<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
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Friday, December 03, 2004  

Some Secrets Are In Plain Sight
http://ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1097814155.php

A new focus on "Open Source Intelligence," or OSINT in the military and intelligence worlds, is bringing to light the plethora of information available freely to anyone with the time and know-how to dig for it. With just a brief mention in its 567-page report, the 9/11 Commission floated the idea of creating a new open source government intelligence agency -- giving credence to the idea that intelligence gathering doesn't exclusively rely on hidden sources and classified documents. OSINT is intelligence gained from open -- unrestricted, non-secret -- sources, and it's one of the key forms of intelligence, alongside human-source intelligence (HUMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), among others. It is openly available intelligence, and its sources include all manners of journalism, whether broadcast, printed or blogged. The whole idea of OSINT is anathema to some in the intelligence community, which lives and breathes secrecy. But knowledgeable observers suggest that as much as 80% of the intelligence required to support informed policy-making is available via open-source channels -- and that the habits of secrecy, bureaucracy and "stove-piping" are all that stand between us and greater access to those sources.

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:00 AM
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