A New Intelligence Community: How Crowdsourcing Information Analysis Challenges Professional Intelligence Agencies in the 21st Century
(Room JW Grand Ballroom 2)
07 Jul 18
4:30 PM
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5:45 PM
The gathering and analysis of intelligence is no longer the sole realm of the CIA, NSA, and other government agencies. This presentation provides insight into the fascinating world of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and how it plays an increasingly important role in the analysis of international geopolitics. The advent of smart phones and social media has turned average citizens around the world into potential vital intelligence sources, which can be vetted, monitored, and analyzed with accuracy rivaling that of professional intelligence agencies. One person with nothing more than a camera phone and a Twitter account in the right place at the right time can provide more accurate real-time information on a breaking news event than even the most reputable media corporation. One person on the opposite side of the planet with a laptop computer monitoring that Twitter account can verify the accuracy of those reports and make that information available to the entire world, often beating major news agencies by several minutes or more. Eric Wasson, a data analyst for a private intelligence organization, delves into the history and current state of OSINT, its benefits and pitfalls, its possibilities for expansion in the 21st century, and how audience members can get involved.