I am definitely an OSINT convert after these past two weeks!

[Stan]

Welcome !
That would be my point, dead on.
Take it in, but back it up with something more credible.
Good on ya !

[BILL]

thank you santa: You are the most rare "OSINTithus" very rare breed of suspect authenticity. We really have OSINT guys? Ok that is both scary and hopeful at the same time. Hopeful because we maynot be as far behind as I thought. Scary concept! You read OSINT and did what? Our OSINT CAPABILITIES are awesome, impresses me continually. We have been active for 1 1/2 yrs. But we treat the "Trooper" like an infant baby. We outline his areas of Interest, names, concepts, an open feed he can change/adjust at will. We feed him a steady diet 24/7 of things of INTEREST to him. A big steady vacuume of the Internet, sites, RSS, news, blogs, forums, docs, pdfs, etc. We make him the expert on real time OSINT intel, in his area, on a very pragmatic level. And they chose and run the ops etc. The end user directs the feed, amount, quality, targets, definitions, etc. We have developed a new concept, "Paradigm Intelligence", a very fancy inductive reasoning system. We have found we can pull data from a closed cell with it, it is anthropology based, as it looks more at actions and less at words. I hope to get some sense of what you DID. Thanks Bill

Humint, we used to call it globally. That included OSINT, but only a tinny part of HUMINT....can't hardly wait for Tom to log-on with his two cents.

OSINT, more or less what the more than 250 ARMY NCOs and Officers did for years (that would be 12 for me). Some were freebies at the local cocktail curcuits, others you had to work for.

Without a suitable background and language, you're up against a difficult task. Written press has its own slang, and context can get way outta hand if you have no idea what they are saying.

45 weeks in California does not get you there. Reading open source materials is one thing, but did you understand the overall context from say, an African's point of view ?

Regards, Stan

[Stan]

thank you santa: You are the most rare "OSINTithus" very rare breed of suspect authenticity. We really have OSINT guys? Ok that is both scary and hopeful at the same time. Hopeful because we maynot be as far behind as I thought. Scary concept! You read OSINT and did what?

Bill,
First and foremost, welcome to the SWC!
One normally does not commence with personal attacks and skepticism for his/her first post. As time permits you, please go here and introduce yourself.

Yes, Bill, we really did, and do have OSINT ‘guys’ out there. Forgive me if I don’t feel good about sharing my past and training with someone who has ‘N/A’ listed as his/her background in the user profile.

Our OSINT CAPABILITIES are awesome, impresses me continually. We have been active for 1 1/2 yrs. But we treat the "Trooper" like an infant baby. We outline his areas of Interest, names, concepts, an open feed he can change/adjust at will. We feed him a steady diet 24/7 of things of INTEREST to him. A big steady vacuume of the Internet, sites, RSS, news, blogs, forums, docs, pdfs, etc. We make him the expert on real time OSINT intel, in his area, on a very pragmatic level. And they chose and run the ops etc. The end user directs the feed, amount, quality, targets, definitions, etc. Thanks Bill

I was not referring to our typical soldiers in non-intelligence roles and capacities; rather intel-related MOSs and being poorly prepared to do same. My initial intelligence training is more than two decades old, so I’ll assume there have been significant advances in OSINT (such as the internet, blogs and forums).

Regards, Stan

[Jedburgh]

CSS, 9 Apr 08: Open Source Intelligence: A Strategic Enabler of National Security

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) has gained considerable prominence in recent years. Traditionally, intelligence has been the business of discovering secrets using a closed system of collection and analysis. Key sources included human intelligence (HUMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT), and imagery intelligence (IMINT). Although open sources were frequently used in the intelligence process, their value was seen as secondary. Classified information was deemed more valuable and often more credible. The systematic acquisition of non-classified information was rarely seen as an intelligence priority.

Today, OSINT’s importance is widely acknowledged. It is estimated that OSINT provides between 80 and 95 per cent of the information used by the intelligence community. There is a growing debate within and between the various branches of government and the national security apparatus on how best to use open source information. However, the role and potential of OSINT remain a matter of some dispute. OSINT’s advocates believe it to be the answer to many of today’s intelligence challenges. They call for a new intelligence paradigm marked by a preponderance of open source information and a trans-sector intelligence collaboration that includes a broad network of public and private actors. But there are others who warn against treating OSINT as more than a component of a continuing, all-source approach to intelligence-gathering and analysis.....

[Jedburgh]

House Committee on Homeland Security, Sep 08:

Giving a Voice to Open Source Stakeholders: A Survey of State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement

....Open source intelligence products can and should be shared with appropriate Federal, State, local and tribal law enforcement, and the private sector because of their unclassified nature. Unfortunately, DHS has not effectively exploited this type of information to provide essential analytical products. In fact, DHS’ efforts have lagged behind the rest of the Federal government. While the Office of the DNI and the CIA have each established robust open source programs, DHS – the lead Federal agency responsible for sharing terrorism threat and vulnerability information with State and local law enforcement – has yet to articulate a vision for how it will collect, analyze and disseminate open source information......