Academia and Open Source Intelligence

In this complex international climate, it is more important than ever that the intelligence community be provided with the detailed, accurate information required to make informed decisions. However, as has been demonstrated time and again in recent years, a knowledge vacuum continues to exist within the intelligence community.

In order to help fill this void, the intelligence community must increase its reliance on area and topic specialists from outside, who possess the depth of knowledge required to provide a realistic intelligence assessment. But closing the knowledge gap cannot simply be accomplished by summoning the expertise of individual specialists. No matter how much money a state is willing to invest in its intelligence services, it would be impossible to employ enough specialists to cover all necessary topics. Also, specialists often do not have a broad expertise within their area of speciality. As a result, for example, a Middle East specialist may lack knowledge on the cultural norms, traditions or languages of a given sub-group or groups within the region.

In order to find such specific information, intelligence services will increasingly have to rely on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) that is freely available. But where could one find reliable information on narrowly defined topics, such as tribal configurations in West Africa or the dangers of nanoparticles to our environment?

The answer lies with academia, a community that produces a broad array of specialized knowledge and sits at the forefront of research and development. Thousands of research papers are written every year by the scholarly community. Many are innovative, covering highly specialized or technical topics. Universities are overflowing with specialists anxious to have their research recognized outside the confines of the academic community. However, many academic publications are only read by a few other specialists, if at all, before they disappear into the vaults of university libraries. Information that could prove valuable to the intelligence community is undoubtedly lying undiscovered in such nondescript locations.

In addition to the specialized knowledge it provides, academia contains a large pool of highly proficient researchers who can contribute to the collection and analysis efforts of OSINT. The time contribution of researchers will prove increasingly important, as the volume of relevant and freely available data to be complied also increases.

While scholars and staff might not have the time to significantly contribute to the collection and analysis efforts of OSINT, their students (especially the more advanced ones) possess the skills to deliver quality research without demanding a scholar’s wage. However, this solution remains controversial because it challenges the belief that quality research can only be delivered by those holding an advanced degree.

The value of academia as an external source of expertise is gaining greater attention from the US intelligence community. In its recently released Vision 2015 Paper, the US intelligence community mentions academia as a potential partner for its collaboration efforts, and on 16 July 2008, US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Michael McConnell signed the Intelligence Community Directive 205, which “establishes overarching doctrine and policy” for the DNI and the American intelligence community and calls for outreach to experts to “support, improve and enrich analysis”. It states that analysts require a network of experts from external sources in academia, think tanks and business to deliver sound analyses of relevant issues.

Meanwhile some academic institutions have already demonstrated their ability to collect, analyze and effectively present OSINT products to potential customers. Students from the Mercyhurst College for Intelligence Studies won a challenge by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to harness open source information to address real intelligence challenges, beating out private intelligence outfits in the process. These encouraging developments are only the first signs of an emerging collaboration between intelligence and academia.

However, some technical and cultural differences between academia and the intelligence community could hinder progress. One of the stumbling blocks could be reluctance on the part of academia to associate itself with the community, as many students and academics still view the work of intelligence services with suspicion. Meanwhile, the intelligence community would have to modify its culture of intense secrecy to incorporate policies that allow external actors to contribute to the collection and analysis process. Problems such as these will have to be overcome in order to make collaboration between the two communities possible.