The role of intelligence in the investigation and the tracing of stolen assets in complex economic crime
IV. Different types of Intelligence
3 Open source
One area of intelligence gathering that has seen a real growth in recent years has been the use of open source techniques. Indeed, the technique is now leading to access to so much high quality and insightful evidence intelligence that it led to the 9/11 Commission recommending that a new Open Source Agency be added to the US intelligence structure.9
Open source intelligence is a form of intelligence gathering that involves finding, selecting and acquiring information from publicly available sources, such overt, publicly available sources (as opposed to covert or classified sources) and analysing such information to produce credible intelligence. Open source is distinguished from research in that it applies the process of intelligence to turning hard data and information into intelligence to support strategic and operational decisions.
Understandably the Internet provides a great deal of information for the analysts and simple checks can be made on a name or address which may reveal details which can be of use to intelligence development. The effective use of the Internet in this way, however, is a specialist area of work, and secure methods of searching must be employed so as not to compromise operations.
Open source information is wide-ranging and includes, amongst other materials, the following:
- All types of media - Directories
- Databases of people, places, and events
- Social networking sites and web-based communities such as chat rooms - Government reports and documents
- Scientific research and reports - Statistical databases
9 National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (2004). The 9/11 Commission Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 413.
- Publicly available databases - Commercial vendors of information
- Websites that are open to the general public even if there is an access fee or a registration requirement
- Search engines of Internet site contents
The information obtained from open sources tends to fall into two categories, namely one involving information about individuals, and, secondly, involving aggregate information. The aggregate information available is extensive which is where the skills of a qualified analyst come into play as it is a real challenge to assess what is reliable and what is relevant for the purposes of constructing intelligence. Consider some of the new databases, often commercially available, that are emerging which are able to provide enormous detailed analysis of current trends, companies and individuals. It is no surprise therefore that law enforcement agencies are now increasingly using these methods.
However, agencies must remember that when the information that is being gathered via open source relates to individuals and is being retained as intelligence, there is a strong possibility that human and constitutional rights may well attach to this information. As open source can lead to the mining of important and sensitive information about an individual, for example, a person’s credit rating; once that information is retained and forms part of an intelligence assessment and a file, questions and processes need to be carefully considered to ensure compliance with the broader issues under human and constitutional rights.
Generally speaking, the key is not the source of the information about the individual but what is being retained and how it is being retained by a law enforcement agency. In such circumstances, law enforcement agencies may need to carefully consider what types of open source information about a person should be kept on file when that person is not actually a suspect or where the individual has only a passing relevance to a proper suspect or particular activity that is under consideration by the law enforcement agency. And what about the situation where the open source research establishes a tangential link between suspects which is neither confirmed nor able to be corroborated by intelligence? The ability to retain information about individuals on databases is too easy and therefore careful consideration must be given to this matter. The source of this information is irrelevant.
Nevertheless, open source techniques and access to news media, for example, are capable of yielding a tremendous amount of information that should be part of a law enforcement agency's ‘intelligence toolkit’. It should be incorporated as part of an agency's intelligence plan.
V. Conclusion
This chapter has attempted to provide an insight into what intelligence is, its role, and some of the complications that emerge from the use of such techniques. In the context of corruption and serious economic crimes, it has attempted to provide an overview of the increasingly important significance of the use of intelligence, as opposed to mere information, in the fight against such crimes including the tracing of stolen assets or the proceeds of unlawful activities. However, despite its undisputable value, it is high level support and the recruiting of the correct staff – trained analysts, for example – that remain the key. The mandate of such intelligence units will largely depend upon the resources available, levels of skills of personnel, and what structures currently
exist. The other issue of real importance is the need to interact with other agencies. To this end, it is the design of a systematic method of collecting, assessing and prioritising information into effective intelligence that will greatly aid the process. What we now know is that the simple building of file upon file of information on individuals and areas of criminal concern does not provide any insight and leads to information that is of little value. Finally, given the complex nature of the offences under discussion in this chapter, and the real problems and difficulties of tracing the proceeds of crime as they cross international boundaries, the greatest capacity required for this work is the need for intelligence operatives to be proactive, to test new areas of research, within the legal constraints and to develop unique products that will provide a steady stream of high quality and reliable intelligence to the law enforcement agencies on a consistent basis.