Methodologies for Retrieving and Processing Information from Open Sources (OSINT)
Călin Ioan Julan, Mihai Togan · Journal of Military Technology · 2023
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is the collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (covert and publicly available sources) to produce actionable intelligence.OSINT is primarily used in national security, law enforcement and business intelligence functions and is of value to analysts who use non-sensitive intelligence in answering classified, unclassified, or proprietary intelligence requirements across the previous intelligence disciplines [1].A main hindrance to practical OSINT is the volume of information it has to deal with ("information explosion").The amount of data being distributed increases at such a rate that it becomes difficult to evaluate sources in intelligence analysis.To a small degree, the work has sometimes been done by amateur crowdsourcing [2].In this article, we will present the results obtained from running various open-source intelligence, gathering custom-made applications developed using C# as primary language and React/JavaScript.At the business logic layer, an artificial intelligence algorithm is presented that is able to classify and extract relevant information from all open-source links presented by the Data Access layer.Further, relational and nonrelational databases are used to store data and ensure its persistence for future queries.Accredited journalists have some protection when asking questions and researching for recognized media outlets.Even so, they can be imprisoned, even executed, for seeking out OSINT.Private individuals illegally collecting data for a foreign military or intelligence agency is considered espionage in most countries.Of course, espionage that is not treason (i.e.betraying one's country of citizenship) has been a tool of statecraft since ancient times [3].As a result, the modern technologies used in the development of the applications, the innovative character of the artificial intelligence algorithms and the feasibility/scalability of the proposed solution will, for sure, grant a new view of the OSINT domain and contribute to its importance.