Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Inspect & Train

#Events, Advanced Cyber/IO, Collective Intelligence, Ethics, Handbook Elements, InfoOps (IO), Officers Call, Peace Intelligence, Sources, Standards, Strategy, Teaching, Threats
Robert David Steele
Robert David Steele

Nobody, anywhere, is doing Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) “right.” There are some nodes where exceptional achievements are the norm in isolation, but by and large, what various governments and corporations are doing and calling “OSINT” is nothing more than very wasteful largely useless Open Source Information (OSIF).  At the same time, no consumer is doing Collection Requirements and Evaluation (CRE) and no consumer is holding the secret intelligence world — in any country — accountable for being very expensive and often useless — 4% “at best” of what the Commanding General at US Central Command needed while fighting two wars and 12 Joint Task Forces.

It's time we evolve the craft of intelligence, as I have been advocating for 25 years. I wrote the original OSINT Handbooks for DIA, NATO, and SOF, and am writing a new comprehensive OSINT Handbook for release at my new conference at the McLean Hilton 4-6 December 2017.

Some may have noticed that there is a major programmatic re-evaluation of all OSINT contracts underway. My initial impression is that many option years are at risk, particularly those where management is simply not paying attention and does not understand how unhappy the COTRs are. For a simple flat fee paid in advance I will come in and evaluate any OSINT node in one day, and provide a diagnostic of what's missing and what needs to be fixed to radically reduce risk of the option year not being taken.

Individuals hired as linguists who have no college education and limited experience with digital tools are particularly at risk. The government no longer has the luxury of throwing money around and accepting people because of their language but incapable of understanding a product requirement, designing a research plan, carrying out the research in accordance with the US Army (and other) Open Source Intelligence Handbook precepts, and presenting a finished OSINT product that can be moved into the cloud for sharing with multinational and inter-agency partners.

The US Army, the Special Operations Command, and other elements of the US Government are at the beginning of a complete OSINT program review and program build. In my view, roughly two-thirds of what is being done under CIA precepts that handicap everybody (at the same time that CIA fails to perform effectively in OSINT) should be eliminated, with the savings applied to a completely independent OSINT program funded and owned by DoD but managed in the context of the D3* Innovation Initiative favored by the Secretary of Defense.

As a non-profit educator who is not in competition with any vendor, I am also offering tailored OSINT training that can integrate multiple experts — I have funded over 800 of them over time — in a manner no one else can replicate. Training can be as short as one day and as long as two weeks inclusive of practical exercises on all fronts. Training can be followed with a term of OSINT Help Desk support. This is a contract saver. It can also be used to prep new hires at a cost roughly one tenth the costs of longer programs that teach a great deal that will not be useful and will be quickly forgotten. Think in terms of a $2,500 prep cost versus $10K and up.

The certificate generally reads:

Has completed N hours of virtual online training and N hours of classroom training for a total of NN hours training in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) support to All-Source Analytics (inclusive of foreign language social media and subject matter expert exploitation utilizing Operations Security (OPSEC) best practices).

The specific methods, tools, official websites, and core references comprising the OSINT Binder are listed. Generally it is the process of OSINT production — including OPSEC — that the individuals have not mastered, the tools are less important — when the client is serious about specific tools they will issue userids and give the contractor analysts a deadline for completing the excellent online training programs that have been paid for as part of the tool purchase agreement.

The other big change in the OSINT world is that most foreign military and law enforcement agencies are finally ramping up their investments in OSINT — EUROPOL just called for all European countries to increase their investments, foreign special operations forces are jumping into this in a big way (and not trusting CIA at all — CIA has lost all credibility in the OSINT arena — its prohibition of overt human contacts by established OSINT cells is criminally insane and mocked by those who see the idiocy of this prohibition). Discussion of a multinational inter-agency intelligence network that is not funded or controlled by the USA has begun. The Chinese, Iranians, and Russian as well as the Turks appear to be seeing that OSINT is the next frontier in Information Operations — not disinformation, but the truth placed before the public, with lies by governments immediately exposed using multi-sourced OSINT. The short-comings of online search are being understood — 80% or more of what we need to know is not secret, not online, not in English, and not accessible without a human path.

I will say for the record that if CIA ever wanted my help, I would gladly assist them.  My mistake these past 25 years has been in assuming that CIA might actually be interested in getting it right, I was naive. My focus now is on teaching anyone who wishes to achieve intelligence with integrity by leveraging both Passive OSINT and Active OSINT as well as Black OSINT and Multinational (MNO) OSINT. I see the military as the hub for creating Smart Nations, and foreign militaries working with their own other “tribes” and especially law enforcement, as the center of gravity for the next 25 years.

Contact Robert Steele

Starting Points for Reflection

2017 Robert Steele: OSINT Done Right

Open Source Everything for the 21st Century – Handbook

Robert Steele: Open Source (Technologies) Agency

Edward Schumacher-Matos – A New Vision for IR Schools in the Platformed World

04 Education, 11 Society, Analysis, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ineptitude, InfoOps (IO), IO Impotency, IO Sense-Making, IO Technologies, Media, Methods & Process, Misinformation & Propaganda, Open Government
Edward Schumacher-Matos
Edward Schumacher-Matos

A New Vision for IR Schools in the Platformed World

Key points:

Whole way in which information and society are organized has changed. From stovepipes to networks — growing power of audience and authentity. This is a threat to the whole Westphalian order of nations (i.e. top-down “because we say so” hierarchical authority). State-owned media now setting the new standard for message delivery while the Western media is collapsing for lack of viability of the advertising – print – broadcast models. Western media is spending too much time on minutia of single events and not enough time on framing, context, and meaning.

“It is time for schools to come down from the ivory tower…and start engaging with the public, doing news analysis, data dives, informing the public [in ways  that] the media cannot.   . . .   This is an opportunity as well as a responsibility.”

YouTube (14:17) Below the Fold

Continue reading “Edward Schumacher-Matos – A New Vision for IR Schools in the Platformed World”

Yoda: UN Explores Data Revolution

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, InfoOps (IO), IO Deeds of Peace, IO Impotency, Methods & Process, Non-Governmental, Strategy, Threats, True Cost, United Nations & NGOs
Got Crowd? BE the Force!
Got Crowd? BE the Force!

Thinking, they are.

Towards a Data Revolution

This summer UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon established the Independent Expert Advisory Group (IAEG) to provide concrete recommendations on how to achieve a Data Revolution for sustainable development. The IEAG report – due in early November – will be a crucial opportunity to explain how better quality and more timely data can transform development. The group is also looking for innovative approaches to data collection, publication, and use.

To solicit input from all communities of practice – particularly academia – the IAEG is hosting a public consultation at undatarevolution.org to solicit input into its work until October 15, 2015In spite of the short notice, we strongly encourage you to submit your ideas and suggestions for the data revolution. Please share this message widely and provide your comments on the IEAG website.

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Event: 13-15 July NYC Hackers on Planet Earth

Advanced Cyber/IO, Communities of Practice, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Hacking, InfoOps (IO), Liberation Technology, Officers Call, Politics
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HOPE Number Nine Call for Hackerspaces seeks participation

Keynote announced!  The Yes Men will talk about their approach to hacking corporations and saving the world.  See the press release at 2600.com.

About HOPE

HOPE Number Nine will be taking place on July 13, 14, and 15, 2012 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. H.O.P.E. stands for Hackers On Planet Earth, one of the most creative and diverse hacker events in the world that's been happening since 1994.

We're planning three full days and nights of activities, including more of the provocative and enlightening speakers that the HOPE conferences are known for. In addition, we have access to a massive amount of space to put together all sorts of hacker projects and assorted fun stuff. In the past we've had huge hackerspace villages, film festivals, Segway rides, lockpicking villages, a wide variety of vendors, art installations, live radio, vintage computers, robots, ham radio installations, electronics workshops, book signings, and the country's biggest supply of Club-Mate.

Now imagine all of that happening right in the middle of New York City, across the street from Penn Station and down the block from the Empire State Building. It seems impossible, but with the hard work and dedication of our huge volunteer staff, we're able to pull it off. You can also become part of the magic, whether by attending or volunteering to help run the event with us. We also encourage attendees to submit ideas for talks or to suggest projects that we may not have ever thought of before.

We'll be adding more information to the various sections of this site as it develops. Please explore and spread the word!

Phi Beta Iota: The least expensive most versatile mind-expanding event in the English-speaking world.

Patrick Meier: Does the Humanitarian Industry Have a Future in The Digital Age?

Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Geospatial, Gift Intelligence, Government, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), International Aid, IO Impotency, Methods & Process, microfinancing, Mobile, Non-Governmental, Peace Intelligence, Threats
Patrick Meier

Does the Humanitarian Industry Have a Future in The Digital Age?

I recently had the distinct honor of being on the opening plenary of the 2012 Skoll World Forum in Oxford. The panel, “Innovation in Times of Flux: Opportunities on the Heels of Crisis” was moderated by Judith Rodin, CEO of the Rockefeller Foundation. I've spent the past six years creating linkages between the humanitarian space and technology community, so the conversations we began during the panel prompted me to think more deeply about innovation in the humanitarian space. Clearly, humanitarian crises have catalyzed a number of important innovations in recent years. At the same time, however, these crises extend the cracks that ultimately reveal the inadequacies of existing humanita-rian organizations, particularly those resistant to change; and “any organization that is not changing is a battle-field monument” (While 1992).

These cracks, or gaps, are increasingly filled by disaster-affected communities themselves thanks in part to the rapid commercialization of communication technology. Question is: will the multi-billion dollar humanitarian industry change rapidly enough to avoid being left in the dustbin of history?

Crises often reveal that “existing routines are inadequate or even counter-productive [since] response will necessarily operate beyond the boundary of planned and resourced capabilities” (Leonard and Howitt 2007). More formally, “the ‘symmetry-breaking' effects of disasters undermine linearly designed and centralized administrative activities” (Corbacioglu 2006). This may explain why “increasing attention is now paid to the capacity of disaster-affected communities to ‘bounce back' or to recover with little or no external assistance following a disaster” (Manyena 2006).

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David Isenberg: Revolution at State? Or Lipstick on the Pig?

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Earth Intelligence, Ethics, Future-Oriented, Government, InfoOps (IO), Intelligence (government), International Aid, Key Players, Methods & Process, Peace Intelligence, Policies, Strategy, Technologies, Threats
David Isenberg

Revolution @State: The Spread of Ediplomacy

Executive summary

The US State Department has become the world’s leading user of ediplomacy. Ediplomacy now employs over 150 full-time personnel working in 25 different ediplomacy nodes at Headquarters. More than 900 people use it at US missions abroad.

Ediplomacy is now used across eight different program areas at State: Knowledge Management, Public Diplomacy and Internet Freedom dominate in terms of staffing and resources. However, it is also being used for Information Management, Consular, Disaster Response, harnessing External Resources and Policy Planning.

In some areas ediplomacy is changing the way State does business. In Public Diplomacy, State now operates what is effectively a global media empire, reaching a larger direct audience than the paid circulation of the ten largest US dailies and employing an army of diplomat-journalists to feed its 600-plus platforms. In other areas, like Knowledge Management, ediplomacy is finding solutions to problems that have plagued foreign ministries for centuries.

The slow pace of adaptation to ediplomacy by many foreign ministries suggests there is a degree of uncertainty over what ediplomacy is all about, what it can do and how pervasive its influence is going to be. This report – the result of a four-month research project in Washington DC – should help provide those answers.

2012-04-03 Hanson_Revolution-at-State (PDF 34 pages)

Robert Steele

ROBERT STEELE:  Fergus Hanson of Australia has done a truly superb job of describing the considerable efforts within the Department of State to achieve some semblance of electronic coherence and capacity.  What he misses–and this does not reduce the value of his effort in the slightest–is the complete absence of strategy or substance within State, or legitimacy in the eyes of those being addressed.  If the Department of State were to demand the pre-approved Open Source Agency for the South-Central Campus, and get serious about being the lead agency for public intelligence in the public interest, ediplomacy could become something more than lipstick on the pig.   The money is available.  What is lacking right now is intelligence with integrity in support of global Whole of Government strategy, operations, tactics, and technical advancement (i.e. Open Source Everything).

See Also:

2012 THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth & Trust

2012 PREPRINT FOR COMMENT: The Craft of Intelligence

Open Source Agency: Executive Access Point

Preparing America's Foreign Policy for the Twenty-first Century

Review (Guest): No More Secrets – Open Source Information and the Reshaping of U.S. Intelligence

Review: No More Secrets – Open Source Information and the Reshaping of U.S. Intelligence

Robert Steele: Citizen in Search of Integrity (Full Text Online for Google Translate)

Robert Steele: Itemization of Information Pathologies

Yoda: Big Data Tough Love, Everyone Fails

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), Intelligence (government), IO Impotency, Key Players, Officers Call, Policies, Serious Games, Standards, Strategy, Threats
Got Crowd? BE the Force!

The Three Things You Need to Know About Big Data, Right Now

Patrick Tucker

World Future Society  March 11, 2012

Institute for Ethics & Emerging Technologies

Okay. You got me. I can’t really tell you everything you need to know about big data. The one thing I discovered last week – as I joined more than 2,500 data junkies from around the world for the O’Reilly Strata conference in rainy Santa Clara California—is that nobody can, not Google, not Intel, not even IBM. All I can guarantee you is that you’ll be hearing a lot more about it.

What is big data? Roughly defined, it refers to massive data sets that can be used to predict or model future events. That can include everything from the online purchase history of millions of Americans (to predict what they’re about to buy) to where people in San Francisco are most likely to jog (according to GPS) to Facebook posts and Twitter trends and 100 year storm records.

Phi Beta Iota:   Big data is most important for what it can tell you about true cost and whole system cause and effect, inclusive of political corruption and organizational fraud.  These are past and present issues, not future issues.  We design the future based on the integrity present today.  This is why “open everything” matters.

With that in mind, here’s the three most important things you need to know about big data right now:

Continue reading “Yoda: Big Data Tough Love, Everyone Fails”