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OSINT Blog
AI for the IC: Why the Intelligence Community is Turning to Automation to Navigate Modern Data Challenges
The Intelligence Community (IC) has been contending with the growth of publicly available data for decades. However, it has recently embraced more advanced technology—specifically artificial intelligence—to effectively manage this volume of data. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) recently outlined its "Vision for the IC…
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How New National Intelligence Standards Can Professionalize OSINT for the Whole Community
The release of the updated Intelligence Community Standard 206-01 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) earlier this week marks a significant milestone in the standardization of open-source intelligence (OSINT) across the Intelligence Community (IC). These new standards set the stage for greater transparency, accountability, and…
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Actioning Publicly Available Information: The Top 5 Obstacles Facing The Intelligence Community
For intelligence professionals, incorporating publicly available data and information into their analysis is vital. The modern operating environment is awash in digital content from a wide array of sources, ranging from freely available information on social media platforms, blogs, and news articles to commercially available data requiring specialized…
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The Top 3 Takeaways from SOF Week: Partnerships, Integration, and Innovation
SOF Week, the annual conference for the international special operations forces (SOF) community, just wrapped up its 2024 session. The Skopenow team was able to attend and connect with high-level public-sector threat assessment and digital research professionals. However, those who couldn’t attend might be interested in seeing what they missed. SOF…
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Auto Insurance Fraud Schemes & How to Combat Them with Automated OSINT Solutions
There are many types of auto insurance fraud schemes, ranging from simple exaggerations to elaborate conspiracies. To rise to this challenge and effectively combat auto insurance fraud, insurance carriers should leverage the power of automated Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) solutions. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the most common auto…
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A History of OSINT: From Informing Spies to Detecting Lies
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) has a long and storied history. From early forms of espionage to modern-day social media investigations, OSINT has played a crucial role in the way organizations gather information to meet certain objectives.
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Fighting Fraud in the Public Sector
Fraud is an increasing and ever-present challenge to investigators, currently estimated to cost the global economy $5.127 trillion USD each year. Fraud comes in many forms, impacting insurance companies, consumers, corporations, and governments. In 2021, the FTC received 2.8 million fraud reports from consumers, amounting to more than $5.8 billion.
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The Intelligence Cycle: Generating OSINT from OSINF
The Intelligence Cycle is a structured process that outlines the steps involved in producing intelligence. Intelligence, most simply defined as information with added value, is the output of the intelligence cycle, where raw data and information flow into the process and emerge with value for the organization.
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From The Age of Information to The Age of Intelligence
We live in a world where information is everywhere but rarely exploited to its full potential. The distinction between information and intelligence has long been established in specialist sectors. But in the broader world, and even within these sectors, the terms are often used interchangeably. As a result, vast amounts of valuable information are…
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OSINT is the New Black Ops: Intelligence in a “Post-Truth” Information Age
Post-truth information inhabits the grey space between fact and fiction. It is where slippage between truth, “alt-facts”, opinions, and beliefs creates a treacherous informational landscape, and objective truth remains evasive. Such an environment spells trouble for any industry that depends on granular coverage of objective facts to make informed…
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