Creating an open source capability.

John Gannon, former chairman of the National Intelligence Council, provided a fitting analogy describing what the Intelligence Community (IC) faces today when he told a story of the time he was standing watch on a Navy ship and heard one officer ask another as he scanned the horizon, "My God, have you ever seen so much water?" And the second officer replied, "Yes, and we only see the top of it!" (1)

Wading through this sea of information, caused by the proliferation of material available through the Internet, and reducing it to information analysts need without overloading them with data is a significant challenge to intelligence organizations. While the amount of classified information is increasing in a near-linear trend, the web is exponentially bringing open source (OS) information out of the hardcopy world of newspapers, periodicals, and specialized databases directly to the desktops of today's analysts.

As this rapidly increasing amount of public information became available to analysts, most organizations simply viewed OS as another tool in the analyst's kit bag, and left it to the individual to research and incorporate OS information as they saw fit. This naturally led to varying degrees of success, as some analysts readily took to incorporating this new information into their products while others were reluctant to use anything that did not come through their classified message handling system.

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Introduction

The purpose of this article is to provide a roadmap for organizations considering establishing a formal OS capability to collect and process the information, beyond simply having individual analysts do their own research along with the rest of their duties. Developing this capability does not necessarily require creating a separate section, although that certainly helps; but it does require time and effort at the outset to make the program operational, and then less effort to monitor and maintain it.

The leadership at the U.S. European Command's (EUCOM) Joint Analysis Center (JAC) realized that the organization was not fully exploiting the vast amounts of publicly available information, and decided to create a section that would focus solely on finding OS information and pushing this information directly into the hands of the analysts. The section would also respond directly to the analyst's OS request for information (RFI), a capability that did not exist within the organization prior to the creation of the section and one that does not formally exist within the IC today.

An additional benefit of creating this section is that EUCOM routinely operates in a Coalition environment, and having a robust OS capability will greatly enhance the ability to share information with the various organizations, countries, and Coalitions that EUCOM works with. This is especially true for developing countries, which normally only operate with U.S. Forces on an ad hoc basis and with whom no formal intelligence sharing frameworks exist. OS material and unclassified information sharing systems are 'made to order' for information-sharing in a multinational-coalition environment.

Planning Considerations

Manning

How to man the section was the first decision that needed to be made, and the command decided to take a slightly different approach than others in the community. To ensure the section did more than just research the Internet and answer RFIs required experienced analysts who understood what their colleagues required and could proactively acquire this information and make it available to the analysts. This was not meant to be a slight to the research assistants and junior analysts who are often put in these positions, but it was felt that the more experienced analysts had a better understanding of the analytical requirements and would be able to focus their research on what was truly required and not what appeared interesting.

The decision was eventually made to select a senior analyst from each of three regional sections and one from the counterterrorism section. This way the OS section would mirror the rest of the analytical division, and each section would have a representative whom they knew well and had previously worked with to answer their questions. These analysts also work concurrently on longer term OS research projects in support of their home sections.

Requirements

Requirements drive all intelligence operations, and creating an OS capability should be no different. It was imperative to narrow down the requirements as much as possible early on, because one will quickly reach the point of information overload due to the vast amounts of information available. Once the program matures, the requirements can be expanded, but it is best to start with a narrow focus.

In addition to determining the requirements, it was important to identify what not to focus on. The decision was made up front that the section would not attempt to compete in the current intelligence environment. There are more than enough sources, classified and unclassified, currently available to analysts to satisfy their current intelligence requirements and updating the web sites would fully commit the section, with minimal time remaining to exploit new sources.

Current intelligence is important to commanders at all echelons, but more so at a tactical level and OS information might be one of the keys to satisfying this requirement. This is not to imply current intelligence is not an appropriate OS mission for all organizations, just that it is not a requirement for the JAC.

Dissemination

Identifying the method of dissemination that would reach the widest audience was the next step in the process. It is important to determine this prior to dedicating time actively searching for material. Posting products on a web site and making them available to all was quickly decided to be the most effective means of dissemination. Public folders and e-mail methods of dissemination were considered, but discounted. Public folders would only be of use to the organization and products delivered via e-mail would only benefit those on our distribution lists. Plus, both public folders and email have limited search capabilities, and do not provide the analyst with an effective search capability, which is critical to effectively utilize the collected information.

The web site where the products are posted must reside on the network which the analysts primarily use when working on their products. At the JAC, for example, the decision was made to post products to the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) and the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS) networks, and not to the unclassified network. The JWICS is the primary system used by JAC analysts, and the SIPRNET is the main system used by the majority of EUCOM consumers. Furthermore, there are a limited number of unclassified workstations available at the JAC. If OS products cannot literally be put at the analysts' fingertips, they will likely not be used.

Mirror web sites also exist on Coalition networks. As mentioned earlier, a side benefit of OS information is that it can readily be shared with Coalition partners with minimal foreign disclosure concerns. The creation of a coalition OS site may encourage other nations to post their products to the site as well; potentially greatly increasing the amount of OS material available to U.S. organizations.

A portal on the unclassified network facilitates the analyst's individual research of the web. The site is similar to the Department of the Army Intelligence Information Services (DA IIS) site, in that it lists approved resources, links, and references tailored to the EUCOM area of responsibility. This site enables the analysts to effectively search the Internet, while spending a minimum amount of time trying to find information or determine if a site is credible.

OSINT on SIPRNET

Once a decision is made on requirements and means of dissemination, it is time to begin searching for relevant information. Surprisingly, the first place to begin the search for OS information is not on the Internet or the Director of National Intelligence's Open Source Information System (OSIS), but on the classified networks. The SIPRNET, and to a lesser extent the JWICS, contains numerous links to OS resources.

The Army OS Portal could be the best place to start your search on the SIPRNET. It has an OS Products section and an Army OS Sites section. These sections will lead you to numerous finished products, and to sites where individual units host their own products. Ideally, one of the commands' sites will match your OS requirements, and this will save a lot of time and effort by not having to duplicate the work that others have already done. Also, by reviewing the other units' sites, you can see how other organizations approach OS and gain insight on what may work best for your organization.

The DA IIS is another site on the SIPRNET that should be looked at. This site also provides links to numerous OS products and units hosting OS pages. Additionally, DA IIS also has a companion page with links to hundreds of indexed web sites available through OSIS.

A Running Start on the World Wide Web

Once the search of the Internet finally begins, a common mistake is to think that fee-for-service sites are required, but in the majority of circumstances this is not the case. It will quickly become apparent there are more than enough free or already-paid-for sites available, and the purchase of information by individual units is not required. Of course, there are exceptions for access to unique services or databases, and it is up to the individual unit to determine if it wants to spend resources on these services.

A good first site at which to begin your search for OS content is the OSIS homepage. OSIS is a virtual private network managed by the Intelink Management Office which provides authorized users access to unclassified and For Official Use Only (FOUO) information from both the U.S. Government and commercial sources. If your unit does not already have access to the OSIS network, contact them at [e-mail]. gov, and they can assist you in gaining access. For operational security (OPSEC) reasons, the site is not accessible directly from the Internet and requires password authentication for access.

The OSIS Homepage provides links to unique government sites that are accessible only through the OSIS network, such as the World Basic Information Library (WBIL), which contains basic and background information on 140 countries, the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA) and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). The IC also provides authorized users free access through OSIS to premium content providers such as Jane's Electronic Library, Oxford Analytica, EBSCO Host, Economist Intelligence Unit, and other services that would be cost prohibitive for organizations if they had to pay for the content individually. The site also allows you to customize live feeds from numerous worldwide news services directly to your desktop and, in addition to the links, contains handbooks and reference materials on how to best exploit OS material. Furthermore, in an effort to enhance the user's OPSEC posture, OSIS also provides 'protected access' to the public Internet to allow OS research without divulging personal or organizational identities.

The Army Knowledge Online (AKO) Library Program site provides users another Internet tool with a wealth of information. By now, all Army soldiers are aware of AKO, but the fact that the library site exists, and what it contains, is not commonly known. Unlike OSIS, this site acts more as a gateway to informational type services that one would normally associate with that of a library, and is accessible directly from the Internet. AKO is not limited only to soldiers; non-Army government users and government contractors can also gain access to the site when sponsored by an Army user.

A separate article would be required to describe all of the products available at this site, but representative examples are Country Watch, which provides up-to-date political, economic, cultural, business and environmental information on 192 countries; and the Student Resource Center link, which provides access to the Worldmark Encyclopedias (providing world-wide coverage of geographic and cultural issues.) EBSCO Host is available on the AKO site, as well as on OSIS, providing access to thousands of journals which could contribute to more long-term intelligence issues.

One unique feature of the AKO library site is the "Ask a Librarian" link. If you experience difficulty trying to find a source or a specific piece of information, you can call on a professional research librarian for help. Simply type in your question, and you will normally receive a response within forty-eight hours. Regardless of where you are in the world at that moment, you will be able to receive assistance on whatever you are researching.

Other government library services are available beyond the AKO site. National agency libraries (Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, etc.) and the libraries of military colleges and universities (Combined Arms Research Library, Naval War College, etc.) provide searchable sites and content. If the product you require is not available via the Web, many of them will loan the document directly to your command library.

Neither AKO nor OSIS are all-encompassing sites that will satisfy all requirements, but these sites need to be fully researched and exploited before any consideration is made to purchase content. While many premium content providers produce original content, the majority repackage much of the information that is already available from these two sites.

Beyond OSIS and AKO, the Internet provides a seemingly limitless amount of information that can support your mission. Once the search of the remainder of the Web begins, it is important to ensure that only quality sites are used. Reading Untangling the Web, available on the OSIS homepage, is recommended prior to searching in order to learn the best techniques to utilize the Web and to understand the potential pitfalls as well. There are numerous sites that look and feel like authoritative web sites, but are factually incorrect or biased towards a certain viewpoint that an unsuspecting analyst may not realize.

Beyond the World Wide Web

It could be a mistake to overlook the traditional brick-and-mortar library as a source for OS information. The quality and quantity of material will vary from location to location, but most libraries have access to inter-library loan programs, providing access to more resources than are available at your local branch as mentioned earlier.

Depending on your location and budget, private organizations and universities can provide another source for information, and these institutions are also rich in subject matter experts in their respective fields. The JAC has unique access to some world-renowned organizations, such as the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the London School of Economics, which frequently conduct seminars on topics of direct interest to EUCOM. Our analysts have the opportunity to attend these lectures and hear directly from world leaders and experts. If budget constraints or distance do not allow direct participation, many of these organizations provide e-memberships, at a much-reduced cost compared to full memberships, which may meet your needs.

Conclusion

There are certainly more open sources of information available to the IC today than there have ever been before, and the IC needs to be at the forefront in exploiting these sources to provide its consumers with greater clarity and depth of analysis. The challenge for anyone standing up a formal OS capability is to clearly define the mission requirements and then finding the sources to satisfy the requirements. A well-thought out plan from the outset is essential to assist in navigating the vast amounts of information available, and saving the one resource you can never have enough of--your limited time.

Endnotes

(1.) John C. Gannon, "Strategic Use of Open Source Information," Vital Speeches of the Day 67, Issue 5 (12 December 2000): 153.

Lieutenant Colonel Joel Jeffson is currently the Chief of the Open Source Section at the EUCOM JAC at RAF Molesworth, UK, where he was also the Chief of the Middle East/North Africa Section and Chief of the Strategic Estimates Section. He deployed in support of Qperations IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM as the EUCOM J2 LNO to the CFLCC C2 and to Afghanistan as the CJSOTF J5 Intelligence Plans Officer. Previous assignments include ACE Chief and $3 in the 297th MI Battalion, 513th MI Brigade, Fort Gordon, Georgia; $2, 3/327th Infantry Battalion, $2, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AASLT), and Commander. A Company 311th MI Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Lieutenant Colonel Jeffson was commissioned through the U.S. Army ROTC and received a BS in History from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He also has an MA in Strategic Intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College and an MA in Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.