ADRIENNE YOUNG
On February 1st, 2024, the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government hosted a conversation about open-source intelligence – a topic that continues to gain increasing relevance. This discussion featured panelists who have garnered decades of experience with open-source intelligence. Deborah Wituski, current Vice-President and Head of Global Engagement for Google, both led and assisted in constructing Google’s Global Intelligence effort. Ms. Wituski served for 20 years with the Central Intelligence Agency and worked as Chief of Staff to both its Director and Deputy Director. Kristen Wood, likewise, has held multiple leadership positions within firms focused on open-source analysis and served for 20 years with the CIA. Ms. Woods is the CEO and founder of August Interactive, a deep tech start-up gaming studio that provides fully immersive, personalized experiences. David Priess, moderator of the discussion. is Director of Intelligence at Bedrock Learning, an enterprise software solution company. Mr. Priess is a former CIA analyst, a Senior Fellow at The Hayden Center, and the author of Book of Secrets, a historical exploration of Presidential Daily Intelligence Briefings.
The evening began with opening remarks from Mark Rozell, Dean of the Schar School. Dean Rozell expressed his sincere affinity for the non-partisan, non-ideological, high-quality program put on by the Hayden Center. Dean Rozell then introduced the Director of the Hayden Center, Larry Pfeiffer, whose 32-year career with the CIA included posts as the Senior Director of the White House Situation Room and Chief of Staff to the CIA Director. Mr. Pfeiffer reiterated collective appreciation for the founder of the Hayden Center, General Hayden, who was present in the audience and those attending the event.
Mr. Pfeiffer prefaced introductions by describing open-source intelligence as “intelligence derived from publicly available information.” From this, Mr. Priess asked the panelists what the Open-source domain does or does not include. Ms. Wituski explained that a query of Google’s search engine to identify trending questions relating to open-source intelligence revealed that the most common inquiry was definitional. “They just want to know what it is; they want to know how to define it,” explained Ms. Wituski. Continuing, she noted that OSINT’s capacity means different things to different people.
Open-source intelligence, a.k.a OSINT, utilizes publicly accessible resources such as newspapers, magazines, databases, social media sites, academic sites, non-profits, and metadata to glean information. The game changer with OSINT resides within the capabilities of its collocational constructs, which enable multilateral assimilation of relevancies across infinite digital platforms. These frameworks can organize the collected data into information that can be used or acted upon – in other words, OSINT can deliver “actionable intelligence” instantaneously.
From narrow parameters to universal expansion, Ms. Wituski noted that early in her career as a military analyst of Iraqi Leadership, the question was, “Is there a drumbeat of the street that we can understand through open source?” Fast forwarding, she described that transitioning from a classified environment to Google meant knowing how to leverage the power available within the open-source space. Ms. Woods offered her “cheat code” definition for OSINT, being “not collected by government – period.” Expanding on her perspective, Ms. Woods noted, “The world of open source has gone from being very tactical… to now being the powerhouse that drives the global economy and war.” Ms. Woods discussed the difference in informational volume from when the national security community was founded in 1947 vs. today. She noted that early on, intelligence institutions were built around secrecy and classified information and that intelligence was a very special, exquisite collection of data that only the government could do, and that was all that was available at the time. However, today, there has been a paradigm shift with so much technology-driven information readily available. Ms. Woods noted, “Its tremendous value and power should be harnessed now, more than ever, so that government can benefit from it, as well.” Continuing with her comparison, she noted how early in her career, she could finish reading all the data available on a topic on any given day; however, today, with OSINT, a too vast amount of valuable data is available on any given topic every day.
As the conversation continued, Mr. Priess inquired about best practices within the private sector. Ms. Wituski articulated, “We really focus on the intel question.” Considering the numerous, divergent trajectories OSINT tools provide, she encourages her team at Google to consistently remind themselves of Google’s “So what,” meaning – “why does this matter to us… because we cannot just chase the headlines… once you know why it matters it helps you know what you are looking for.” The tradecraft aspect of OSINT is then considered as being relatively undefinable while simultaneously being perfected by private sector groups demonstrating extraordinary levels of skill – such as having the capacity to operate across languages in real-time without the constraints that might inhibit larger institutions from implementing strategies dynamically. These beneficial attributes could be advantageously integrated into government agencies, supporting military objectives. How does the human design fit into this? Ms. Wituski emphasized the ongoing need for creative, critical thinkers to tell a data-driven story, especially one that will resonate with engineers and tech specialists who award more credence to data than human sources. Ms. Wood, building on Ms. Wituski’s advice, named creativity and imagination as requisite qualities. While there is always a need for evidence-based, sequential story building around data and large language models, organizing principles will continue to play a crucial role.
Delving deeper, Mr. Priess asked Ms. Woods, “What makes the digital world different or more useful?” Ms. Wood answered, “Less reality,” elaborating further that “we are moving now into augmented reality and virtual reality and extended reality where you have companies creating metaverses,” or fusion worlds where people operate simultaneously in all of them. Continuing, she discussed how for many a part of the digital-native generations, “the relationships they experience in these virtual worlds are more important than the ‘real world’ to them.” While government operates in the “real world,” you have these vitally important open spaces in these fusion worlds where anything can happen. Continuing, she discussed how the games, social media, and online communities for the digital-native generation have created wildly close relationships between individuals who may never meet, how it is changing economics, and how one of the largest companies exists in this digital space. Reflecting on how this affects national security, she noted, “As a government, as a national security community, we have to think about this paradigm and how it changes things; this is why I do not think it is just about open source anymore.”
As public access to data increases, the OSINT industry expands. It is now common for public-sector companies to establish in-house OSINT teams and hire readily available firms specializing in OSINT to supplement decision-making within every realm of business, society, and government. The OSINT Framework is one example of an OSINT toolkit – a repository of sites and engines that can assist in OSINT intelligence gathering. Google Dorks, or Dorking, is an OSINT method that uses advanced Google search queries to collect data. Babel-X is an international search engine that uses AI to track down multilinguistic intelligence. Shodan and Metasploit are testing tools that locate system vulnerabilities, bringing cybersecurity to the forefront more than ever before.
With civilization poised between worlds, weighing today’s choices against immeasurably vast future implications, a cogently human narrative was put forth in conclusion. Mr. Priess asked for advice from the panelists for students relating to “what is it to learn and operate in this open-source heavy world that people should be doing, should be reading, should be aware of?” Ms. Wituski emphasized that “all of you need to take a stats class – please do that; I promise that it will serve you well, and to be intellectually curious about topics that you otherwise would not intuitively choose or think about, things that are maybe one step removed from your area of interest.” For example, maybe you are a country expert or a regional expert; she suggested thinking about the supply chain (and how) they are interconnected. Continuing, she suggested considering “those experiences as adjacent because there is going to be a technical tail.” Economic security and national security are integrated, and understanding the business and technical pieces that drive our national security will be vitally important for the next generation of intel analysts.” Ms. Woods noted, “It’s the power of relationships,” all relationships – those with professors, friends, and the people that weave in and out of our lives.”
Adrienne Young is a student at George Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government, earning her Masters in the Global Commerce and Policy Program with an International Trade and Finance Concentration. In addition to academic pursuits, she works as a teacher and a freelance writer.