Number: RL34270
Title: Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): Issues for Congress
Authors: Richard A. Best, Jr., and Alfred Cumming, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: Open source information (OSINT) is derived from newspapers, journals, radio and television, and the Internet. Intelligence analysts have long used such information to supplement classified data, but systematically collecting open source information has not been a priority of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). In recent years, given changes in the international environment, there have been calls, from Congress and the 9/11 Commission among others, for a more intense and focused investment in open source collection and analysis. However, some still emphasize that the primary business of intelligence continues to be obtaining and analyzing secrets.
Pages: 24
Date: January 28, 2008