Open source intelligence

Open Source Intelligence ( OSINT ) is a term from the world of intelligence services , in which information is collected from freely available, open sources for the purpose of obtaining news in order to obtain usable insights by analyzing the different information. Freely accessible mass media are used, such as the print media with magazines , daily newspapers , radio and television , but also the Internet and web-based applications such as Google Earth . The conceptual reference to open source means that freely accessible information is used; there is no connection to open source software .

The sources used for this purpose are divided into primary source Q1 as an eyewitness report, aerial photo, filmed uncut raw material or see and hear yourself, secondary source Q2 as an evaluator or reporting report such as newspaper articles or TV reports (reporter spoke to eyewitnesses) and tertiary source Q3 for others.

The advantages of Open Source Intelligence over other types of intelligence gathering information lie in the lower costs, but also in the lower risk for the employees assigned to it. So that the numerous "information snippets" lead to a gain in knowledge, they have to be put together and analyzed after their acquisition in order to build up the desired "information product".

term

The term Open Source Intelligence ( OSINT ) is a term that comes from the internal diction of the US secret services. It has been defined since 2002 by both the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Defense (DoD) as “produced from publicly available information that is collected, exploited, and disseminated in a timely manner to an appropriate audience for the purpose of addressing a specific intelligence requirement. ”(Eng.“ made from publicly available information that is promptly collected, used and disseminated to an appropriate target group in order to meet a specific intelligence requirement ”). The US Office of Management and Budget has had its own definition since 2005 .

OSINT authorities

Today, OSINT plays a major role in the work of US intelligence services. These activities are usually referred to as "media monitoring", "media analysis", "internet research" or "public surveys". The Foreign Broadcast Information Service , a former division of the CIA , was an example of a part of an intelligence agency whose job is to collect and analyze such public information.

The Library of Congress , the national library of the USA, funds the Federal Research Division , which carries out custom-made open source research for various agencies on a large scale for a fee.

The German foreign secret service, the Federal Intelligence Service , also makes use of the advantages associated with the use of Open Source Intelligence in the General Situation / FIZ and Supporting Specialist Services (GU) department .

Law enforcement agencies in various countries, such as Scotland Yard or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police , have also set up their own OSINT departments in recent years.