In a move analysts say will make data more accessible to investigators and empower the intelligence community to stay ahead of threats, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA released the Intelligence Community Open Source Intelligence Strategy for 2024-2026.
“In the past when it came to open source data, each agency collected or purchased data independently from one another to service their own unique mission,” said KC Wilberg, vice president of intelligence community for Acuity, Inc. “The new strategy establishes a framework to track data in a centralized, multi-domain data catalog, making it accessible to all participating agencies.”
Wilberg said this will give each agency access to a larger pool of data to aid in investigations, make predictions, inform policy and achieve their missions. And the data each agency collects will become more valuable because it will be useful to more people in more ways, he added.
OSINT is “intelligence derived exclusively from publicly or commercially available information that addresses specific intelligence priorities, requirements, or gaps,” according to a statement from the Director of National Intelligence, and is vital to the IC’s mission as the open source ecosystem expands and evolves.
The strategy outlines how agencies will coordinate open source data acquisition and expand sharing; establishes integrated open source collection management; provides a framework for driving OSINT innovation to deliver new capabilities; and offers a plan to develop the next-generation OSINT workforce.
Overall, the strategy aims to modernize and optimize open source intelligence practices, Wilberg said, and could dramatically scale technology adoption. That includes testing new capabilities on unclassified systems and partnering with industry and academia for OSINT tools, he said.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said the strategy “represents the beginning of a long-term process that will professionalize the OSINT discipline, transform intelligence analysis and production, and create new avenues for partnering with brilliant American innovators and like-minded foreign partners.”
CIA Director William J. Burns said “an IC-wide OSINT strategy is key to helping the IC move forward in a coordinated and determined way.”
The full IC OSINT Strategy is available here.