Inside the IC

On today’s show, we take a look at how intelligence agencies are approaching open source intelligence or OSINT. There’s a rapidly expanding world of social media feeds, commercial satellite imagery, cell phone videos and other Internet-derived information that allow professional and amateur analysts alike to investigate events happening around the world. Organizations like Bellingcat have used this kind of information to extensively document Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, mapping incidents of civilian harm, debunking Russian disinformation, and investigating the use of cluster munitions and other weapons. But the intelligence community has been slower to adopt new open source tools and information. A January report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that the community has struggled to even define OSINT beyond the classic definition of publicly available media and press reporting.

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and synthetic biology are offering new possibilities for how intelligence agencies carry out their missions. But rapid advances in technology, especially in commercial industry, also present challenges to the IC's technology adoption processes. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is now seeking feedback on its new five-year S&T investment plan. John Beieler, the director of science and technology at ODNI, sat down with Inside the IC to discuss the new strategy.

It’s been four weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, and despite expert predictions, there has yet to be a significant cyber campaign against the U.S. and its allies. But the White House is now warning it has “evolving intelligence” suggesting the Russian government is preparing cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure. This comes at a time when the U.S. government’s relationship with the private sector on cybersecurity seems to be taking a turn toward better collaboration. To break it all down, we spoke with Tim Kosiba, the former head of the National Security Agency’s elite offensive cyber group, the Tailored Access Operations Unit. Tim is now CEO of bracket F, a subsidiary of the cybersecurity company Redacted.

In this week's episode, we speak with former National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Director Robert Cardillo about a recent chapter he authored in the CIA's quarterly journal. The chapter, titled "GEOINT and the post-secret world," posits that "we are fast approaching the time in which technology will enable a continuous sensing of all of the world’s activity." What does that mean for privacy and national security? You can read the full chapter here: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003164197-22/geoint-post-secret-world-robert-cardillo

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is leading a new mandate for the intelligence community to turn to commercial sources of GEOINT first. NGA's new commercial strategy is being led by Dave Gauthier, director of commercial and business operations at the agency. Gauthier spoke with "Inside the IC" about efforts to forge a tighter relationship with the growing commercial space industry, and NGA's development of a new "commercial supplier matrix."

In the inaugural episode of Inside the IC, we look at how the National Reconnaissance office is trying to take advantage of a fast growing commercial satellite market. Pete Muend, the director of the National Reconnaissance Office's Commercial Systems Program Office, explains why the secretive agency is trying to work with new and innovative companies in areas like synthetic aperture radar. We also talk to Angie Petty, a senior principal analyst with Deltek, about how intelligence agencies are spending more on cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.