Our apologies for the gap in monthly Blog Posts, but as you all know we are intensively involved in both training and obviously with the current situation in Ukraine. Monitoring the ongoing war as well as my involvement as an Analyst for Private Investigation and Advance Planning for Executive Protection brings us to the topic of forms of Open Source Intelligence gathering and analysis. We’ll keep this brief but give you some tips to implement for your own purposes apart from actively monitoring the war.
HUMINT- Human Intelligence sources, pretty straightforward, but this is the raw source information provided by people on site and directly involved in whatever situation is at hand. It may be verbally conveyed, in the form of photos, video, audio, written statements or messages or otherwise. Vetting this information is EXTREMELY important for verification and utilizing in analytical compilation and building the data to comprehensively deem it as intel. This is the most common form of information/ intelligence gathering even today though is certainly in tandem with technological advantages and developments that can be implemented.
OSINT- Open Source Intelligence, this means openly obtainable information in a variety of forms, be it an address and maps, official information regarding flight plans or shipping routes, unsealed criminal records, unclassified federal reports, open frequency radio communications intercepts, and so on. This information is used in tandem with other sources and types to compile data or a dossier relegating intelligence.
SPINT/ SINT/ IMINT/ GEOINT- Imagery/ Geospatial and Spatial Intelligence refers to further (generally) visual information gathered and assessed for data and utilization in Intelligence Operations. This could be Satellite imagery, other photo evidence, topographical and terrain mapping and geolocation, as well as other converted digital mediums.
SIGINT- Signals Intelligence, much more refined regarding Communications intercepts and digital intercepts of information. Utilized by the Military and Intelligence Agencies regularly to intercept data streams and infiltrate encrypted radio frequencies among others. This is also the oldest form of information collection next to HUMINT.
MASINT- Measurement and Signatures Intelligence, this is the most advanced, utilizing sciences and mathematics to decipher and further structure information into data that can be used for the applicable situation. An example of this would be doing triangulation mathematics along with other intelligence gathering forms’ data to determine where an aircraft was shot down in civilian airspace.
Stay Adaptive, and Stay Lethal. About the Author: D.J. “The Metalhead Mercenary” is a US Army Veteran, Security Contractor for Private Clients and formerly the Federal Government, Analyst and Physical Security Consultant, and Tactical Instructor with GFS. He has over 20 years of combined experience and still currently works in the various industries.
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