When using open-source data, including commercially available information (CAI), privacy and civil liberties are among the most significant legal and ethical challenges facing intelligence professionals.
Intelligence Studies
OSINT Communities
The Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) occupies a unique position within the Intelligence Community. Unlike most intelligence organizations, INR’s primary mission is to support the Secretary of State and U.S. diplomats around the world.
OSINT Research: Assessing Iranian Nuclear Intent
Few issues in contemporary international security have generated more debate than Iran's nuclear program.
OSINT Planning, Collection, and Production
Effective planning for Open-Source Intelligence collection and analysis requires a structured process that enables analysts to identify relevant information, validate its credibility, process it efficiently, and transform it into actionable intelligence products.
Why OSINT Matters
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) has emerged as an indispensable component of modern intelligence because of its speed, accessibility, global reach, and ability to reveal societal, political, cultural, and behavioral patterns in real time.
Sektion IIIb and the Early Development of OSINT
The methodical use of open-source information for intelligence purposes is often viewed as a modern development, particularly associated with World War II and the rise of broadcast monitoring. However, as Block (2024) demonstrates, the roots of OSINT go much further back.
Regional Issues: Mexico, South and Central America
Illicit trafficking networks can have devastating impacts on source, transit, and user states.
What Drives Illicit Trafficking Networks
Successful illicit trafficking networks in source and transit areas are typically driven by a combination of structural conditions, such as state complicity or selective enforcement, economic incentives like arbitrage opportunities, and localized social dynamics including community participation
Nexus of Transnational Crime & Terrorism
The main driver behind cooperation between criminal and terrorist groups is practical rather than ideological.
Challenges in Combating Cybercrime
Perhaps the term “cybercrime” itself carries a somewhat misleading implication, as it is often immediately associated with purely digital offenses such as identity theft or ransomware attacks.