To anyone not in the intelligence community (IC), open-source intelligence (OSINT) may seem liked a complicated term, one that implies a type of alternative intelligence that may or may not exist. But in actuality, OSINT refers to “open” information that the public utilizes everyday. In its simplest forms, this could mean everyday media that we just take for granted – think news reports on TV or newspapers, radios, online news and blogs.
But eventually the term OSINT snowballs and becomes more and more complicated – especially for the IC. OSINT encompasses all of that open information: info one might glean off of social networking, message board communities like Reddit, video-hosting sites like YouTube, Wikipedia entries. But then there are government reports, budgets, hearings, demographic data, speeches, press conferences, studies, research reports, and the like. The IC and trained journalists are paid to keep track of data like this on a regular basis, but what about the regular Joe? He may never even know it exists.
The Importance of OSINT
In reality, that list still only scratches the surface of OSINT. For IC participants, OSINT can be a huge obstacle in their work, but it is ever so important. This is because vital information may not be found in one convenient database – sometimes that information has to be scoured after in the deepest, most hidden crevices of a particular system.
That’s where Infinit.e comes in. While some analytic platforms simply search for data in structured sources, Infinit.e utilizes both structured and unstructured sources and unifies that data into a highly scalable, single, semi-structured data environment. Imagine being able to scale a mountain of OSINT with a single analytics platform, based entirely in the cloud, and designed for a plug-and-play interface. Not only is that mountain now scalable – it can be done with ease.
The Problem
Those in the IC receive a huge number of information requests from the field in order to aid them in making significant decisions on planning, assignment strategies, and implementation. The problem is that once the IC receives the information request from the field, it’s not unusual for it to take several days for an analyst to get all the information needed from the myriad data sources that have to be analyzed. By the time an analysis is complete, the information gathered may be irrelevant and ineffective for those who requested it.
Infinit.e can help map out different trends, which aids in data gathering for IC agents. And, after combining data from structured and unstructured sources, the unified data enables relationships across different sources, which can allow agents to analyze connections that may not always be evident when looking at structured or unstructured sources alone. This certainly comes into play when rounding up data in OSINT. When an agent is dealing with intelligence that may be as minute as a string of information posted on an obscure message board on the internet, then having those tools at your disposal is absolutely essential.
If scaling the mountain of OSINT seems like a daunting task, then it may be time to consider the advantage Infinit.e can bring to your organization.
Photo courtesy of rosefirerising
What is OSINT?
To anyone not in the intelligence community (IC), open-source intelligence (OSINT) may seem liked a complicated term, one that implies a type of alternative intelligence that may or may not exist. But in actuality, OSINT refers to “open” information that the public utilizes everyday. In its simplest forms, this could mean everyday media that we just take for granted – think news reports on TV or newspapers, radios, online news and blogs.
But eventually the term OSINT snowballs and becomes more and more complicated – especially for the IC. OSINT encompasses all of that open information: info one might glean off of social networking, message board communities like Reddit, video-hosting sites like YouTube, Wikipedia entries. But then there are government reports, budgets, hearings, demographic data, speeches, press conferences, studies, research reports, and the like. The IC and trained journalists are paid to keep track of data like this on a regular basis, but what about the regular Joe? He may never even know it exists.
The Importance of OSINT
In reality, that list still only scratches the surface of OSINT. For IC participants, OSINT can be a huge obstacle in their work, but it is ever so important. This is because vital information may not be found in one convenient database – sometimes that information has to be scoured after in the deepest, most hidden crevices of a particular system.
That’s where Infinit.e comes in. While some analytic platforms simply search for data in structured sources, Infinit.e utilizes both structured and unstructured sources and unifies that data into a highly scalable, single, semi-structured data environment. Imagine being able to scale a mountain of OSINT with a single analytics platform, based entirely in the cloud, and designed for a plug-and-play interface. Not only is that mountain now scalable – it can be done with ease.
The Problem
Those in the IC receive a huge number of information requests from the field in order to aid them in making significant decisions on planning, assignment strategies, and implementation. The problem is that once the IC receives the information request from the field, it’s not unusual for it to take several days for an analyst to get all the information needed from the myriad data sources that have to be analyzed. By the time an analysis is complete, the information gathered may be irrelevant and ineffective for those who requested it.
Infinit.e can help map out different trends, which aids in data gathering for IC agents. And, after combining data from structured and unstructured sources, the unified data enables relationships across different sources, which can allow agents to analyze connections that may not always be evident when looking at structured or unstructured sources alone. This certainly comes into play when rounding up data in OSINT. When an agent is dealing with intelligence that may be as minute as a string of information posted on an obscure message board on the internet, then having those tools at your disposal is absolutely essential.
If scaling the mountain of OSINT seems like a daunting task, then it may be time to consider the advantage Infinit.e can bring to your organization.
Photo courtesy of rosefirerising