How to Change the Future of Open-Source Intelligence

The U.S. government has long relied on open-source intelligence (OSINT) and thought deeply about how it fits in the intelligence community (IC) enterprise. The rise of social media and digital society and the exponential growth of publicly available information (PAI) requires rapid and agile advancement in OSINT. When integrated with classified information, OSINT enables the IC to deliver more insights to a broader range of customers for crucial missions. While OSINT isn’t always highlighted to the public and there is no Jack Ryan of OSINT (yet), a little historical context can illuminate three foundational ways to build even better OSINT capabilities now.

Recurring media narratives often cite the need to use more OSINT, the need to correct a cultural bias favoring classified sources, and the need for OSINT to receive greater support. In fact, these perspectives aren’t new—they predate today’s digital age. In 1997, only 2% of the global population used the internet: A congressional panel on government secrecy highlighted the unprecedented power of open sources to support decisions. Too often, the panel wrote, the U.S. secrecy system was ignoring this information revolution.

Today, the importance of OSINT is impossible to ignore. Just look at the Russia-Ukraine War. The pace of public reporting has accelerated greatly since the 1940s, when the CIA launched the Foreign Broadcasting Intelligence Service (FBIS), initially by another name, to track foreign media content. Unlike other intelligence disciplines, however, OSINT doesn’t have a dedicated agency. Rather, the CIA runs what’s called the Open Source Enterprise (OSE) as the IC OSINT functional manager, and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as the defense intelligence enterprise manager for OSINT.

Figuring out OSINT’s future from an organizational standpoint is a significant undertaking. A Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) task force, for instance, agreed keeping the OSE subordinate to one directorate at a single agency wasn't the best approach for OSINT, but on the other hand they were unable to reach consensus on how to change the status quo. Now, with congressional support, the IC is developing new OSINT strategies and plans.

But what if that isn’t enough? Strategy and plans are important, of course, but without sustained investment and robust industry partnerships, those plans may be stifled. As a dedicated U.S. government partner and advocate in OSINT, Booz Allen hopes to see the following, for a stronger, less fragmented INT.

1. Congressional prioritization of OSINT throughout the IC and Defense Intelligence Enterprise (DIE) is critical. Without robust, sustained, and protected investment in OSINT, we will continue to see the OSINT enterprise within the U.S. government progress in fits and starts. Long-term commitment from Congress and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must be paired with real accountability to avoid agency silos of excellence.
2. Accountability from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) should come with authority and further sustained investment. If ODNI is to help the OSINT community realize its potential, it requires a robust team with a dedicated budget. An empowered ODNI can focus on investment and accountability across the government to increasingly encourage and enable the OSINT capabilities and sharing needed for the types of missions cited in the CSIS study: providing input to classified intelligence, producing unclassified and shareable intelligence, delivering enhanced service to a range of intelligence consumers, building partnerships with foreign liaisons, strengthening the IC’s public voice, serving as a proving ground for innovation with emerging technologies, and supporting talent acquisition.
3. Finally and most foundational: There is not yet an OSINT career track for government employees and contractors—and this needs to change. Attempts to create one are happening in various pockets of government and private industry. Building a career path would help position the IC to grow and keep the OSINT talent it urgently needs to support vital missions. Efforts would need to be supported over the long term. In addition, considerations are needed to determine how the career path would elevate the use of OSINT tradecraft across the IC, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Strategic competitors aren’t waiting to leverage OSINT for their own aims. The U.S. needs to maintain its competitive edge. Now is the time to build and move out on these three recommendations. This year, working together, we can realize and harness the true power of OSINT.