S1E8 | How law enforcement is using OSINT
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of Needlestack, hosts Matt Ashburn and Jeff Phillips interview Richard Denholm, a law enforcement legal expert with nearly three decades of experience, including time with the FBI. Denholm discusses the role of open-source intelligence (OSINT) in law enforcement, emphasizing the importance of understanding privacy laws and civil liberties. He highlights the challenges of discerning accurate information in a sea of public data and the impact of disinformation campaigns, particularly in the context of current world events like the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Denholm also addresses the application of OSINT in the private sector, stressing the need for businesses to be aware of privacy laws and the value of accurate intelligence for decision-making.
Takeaways
- ๐ข Open source intelligence (OSINT) is not limited to social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook; it encompasses millions of publicly available information sources.
- ๐ฎโโ๏ธ Law enforcement agencies require skilled analysts and expertise to navigate the vast array of publicly available information for investigations.
- ๐ Richard Denholm, a law enforcement legal expert, has published a textbook titled 'Intelligence Studies Anthology: Foundational Concepts and Case Studies for the 21st Century'.
- ๐ During his FBI tenure, Richard Denholm worked on high-level public corruption investigations and was involved in the conviction of a U.S. congressman.
- ๐ As Deputy Director of the OCDAF fusion center, Richard Denholm focused on open source intelligence work, highlighting its importance in federal law enforcement.
- ๐ก๏ธ Law enforcement must balance the use of OSINT with privacy laws and civil liberties, ensuring compliance with the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
- ๐ข Differences in privacy laws and regulations across jurisdictions can impact how state and local law enforcement agencies collect and use OSINT.
- ๐ผ Resource constraints can limit the tools and technologies available to state and local law enforcement for effective OSINT collection.
- ๐ The current geopolitical situation, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, influences OSINT practices, with a need for analysts to discern disinformation.
- ๐ข The private sector also benefits from OSINT for business intelligence, such as assessing geopolitical environments for expansion or investment.
- ๐ Companies must consider privacy laws and regulations in their jurisdiction when collecting and using OSINT for business purposes.
Q & A
What is the role of open source intelligence (OSINT) in law enforcement?
-OSINT plays a critical role in law enforcement by providing information from publicly available sources to aid investigations, enhance situational awareness, and support decision-making processes.
How does Richard Denholm's background with the FBI inform his current role at A1C Partners?
-Richard Denholm's extensive experience as a special agent with the FBI, particularly in high-level public corruption investigations and as deputy director of the OCDAF fusion center, provides him with a deep understanding of law enforcement intelligence needs and the legal frameworks governing their activities, which he now applies in his role as a director at A1C Partners.
What is the title of the textbook Richard Denholm recently published?
-Richard Denholm recently published a textbook titled 'Intelligence Studies Anthology: Foundational Concepts and Case Studies for the 21st Century'.
How does the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution apply to open source intelligence collection?
-The fourth amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, and this applies equally to federal, state, and local governments. Law enforcement must ensure that their collection and use of open source intelligence does not violate individuals' rights under this amendment.
What are some of the challenges faced by state and local law enforcement agencies in conducting open source intelligence collection?
-State and local law enforcement agencies face challenges such as resource constraints, varying laws and regulations in different jurisdictions, and the need to understand and comply with privacy laws and civil liberties.
How does the cost of technical tools impact open source intelligence collection at the state and local level?
-The cost of technical tools can be a significant factor for state and local law enforcement agencies, as they must weigh the benefits of these tools against their budget constraints. This can affect the extent and quality of open source intelligence collection.
What is the impact of disinformation on open source intelligence analysis?
-Disinformation can significantly impact open source intelligence analysis by introducing false or misleading information into the public domain. Analysts must be discerning and verify the authenticity of information, especially in situations like the Russia-Ukraine conflict where disinformation is prevalent.
How does the concept of 'finding a needle in a stack of needles' relate to open source intelligence?
-The phrase 'finding a needle in a stack of needles' refers to the challenge of identifying relevant and accurate information within the vast amount of data available in the open source environment. It emphasizes the need for skilled analysts to sift through and verify the authenticity of information.
How can businesses benefit from open source intelligence?
-Businesses can benefit from open source intelligence by gaining insights into geopolitical environments, understanding labor issues, and making informed decisions about investments and operations based on publicly available information.
What advice does Richard Denholm have for those working with open source intelligence?
-Richard Denholm advises understanding the vast amount of open source intelligence available, finding the right analysts, and being aware of the laws in one's jurisdiction. He also encourages not to be too constrained and to navigate the environment with the help of experts if needed.
Outlines
๐ Open Source Intelligence in Law Enforcement
The podcast 'Needlestack' introduces Richard Denholm, a law enforcement legal expert with nearly three decades of experience, who discusses the role of open source intelligence (OSINT) in law enforcement and its impact on civil liberties and privacy laws. Denholm, who has served as a director with A1C Partners and is an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, emphasizes the importance of good analysts and expertise in conducting OSINT. He shares his background, including his time with the FBI, where he worked on high-level public corruption investigations and eventually became the deputy director of the OCIDAF Fusion Center, a significant federal law enforcement intelligence-sharing platform. Denholm also mentions his recent publication, 'An Intelligence Studies Anthology: Foundational Concepts and Case Studies for the 21st Century,' which provides foundational knowledge for the field of intelligence studies.
๐๏ธ Privacy and Civil Liberties in OSINT
Richard Denholm explains that information shared publicly is accessible by anyone, including law enforcement, and that individuals have a responsibility to protect their private information. He highlights the careful approach government officials take with such information to avoid abuse. Denholm also discusses the differences in OSINT practices between federal, state, and local law enforcement, noting that while the Fourth Amendment applies equally, there are variations in laws and jurisdictional restrictions that can impact the collection and use of OSINT. He emphasizes the importance of understanding local laws and working with legal advisors to ensure compliance with constitutional rights and privacy laws.
๐ Geopolitical Impact on OSINT
Denholm discusses the challenges of OSINT in the context of current world events, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where disinformation is prevalent. He stresses the importance of discernment in OSINT analysis, as the volume of information, including fake news and disinformation, can be overwhelming. Denholm points out the need for analysts to be well-versed in their technical tools and to verify information through metadata. He also reflects on historical examples of disinformation, like the 'Ghost Army' during World War II, to illustrate the evolution and sophistication of information warfare.
๐ข OSINT in the Private Sector
The conversation turns to the application of OSINT in the private sector, where privacy laws and corporate regulations must be considered. Denholm suggests that businesses can benefit from OSINT to inform strategic decisions, such as site selection for new plants, by understanding geopolitical environments and other relevant factors. He also addresses the differences in rules and regulations between the private and government sectors, noting the importance of adhering to jurisdictional laws and protecting customer information. Denholm advises businesses to be aware of privacy laws, such as those in California, and to consider the potential impact on customer relations and the bottom line if privacy is violated.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กOpen Source Intelligence (OSINT)
๐กPublicly Available Information
๐กLaw Enforcement
๐กCivil Liberties
๐กPrivacy Laws
๐กFusion Center
๐กDisinformation
๐กMetadata
๐กGeopolitical Environment
๐กCorporate Law
Highlights
Publicly available information extends beyond social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
The importance of having skilled analysts and expertise in conducting open source intelligence research.
Introduction of Richard Denholm, a law enforcement legal expert with nearly three decades of experience.
Denholm's role as a director at A1C Partners and his work in providing open source analysts to the government.
The significance of understanding privacy and civil liberties in the context of open source intelligence.
The role of the Fourth Amendment in protecting individuals' rights from government surveillance.
The impact of jurisdiction-specific laws on open source intelligence collection.
The necessity for law enforcement to be compliant with constitutional laws while enforcing them.
The challenges of resource constraints in open source intelligence collection at the state and local level.
The prevalence of disinformation and the need for discernment in open source intelligence analysis.
The importance of metadata in verifying the authenticity of information in open source intelligence.
The historical use of disinformation by nations and its impact on modern open source intelligence practices.
The application of open source intelligence in the private sector for business decision-making.
The potential legal implications of using open source intelligence in the private sector.
The advice for businesses to understand the laws in their jurisdiction regarding open source intelligence.
Denholm's final thoughts on the importance of open source intelligence and the need for skilled analysts.
Transcripts
using intelligence today from the news
media um to social media
um to anything we would also call it
publicly available information it's not
just what you see on twitter or or
instagram or facebook there are there
are literally um millions of sources of
information that are publicly available
that don't involve just social media so
you need to have uh good analysts and
good expertise
[Music]
welcome to needlestack the podcast for
professional online researchers i'm your
host matt ashburn a cyber security
professional and ocean aficionado
and i'm jeff phillips tech industry
veteran and curious to a fault
today we have a special guest who's here
to talk about the role of osun in law
enforcement
specifically in regards to civil
liberties and privacy laws richard
denholm welcome to the show
thank you very much happy to be here
awesome well let me give a little
background here on richard uh before we
jump in
richard is a law enforcement legal
expert with nearly three decades of
experience as a us government official
now he currently serves as a director
with a1c partners
but he's also an adjunct faculty member
at george mason university's department
of criminology law and society
and interestingly enough
you've recently published a textbook on
intelligence studies richard what's the
title of that
yes i have it's called an intelligent
studies anthology foundational concepts
and case studies
for the 21st century published by
cognella
that's super interesting people can
check that out um
richard
we've told people that this this episode
is going to be about oceant uh within a
law enforcement context and and a lot of
your background stems from your time
with um with the fbi can you can you
tell us a little bit about uh your
different experiences there
absolutely yeah i started uh with the
fbi back in 1995
i was hired as a special agent then and
i began my career in washington field
office
working
high-level public corruption
investigations
and eventually uh moved out to ohio uh
went to youngstown where i landed in all
types of fbi investigations
but a lot of corruption work and we
eventually uh investigated the u.s
congressman from that congressional
district and we
got him convicted he went to prison and
he was expelled from congress he
actually was only the second u.s
congressman since the civil war
be expelled
i continued my career at the fbi working
mostly corruption between uh ohio and dc
uh and then i eventually the last five
years of my career at the fbi i was the
deputy director of the ocidaf fusion
center
which is one of the largest federal law
enforcement intelligence
sharing platforms of the government and
we did a lot of open source uh
intelligence work at that center
and and then i know currently uh you
serve as a director at a1c partners
what's your focus in that role
well a1c partners provides open source
analysts to the government
we work with different agencies to help
them
close the gaps from their
government information that they have
our analysts are experts in conducting
open source research writing reports
disseminating those reports and working
with government officials
my role since i retired from the fbi uh
about four years ago has been working as
a director with a1c partners i also am
an attorney
and i blend that experience between the
law and my law enforcement special agent
background
and i provide
legal privacy and policy advice
to the analysts and to the government
officials that we work with because
there are
a lot of different hurdles
as we work in this environment
you know one of the things that's very
important obviously is that law
enforcement not only enforces the law
but they're also compliant uh with the
laws that are out there in the
constitution so
could you cover some of the top things
that folks may not know
with regards to oceans and how privacy
and civil liberties can be affected by
that
absolutely i mean one of the main things
to keep in mind first of all is that
information that people freely and fully
put out in the public domain
is accessible
by anyone if you want your friends
neighbors
co-workers to know information about you
or about things you've done and you put
it out there publicly and you do not
protect the privacy of that information
that's fair game for everybody including
the government including law enforcement
so there's an obligation under the law
that if you want to keep something
private you have to work to make it
private so obviously if you're fully
freely putting information out there
you're not protecting that privacy
and therefore anybody could take a look
at it use it as required
but even with that government officials
all that i know all that i've worked
with are careful with that of
information and careful not to abuse
uh that as well
interesting and you mentioned that a lot
of your experiences with the federal
government
are there any differences in ocean and
the collection of oceans between the
federal space and the state and local
law enforcement agencies
for the for the most part in general no
because the fourth amendment of the u.s
constitution applies equally between
federal state and local government so
you have to be careful not to
violate individuals rights under the
fourth amendment also they have rights
under the first amendment obviously
as their free speech rights as well
right so government at any level cannot
interfere with that however it's very
important to know that there are
different laws
uh at each level and in each
jurisdiction that could impact
uh research uh for open source um and it
applies to developing any type of
intelligence in law enforcement in the
government you need to understand the
laws in the jurisdictions that you're
working in so you may work in a
state
or a city that has particularly
restrictive
limits on what law enforcement can do
with open source intelligence or any
other intelligence or you may work in
one that that
gives law enforcement much more free
reign to collect it so the key to know
is understand the law in your
jurisdiction and usually you can work in
my case when i was with the fbi
we would work with the u.s attorney's
office
we worked with a assistant u.s attorneys
every day
they knew the law they could advise us
another mechanism in the fbi is we had
what were called chief division counsels
usually special agent slash lawyers as
well
who work to advise
agents on the law
and also i would note that even as a
federal agent you have to pay attention
to the law in your state that you're
working in obviously the
the u.s court system has different
circuits
uh which are the appellate level and
those circuits could have different
rulings on how intelligence is collected
and used especially as it goes to open
source intelligence you know and i
remember during the pre-show chat that
we were doing we were talking a lot
about some of the challenges and one of
those being resources and constraints
especially at the state local level can
you talk a bit about how resource
constraints can affect
open source collection within law
enforcement and some of the
considerations there
well absolutely one of the key thing
i've noticed recently too is it seems
that there are many many people who say
that they're experts in uh open source
intelligence
and the collection of it um i i think
there's a lot of people who who dabble
in it and sort of understand it
um you know our practitioners and a1c
partners um work a lot in it and have
much more expertise because there are
particular tools that are more useful
than others that can be used um in this
open source uh intelligence realm
um there's some freeware out there that
some people are really good at using at
what i've seen is the technical tools
created and run by
all kinds of different companies
nowadays are often much
much better at helping to collect
information and they're often very
expensive so depending on the
jurisdiction you're in that cost always
plays a factor and you have to weigh
what tools you can purchase
what your budget is etc
that's that's super interesting richard
um
you know
we'd be remiss if if i if i'd if we
didn't bring up uh you know there's a
lot going on right now uh unfortunately
with russia and ukraine um
can you give us some of your thoughts on
world events and and how that's
impacting ocean practices
absolutely well and when i teach my
course at george mason as well i tell my
intelligence students that the problem
nowadays is not too little information
it's too much information
so especially when you look in the open
source environment
there is just so much information out
there
the former director of the fbi once
called it looking for needles and stacks
of needles and i think that's a very
good uh description of what you have to
do because everything often looks alike
then the big problem too nowadays
especially if you look at the russia and
ukraine situation
uh the russians are masters of
disinformation
and they put a lot of fake they they
literally put fake news out there they
use it as a weapon and they have for
decades and they're very very good at it
so
especially
if you're an open source intelligence
analyst you have to be very discerning
of what you're looking at we even saw
recently in recent days widely reported
in the media
some disinformation uh from ukraine i
think i saw one situation with a ghost
jet that was flying around i saw it that
that wasn't true it was made up i saw
another
uh snip on the news about somebody
jumping out like a paratrooper jumping
out of a plane
and floating down and like he was
invading or repelling whatever he was
doing but it turned out later that that
clip was actually seven years old
so analysts have to know their technical
tools know the technology they're
working with and really dig down into
the metadata of these things to verify
and if you notice even in recent days
many of the major news networks that
that we're watching have really started
to put
uh notes and all their reports that we
have verified this this video you know
we know from metadata that it's this so
that's even developed even more in the
last few weeks and it's really
fascinating to watch right now it is you
commented uh you quoted the the former
fbi director saying that open source is
like finding a needle and a stack of
needles and that's really where even the
name of our podcast comes from needle
stack right uh that is that is a big
challenge and as you touched on you know
verifying the information and the
analysis is a big part of this when you
look at open source as an intelligence
discipline
uh it's not just going out and grabbing
a screenshot from twitter or looking at
a map or downloading a video it's that
information and data plus the subsequent
analysis that sets it apart from just uh
sort of a casual collection of of
information
absolutely and that brings to mind for
me as you say that uh is also my part of
my course at george mason i teach a lot
about the ghost army during world war ii
and you know every country every
military uses what it's good at well
what was the united states good at
uh from the 20s to the late you know 20s
to now i would say but we had hollywood
we had actors we knew how to build stage
sets and as part of a strategy in world
war ii they created a fake army that
looked like tanks and and guns and
they were just air balloons but at that
time the the germans and the japanese
were not very good at discerning
uh what was fake what was real so it
looked to them from their very
rudimentary ability that there were
different armies in different places
they really weren't there so those
techniques are still used today i mean i
think that's a very basic
early way of understanding what we're
talking about and just imagine now how
far we've come 70 years late over 70
years later and how sophisticated it is
and that's why we're seeing
uh
you know all these different platforms
and hackers and everything else getting
really really good at creating uh
disinformation
and fake reports and fake media
because now it seems like a lot of the
battlefield
um is not only being waged in cyberspace
as far as hacking but it's it's
information warfare
uh at a whole new level you know you
asked what we were good at in the 20s
and 30s and actually the first thought
that came to mind was uh bootlegging
during prohibition so that probably
wasn't the answer you were looking for
so i'm glad that you clarified that with
the hollywood with the hollywood
reference
absolutely
richard um
an equal amount of our listeners are um
also in the or in the private sector um
can you talk a little bit about ocean as
it applies you know to to commercial
enterprises uh as well as we've been
talking about on the government side
absolutely so uh clearly on the private
side there are
privacy laws that apply
and anybody in corporate uh business
analysis
needs to be aware of the ramifications
still of the constitution and laws in
their jurisdiction
but
business intelligence
can and does really benefit in the open
source environment right you can imagine
again a very simplified way to put this
and look at it
but to really make the point
is that if i am uh the uh ceo of
coca-cola maybe uh and one of my uh
folks comes to me and says hey it'd be a
really good idea to build a new plant in
eastern ukraine what do you think about
that right and if you're not paying
attention you don't watch the news
um you know you might think hey that's a
great idea we should do that but you
could see a very basic way of saying
that is how using intelligence today
from the news media um to social media
um to anything we would also call it
publicly available information it's not
just what you see on twitter or or
instagram or facebook there are there
are literally um millions of sources of
information that are publicly available
that don't involve just social media so
you need to have uh good analysts and
good expertise reviewing all of that so
if i'm the ceo of a company and i want
to put a plant somewhere probably one of
the first things i'm going to do
obviously i'm going to analyze the
economic
benefits of it but what's key to those
economic benefits is understanding the
geopolitical environment where i might
be landing
what are the labor issues etc and open
source intelligence can provide
a lot of very valuable information
to help you make those decisions and
inform your decision so business
analysts are really critical nowadays as
well sorry it was a follow-up um because
does does pai um or publicly available
information do those rules are they
going to vary in the private sector
versus the government sector is that all
the same
they could and again you should
understand and when we talk about
businesses and we're always talking
about corporate law so
you know corporate law is going to be
very very important and contracts are
going to be very very important whatever
you're doing
um and then you need to be though
thinking about am i violating somebody's
rights uh california nowadays
uh instituted very strict laws to
protect its citizens uh privacy
and there's a lot of implications for
the facebooks and the twitters of the
world and that sort of thing
that they have to be very careful how
they collect data from people to again
what do they want to do they want to
advertise
but they need to be aware of in their
jurisdiction are there very strict
requirements on that
and what can they collect how can they
use it and really most importantly how
do they have to protect the information
of their customers
so not only legally but then you'd have
to think about it too from a corporate
decision-making standpoint you know if
you get found out as repeatedly
violating people's uh privacy or civil
rights whether it was true or whether
it's just perceived you could lose a lot
of customers that way right so that
would be a very bad thing and very dumb
for your bottom line um so those items
are key in the corporate uh in business
world but again um that's why they have
their own general counsel's offices who
provide advice
um to them on these issues so
well richard
really appreciate the conversation today
uh real quick any final thoughts uh for
30 seconds here uh what would you like
to leave our listeners with
um
i'd like them to understand uh how much
open source intelligence is out there
um and that
finding the right analysts to help them
either in business or law enforcement is
critical and again understanding uh the
laws in your jurisdiction how they apply
to you
but not to be not to feel too
constrained in this environment don't be
afraid of it
there are ways to navigate it and
there's a lot of folks out there like us
at a1c partners who can help that's all
great advice and really appreciate the
time today and uh thanks to those that
are out there in the audience for tuning
into the show today
if you liked what you heard you can
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authenticate with authentic with the
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now next week we'll be back with even
more on our tour of ocean and look at
how it applies to trust and safety teams
in the technology sector we'll see you
then
[Music]
you
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