Open Source Intelligence for National Security: The Art of the Possible

The war in Ukraine was a wake-up call for many in revealing the ability of non-state actors such as Bellingcat to glean immensely valuable security information from entirely open source data. This phenomenon is not new, but has been insufficiently explored. Many private sector firms are effectively leveraging the wealth of open source and commercially-available data to answer questions that have vast ramifications for national security. What is possible in this world of open source information, and how can governments - and specifically intelligence communities - leverage this new capability that resides outside of the government domain?
On November 2, 2022, the Intelligence Project hosted a session to hear from experienced private sector professionals from Altana AI, 3AI, C4ADS, Zero Trafficking, Public Democracy, and Faculty AI, each speaking to a national security-level issue they have addressed with the right open source or commercial data and the right analytical approach. The session was led by Belfer Fellow Kristin Wood, former CIA officer and current CEO of Grist Mill Exchange, and facilitated by Intelligence Project Manager Maria Robson-Morrow.
For more information: www.belfercenter.org/event/op...
Read about this event in the Harvard Crimson: www.thecrimson.com/article/20...
00:00:00 Paul Kolbe
00:03:05 Maria Robson Morrow
00:04:48 Kristin Wood
00:08:00 C4ADS Initiatives - Varun Vira, C4ADS
00:25:13 AI/ML Applications for Illicit Counter-Proliferation Procurement Networks - Amanda Young and Robb Dunlap, Altana AI
00:34:43 Geopolitical Evaluation Using Financial AI - Hassan Salamony, Jacob Ayres-Thomson, and Tim Wilsey, 3AI
00:49:30 Finding the Open Door: How Human Trafficking Network Discovery Supports Broad Counter Threat Network Collection - Samuel Curet, Zero Trafficking
01:05:58 Faculty AI: AI for Public Services - Tom Drew and Mike Speirs, Faculty AI
01:22:50 Outcompete and Serve to Identify and Beat Disinformation - Eric Sapp, Public Democracy
01:39:14 Kristin Wood
01:39:49 Paul Kolbe