Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is any unclassified information, in any medium, that is generally available to the public, even if its distribution is limited or only available upon payment.
When undertaking online research and then submitting intelligence reports from that OSINT research, there are a few things to consider adding to your report which may assist those working with your material to help them evaluate & grade it appropriately;
- Is the website the information was located on an authoritative source or not - Who is the registered owner of the website - When does the information date from and try to trace the information back as far as you can - Is it possible to Parallel Source any information collected - Is it possible to identify the IP Addresses linked to any Social Media account or online comments of interest - Is the information believed to be genuine or not, could it be misinformation or a joke (don't just take comments at
face value)
When dealing with OSINT then it should be analysed & treated like any other Intelligence. The following links may help in undertaking your research and analysing your findings, which are shown in date order, with oldest first;
- The Trading Standards Intelligence Operating Model, which was produced in 2013 by the National Trading
Standards Board and introduced a National Intelligence Framework to support the work of Trading Standards
Officers
- The 2013 / 2014 Annual Report from the Chief Surveillance Commissioner, including on the use of online social
media sites (page 20) by law enforcement in the UK
- The
2017,
2018,
2019,
2020 &
2021
Annual Reports from the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, which includes
reports on the use of social media sites and online research in investigations, by law enforcement in the UK