engleski

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) : Issues and Trends

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is an intelligence product which has been processed, analysed and obtained from the publicly available information. It should be actionable and disseminated in a timely manner to the appropriate audience. Open source intelligence transfers specific knowledge to beneficiaries for them to use it in their actions and the decision-making process. Even though intelligence has for years been considered a state activity, a new postmodern intelligence paradigm (resulting from the post- Cold War period), along with the new security threats and technological improvement within the information and communication technology changed the understanding of intelligence and open source intelligence. It is believed that the bulk of intelligence, according to some estimates as much as 80 percent, comes from publicly available sources, which unquestionably indicates that this specific intelligence knowledge can be created outside of the traditional intelligence environment. The positive characteristics of publicly available information is easy availability and velocity, variety of topics, the ethical component and the low cost of its collecting ; while on the other hand, in the negative context, it is characterized by manipulative character, disinformation potential, fragmented truth, contradiction and mistrust. Since public domain is a suitable platform for spreading influence, various actors in this domain are trying to have an impact on the information, making it difficult to evaluate, compare and analyse. This paper tries to explore the key advantages and disadvantages of open source intelligence in the context of intelligence activities.

open source intelligence ; information ; intelligence ; knowledge ; disinformation

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