Articles & Research
In-depth writing on intelligence tradecraft, OSINT methodology, and the disciplines that underpin the work.
Cultural Awareness in OSINT Collection
How cultural context shapes open-source intelligence collection and why ignoring it produces unreliable analysis.
Read Article →Resilience in Digital Investigations
Why resilience isn't just a personal trait — it's a professional capability that shapes the quality of investigative outcomes.
Read Article →The 4x4 Intelligence Grading System
The 4x4 system is a compressed evaluation framework that rates the source of information on a four-point letter scale and the information itself on a...
Read Article →Finding Your Way into OSINT: A Career Map
Happy National OSINT Day! To celebrate, my article for you all today is a career map. One of the best things about OSINT is how many different directions...
Read Article →The 5x5x5 System
UK law enforcement grades intelligence using a framework called the 5x5x5, which evaluates three things at once: the source that provided the information,...
Read Article →The Admiralty Code / NATO 6x6 System
When a report arrives tagged B2, an analyst knows three things before reading a word: the source has a strong track record, the information is logically...
Read Article →Source Reliability & Information Credibility
Every piece of information that reaches you arrived through someone or something: a person reported it, a system collected it, a platform published it, a...
Read Article →Sourcing for OSINT: ICS 206-01
Until ICS 206-01, the IC had no sourcing standard written specifically for open-source work. Intelligence Community Directive 203 sets analytic standards....
Read Article →Romance Scams: What You Need to Know This Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest days of the year for online dating activity, and scammers know it. FBI field offices across the country issued...
Read Article →Show Your Work: The Intelligence Standard for Sourcing
Every analytic product rests on sources. The quality of those sources, the transparency with which they’re presented, and the ability of a reader to find...
Read Article →Legal Boundaries of OSINT Collection (Legal Reference)
Note: I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice. This article is an educational overview of the legal frameworks that affect OSINT practice, based on...
Read Article →What Can I Actually Do? A Practitioner’s Guide to Legal OSINT
This is the practical companion to Legal Boundaries of OSINT Collection, which provides the full legal analysis with case law, statutes, and regulatory...
Read Article →The OSINT-HUMINT Boundary: Where Observation Ends and Engagement Begins
The line between Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Human Intelligence (HUMINT) comes down to one question: are you observing, or are you engaging?...
Read Article →ATS 9: Incorporates Effective Visuals
Analytic Tradecraft Standard 9 requires that intelligence products “incorporate visual information to clarify an analytic message and to complement or...
Read Article →ATS 8: Makes Accurate Judgments & Assessments
Analytic Tradecraft Standard 8 requires that intelligence products “apply expertise and logic to make the most accurate judgments and assessments...
Read Article →ATS 7: Analytic Line
An analyst produces a threat assessment in January concluding that a particular criminal organization poses a moderate risk to a client’s operations in a...
Read Article →ATS 6: Use Clear & Logical Argumentation
When Douglas MacEachin became head of the CIA’s Directorate of Intelligence in the early 1990s, he spent his weekends reading through stacks of...
Read Article →ATS 5: Demonstrates Customer Relevance
You can produce technically flawless work and still deliver something nobody needs :( No one wants to waste their time or energy like that. ICD 203...
Read Article →ATS 4: Analysis of Alternatives
Analysts gravitate toward the explanation that fits the evidence they’ve already gathered. That tendency is natural and efficient, which is exactly what...
Read Article →Analytic Tradecraft Standard 3: Distinctions
Every analytic product contains three categories of content: Intelligence information is the factual base, the reporting and data that analysts collect...
Read Article →Analytic Tradecraft Standard 2: Uncertainty
Intelligence analysts rarely know things for certain. The information they work with is incomplete, the sources they rely on vary in reliability, and the...
Read Article →Analytic Tradecraft Standard 1: Sourcing
Every intelligence judgment stands on a foundation of sources. The quality of that foundation determines whether the judgment deserves confidence or...
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