Page 14 - WBG August 2024

OSINT and AI:
FEATURE Possibilities and Drawbacks

by ISTVÁN ÜVEGES

Open-Source Intelligence
(OSINT) is an intelligence
method that involves
collecting, evaluating,
and analyzing publicly
available data to answer
a specific intelligence
question. Although
intelligence agencies were
already involved in this
kind of activity in the last
century, the emergence of
Artificial Intelligence has
also transformed this field
significantly in recent times.
In this paper, we look at
what exactly Open-Source
Intelligence is, what
methods it uses, how
it exploits AI-based
technologies, and what
questions it is best suited
to answer.

The (very) short history of OSINT [1] the predecessor of the CIA in the United States, also employed an
Surprisingly, the roots of OSINT go back centuries, long before the entire branch specifically dedicated to Open-Source Intelligence
age of the internet. One of the earliest examples of OSINT dates during the Second World War. This sector collects and monitors
to the 19th century, when both the Union and Confederacy used newspapers, magazines, and radio broadcasts around the
newspapers and other public documents to gather information world, looking for photos and articles that could give it important
on enemy troop movements, supply lines, and morale during the intelligence information.
American Civil War. This information was vital in planning military
strategies and anticipating enemy actions. After its initial success, OSINT lost its importance until the
21st century, seemingly taking a back seat to other methods. For
In the 20th century, during the Second World War, the establishment a while, this was not even changed by the advent of the internet,
of the BBC Monitoring Service was a major milestone in the history which gave analysts access to a flow of information from all
of OSINT. This service monitored and analyzed enemy radio over the world.
transmissions, providing valuable intelligence information to the
British government. OSINT clearly went beyond the mere collection Nowadays, social media, online publications, and databases
of documents and press products during this period, including provide real-time information that can also be a key element in
the monitoring of radio transmissions and other channels of information analysis. This potential was demonstrated first by the
communication. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), considered events of the 2009 Green Revolution in Iran. Then, in protest of
12 W.A.D Beyond Global