Open Source Intelligence Investigation: From Strategy to Implementation

302 Pages·2016·5.78 MB·English

by  Babak Akhgar

Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications
Babak Akhgar
P. Saskia Bayerl
Fraser Sampson Editors
Open Source
Intelligence
Investigation
From Strategy to Implementation
Advanced Sciences and Technologies
for Security Applications
Series editor
Anthony J. Masys, Centre for Security Science, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Advisory Board
Gisela Bichler, California State University, San Bernardino, CA, USA
Thirimachos Bourlai, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources,
Morgantown, WV, USA
Chris Johnson, University of Glasgow, UK
Panagiotis Karampelas, Hellenic Air Force Academy, Attica, Greece
Christian Leuprecht, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON, Canada
Edward C. Morse, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
David Skillicorn, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Yoshiki Yamagata, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan
The series Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications
comprises interdisciplinary research covering the theory, foundations and
domain-specific topics pertaining to security. Publications within the series are
peer-reviewed monographs and edited works in the areas of:
– biological and chemical threat recognition and detection (e.g., biosensors,
aerosols, forensics)
– crisis and disaster management
– terrorism
– cyber security and secure information systems (e.g., encryption, optical and
photonic systems)
– traditional and non-traditional security
– energy, food and resource security
– economic security and securitization (including associated infrastructures)
– transnational crime
– human security and health security
– social, political and psychological aspects of security
– recognition and identification (e.g., optical imaging, biometrics, authentication
and verification)
– smart surveillance systems
– applications of theoretical frameworks and methodologies (e.g., grounded
theory, complexity, network sciences, modelling and simulation)
Together, the high-quality contributions to this series provide a cross-disciplinary
overview offorefront research endeavours aiming to make theworld a safer place.
The editors encourage prospective authors to correspond with them in advance of
submitting a manuscript. Submission of manuscripts should be made to the
Editor-in-Chief or one of the Editors.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5540
Babak Akhgar P. Saskia Bayerl
(cid:129)
Fraser Sampson
Editors
Open Source Intelligence
Investigation
From Strategy to Implementation
123
Editors
Babak Akhgar FraserSampson
Schoolof Computing andManagement Officeof the Police andCrime
Sciences Commissionerfor West Yorkshire
Sheffield Hallam University Wakefield
Sheffield UK
UK
P. SaskiaBayerl
Rotterdam Schoolof Management
ErasmusUniversity
Rotterdam
TheNetherlands
ISSN 1613-5113 ISSN 2363-9466 (electronic)
AdvancedSciences andTechnologiesfor Security Applications
ISBN978-3-319-47670-4 ISBN978-3-319-47671-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47671-1
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016955064
©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2016
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor
foranyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.
Printedonacid-freepaper
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature
TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
Preface
It is our great privilege to welcome you to our book Open Source Intelligence—
From Strategy to Implementation. In this collection, we offer an authoritative and
accessible guide on how to conduct open-source intelligence (OSINT) investiga-
tions from data collection to analysis to the design and vetting of OSINT tools. It
further highlights the broad range of challenges and complexities faced by law
enforcement and other security agencies utilizing OSINT to increase our commu-
nities’ security as well as to combat terrorism and organized crime.
Oneofthemostimportantaspectsforasuccessfulpoliceoperationistheability
for the police to obtain timely, reliable, and actionable intelligence related to the
investigation or incident at hand. OSINT provides an invaluable avenue to access
and collect such information in addition to traditional investigative techniques and
information sources. Examples of OSINT covered in this volume range from
information posted on social media as one of the most openly available means of
accessingandgatheringopen-sourceintelligencetolocationdata,OSINTobtained
from the darkweb to combinations of OSINT with real-time analytical capabilities
and closed sources. And while OSINT by its nature is not generally gathered as
‘evidence’,itcanbepowerfulwhendeployedinproceedingsagainstcriminals.The
book therefore concludes with some consideration of the legal and procedural
issues that will need to be addressed if OSINT is to be used in this way.
Thisbookthusprovidesreaderswithanin-depthunderstandingtoOSINTfrom
a theoretical, practical, and legal perspective. It describes strategies for the design
and deployment of OSINT for LEAs as well as other entities needing to capitalize
onopen-sourcedata.Thebookoffersawiderangeofcaseexamplesandapplication
scenarios from LEAs to defense and security agencies to industry, as well as
hands-onguidanceontheOSINTinvestigationprocess.Thebookoutlinesmethods
andillustratesbenefitsandchallengesusingreal-lifecasesand(best)practicesused
by LEAs, security agencies, as well as industry. Another important aspect is the
inclusion of legal and ethical considerations in the planning and conducting of
OSINT investigations.
Wewouldliketotaketheopportunitytorecognizetheworkofourcontributors
toallowustodrawupontheirexpertiseforthisbook—aprocessthathasenabledus
v
vi Preface
to highlight many of the important aspects of OSINT-related needs and require-
ments of LEAs and other security actors within its chapters. This interdisciplinary
approach has helped us to bring together a wide range of domain knowledge from
lawenforcement,academiaandindustry topresentourreaders with anoperational
focusedaspectofOSINT-basedinvestigationsandrelatedstrategicnarratives from
planning to deployment. We hope that this book will serve as a compendium for
practitioners, academics, teachers, and students for state-of-the art knowledge
ranging from conceptual considerations to hands-on practical information to legal
and ethical guidance.
Sheffield, UK Babak Akhgar
Rotterdam, The Netherlands P. Saskia Bayerl
Wakefield, UK Fraser Sampson
Acknowledgements
The editors wish to thank the multidisciplinary team of experts who have con-
tributed tothisbook,sharingtheirknowledge,experience, and latest research. Our
gratitude is also extended to the following organizations and projects:
– CENTRIC (Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and
Organised Crime Research), UK
– Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherland
– InformationTechnologiesInstitute,CentreforResearchandTechnologyHellas
(CERTH-ITI), Thessaloniki, Greece
– National University of Public Service, Budapest, Hungary
– National Academy of Sciences, Institute for Computer Science and Control,
Hungary
– Hungarian Competition Authority
– Police Services of Northern Ireland
– Home Office CAST, UK
– Serco Plc.
– EU-FP7 Project ATHENA (313220)
– EU-H2020 Project TENSOR (700024)
– EU-FP7 Project HOMER (312388)
– DG Home Project UNIFC2 (HOME/2013/ISEC/AG/INT/4000005215)
vii
Contents
Part I Introduction
1 OSINT as an Integral Part of the National Security Apparatus ..... 3
Babak Akhgar
2 Open Source Intelligence and the Protection
of National Security. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 11
Andrew Staniforth
3 Police Use of Open Source Intelligence: The Longer
Arm of Law... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 21
Andrew Staniforth
4 OSINT as Part of the Strategic National Security Landscape . .... 33
Laurence Marzell
5 Taking Stock of Subjective Narratives Surrounding
Modern OSINT.... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 57
Douglas Wells
Part II Methods, Tools and Techiques
6 Acquisition and Preparation of Data for OSINT
Investigations.. .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 69
Helen Gibson
7 Analysis, Interpretation and Validation of Open Source Data. .... 95
Helen Gibson, Steve Ramwell and Tony Day
8 OSINT and the Dark Web.... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 111
George Kalpakis, Theodora Tsikrika, Neil Cunningham,
Christos Iliou, Stefanos Vrochidis, Jonathan Middleton
and Ioannis Kompatsiaris
ix
x Contents
9 Fusion of OSINT and Non-OSINT Data. .... .... .... ..... .... 133
Tony Day, Helen Gibson and Steve Ramwell
10 Tools for OSINT-Based Investigations... .... .... .... ..... .... 153
Quentin Revell, Tom Smith and Robert Stacey
11 Fluidity and Rigour: Addressing the Design Considerations
for OSINT Tools and Processes.... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 167
B.L. William Wong
Part III Pratical Application and Cases
12 A New Age of Open Source Investigation:
International Examples.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 189
Eliot Higgins
13 Use Cases and Best Practices for LEAs.. .... .... .... ..... .... 197
Steve Ramwell, Tony Day and Helen Gibson
14 OSINT in the Context of Cyber-Security. .... .... .... ..... .... 213
Fahimeh Tabatabaei and Douglas Wells
15 Combatting Cybercrime and Sexual Exploitation of Children:
An Open Source Toolkit. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 233
Elisavet Charalambous, Dimitrios Kavallieros, Ben Brewster,
George Leventakis, Nikolaos Koutras and George Papalexandratos
16 Identifying Illegal Cartel Activities from Open Sources. ..... .... 251
Pál Vadász, András Benczúr, Géza Füzesi and Sándor Munk
Part IV Legal Considerations
17 Legal Considerations for Using Open Source Intelligence
in the Context of Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism. .... ..... .... 277
Alison Lyle
18 Following the Breadcrumbs: Using Open Source Intelligence
as Evidence in Criminal Proceedings.... .... .... .... ..... .... 295
Fraser Sampson