How To Be a Spy From Your Couch
Did you know that it’s possible to live out your childhood dream of being a Hollywood-style intelligence expert from the comfort of your home, local library, or a coffee shop - without having to put your life on the line in a 007-style gunfight?
Open-source intelligence, colloquially known as OSINT, might sound complex and clandestine in nature - but it’s probably one of the easiest skills to learn, and you’ve probably used it before without even recognising it. Officially defined as “intelligence produced by collecting and analyzing public information with the purpose of answering a specific intelligence question”, a more SimpleNation-esque description of the skill would be “using readily-available resources online to find an answer to something - even if it isn’t immediately obvious.”.
You might be thinking “That’s easy - I use Google all the time!”. But OSINT can be a skill used by certified professionals - ranging from journalists to national security experts - deploying a whole toolbox of methodologies. Thankfully, however, you don’t need to work for the SIS or CIA to get involved.
Wind, weather, and a webcam feed from earlier this week is displayed for Kursk, where Ukrainian forces are currently operating inside Russia. Source: Windy.com
Since OSINT relies on readily-available tools, platforms like Google Earth and Twitter can, in certain contexts, become tools for gathering intelligence. Bellingcat, a leading investigations firm based in the Netherlands, has a wealth of case studies that include using tools like social media, satellite imagery, and declassified court documents to gather information on critical topics - up to and including the tracking of ingredients used to create an illegal chemical weapon. You can even use sites like Windy.com to track live weather updates and tap into street cameras around the world - legally.
When airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi rebels took place, I used OSINT techniques to get ahead of the news cycle and find out exactly where, when, and against which targets the US Air Force and British RAF had launched attacks. The file is available upon request*, and was created in less than an hour using only Twitter and a media bias checker to find out which information could be trusted - and which could not. I also used Google Earth in my Master’s degree dissertation - measuring the lengths of airport runways that were officially built for infrastructure investment, but I suspected were secretly built for the additional purpose of carrying out military exercises.
So, what separates OSINT from simply using Google, flight and maritime trackers, and social media?
On the surface, the use of open-source information may be the same, but the difference between information and intelligence comes from intent, and the proper cataloguing of data to fulfill that intent. The correct processing of information to answer questions like who, what, when, where, why, and how to provide a comprehensive response to an issue is what separates OSINT from simply using the search bar on Instagram. In other words, information is collected, intelligence is produced - thus making the information actionable.
Want to get started learning more about OSINT? The Basel Institute (EU-based) and Kapsuun Group (USA-based) provide excellent, interactive, and free-of-charge courses in OSINT that each take approximately two hours to complete and provide digital certificates. Their links, as well as a toolbox for OSINT-related search framework, are provided below.
OSINT Toolbox and OSINT Essentials
TAI Score: Degree 0. OSINT itself is not a threat to international security, is legal for private citizens to learn and use, and - if anything - can prevent conflict if used properly by the right sources.
*Please reach out to me at btait.simplenation@gmail.com for access to the file.
