Open-source Intelligence - Definers For OSINT

Definers For OSINT

OSINT is defined by both the U.S. Director of National Intelligence and the U.S. 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."

OSINT is, as of 2005, defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget under the category of "Forces And Direct Support" and specifically for the DoD under Commercial Code M320 as

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) collection/processing

A wide variety of vendors sell information products specifically within this category.

Open-source intelligence under one name or another has been around for hundreds of years. The significance today of OSINT in the USA is the conflict between military, government, and the private sector as to how the bulk of intelligence should be obtained. With the Internet, instant communications, and advanced media search the bulk of actionable and predictive intelligence can be obtained from public, unclassified sources. Government agencies have been slow to embrace OSINT, or believe they already have suitable information feeds from the media, academia and public records.

OSINT is especially helpful in addressing global coverage, a term encompassing all of the countries and topics that are not considered by the secret or national security worlds to be "vital."