Open-source intelligence

Open-source intelligence
by Steve Ragan – Nov 7 2011, Tech Herald

The Associated Press (AP) recently visited a plain-looking building in Virginia, which is used by the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and staffed by a team of “vengeful librarians” to sort massive amounts of OSINT, or Open Source Intelligence. The CIA calls this location an Open Source Center.

OSINT, believe it or not, is often a key source of information that leads to actionable intelligence. It’s all around you, because OSINT is anything and everything publically available. Today, social media holds a wealth of OSINT sources, thanks to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, countless blogs and news websites, as well as video channels such as YouTube. OSINT also includes public records.

After the AP story ran, pundits expressed shock because the CIA was “spying” on people via social media. News headlines warning people to “be careful” with what they say on Twitter, because the CIA “may be watching”, made the rounds all weekend long.

It’s a needless worry, because most of what the CIA is doing is no different than what reporters do when following developing events. When a story breaks, journalists will follow breaking news on Twitter or, in some cases, Facebook, in order to amass immediate information and reaction.

So what is the CIA doing? As the AP report explains, it’s doing its job. Earlier this year, the CIA monitored the reaction on Twitter to the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. It also monitored comments here stateside, but most of the aforementioned “vengeful librarians” watched the reactions in China and Pakistan. …more