Robert Heibel: EUROPOL Recommends Member States Increase OSINT Capacity

Governance, Politics
Robert Heibel
Robert Heibel

EUROPOL recommends Member States to increase their OSINT capacity to monitor social media and the use of technologies by terrorists

According to the last  Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) recently published by EUROPOL – the  European Union’s law enforcement agency – there is an increasing convergence between cybercrime and terrorism. Indeed, “Terrorists are becoming increasingly proficient in hiding their traces and activities by using anonymising and encryption tools and services » such as Tor available on the cybercrime market. Another trend highlighted by EUROPOL is the increasing use social media platforms by terrorist groups “to engage in recruitment campaigns, propaganda, incitement of terror acts and for claiming responsibility for attack”. In order to address these challenges, the EU law enforcement agency recommends Member States to “increase their OSINT capacity in order to monitor the development of new technologies that have potential for abuse by terrorists and which have already been adopted, and to proactively monitor social media to detect early patterns of radicalisation”.

Read the full IOCTA 2016 report.

George Por: Silke Helfrich on Mapping as Commons

Geospatial
George Por
George Por

Mapping as Commons

1. Stick to the Commons: as a goal and a practice
2. Create syntony on the goal
3. People’s needs first
4. Keep an eye on interoperability and use web technology
5. Contribute to the Federated Commons
6. Provide open access
7. Use free software
8. Self-host your infrastructure
9. Build on open technology standards
10. Make sure you really own your data
11. Use free open data licenses
12. Guarantee the openness of taxonomies
13. Make the Data Commons thrive through your usage
14. Care for your Data Commons
15. Protect the ‚maps & atlasses commons‘ legally as commons
16. Crowdsource your mapping
17. Remember always why you are making the map and who you are making it for.
18. Archive the map when it doesn’t work anymore for you.

Read full post with expansions for each of the above.

Yoda: Open Source Climate Data — Finally — Time for ALL Data to be Open Source!

Data

yoda with light saberOpen-Source Climate Change Data From NASA, NOAA, & Others Available For 1st Time

There is a need to make that data available in a jargon-free format and with guidance on how to use it effectively. A new organization will do just that. On September 22, PREP, the Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness, was launched by the White House Office of Science and Technology PolicyWorld Resources Institute, U.S. Global Change Research Program, and a host of industry supporters including Microsoft and Google. PREP will harness the data revolution to strengthen climate resilience efforts, streamline climate data delivery, and inform researchers and data providers which climate data are most valuable.

Continue reading “Yoda: Open Source Climate Data — Finally — Time for ALL Data to be Open Source!”

Yoda: Greg Satell in Forbes on Why Open Beats Closed

#OSE Open Source Everything

yoda with light saberWhy Open Beats Closed

Greg Satell

Forbes, 26 September 2016

Now, however, it’s becoming increasingly clear that no one can go it alone and firms must choose where they will cooperate and where they will compete. This is especially true when it comes to innovation, where no single entity is likely to be able to develop more than a piece of the overall puzzle. Today, open systems are not a choice, They are an imperative.

Continue reading “Yoda: Greg Satell in Forbes on Why Open Beats Closed”

KINDLE: Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Done Right: An Indictment of 25 years of expensive passive failure

#OSE Open Source Everything, Advanced Cyber/IO, Books w/Steele, Ethics, OSINT Generic, Peace Intelligence
Amazon Page
Amazon Page

This briefing has been funded and approved for delivery in its present form, in April 2016, to the military, police, and national intelligence services of Denmark. It was also presented in Norway, but less formally. As NATO and a number of countries “re-think” Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), this briefing and the related white paper, should help focus on the essentials that have been neglected for the past quarter century.

It is nothing less than an indictment of 25 years of expensive passive failure associated with the mis-direction of OSINT away from active human sourcing as I originally envisioned, toward passive online searching that is, as one study recently concluded, over 80% absolute garbage.

This is what BGen Dr. James Cox, the original sponsor of my work for NATO in 2000-2002, had to say in 2013:

Continue reading “KINDLE: Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Done Right: An Indictment of 25 years of expensive passive failure”

Stephen E. Arnold: US Government Struggling with IT — 77% of funding consumed by O&M — while Palantir sues US Army for business….

#OSE Open Source Everything, Government, Ineptitude, IO Impotency, Military
Stephen E. Arnold
Stephen E. Arnold

US Government: Computer Infrastructure

Notice that the US Federal government spent $0.68 cents of every IT dollar on operations and maintenance in 2010. Jump to the 2017 estimate. Notice that the status quo is likely to consume $0.77 cents of every IT dollar.

Bam! Pow! Zap! Palantir Steps Up Fight with US Army

I recall one Master of the Universe telling me, “Keep the client happy.” Today an alternative approach has emerged [and is being pioneered by Palantir]. I term it “Fight with the client.” I assume the tactic works really well.

Continue reading “Stephen E. Arnold: US Government Struggling with IT — 77% of funding consumed by O&M — while Palantir sues US Army for business….”

Robert Steele: Reflections on China, Open Source, & the Craft of Intelligence UPDATE 1

#OSE Open Source Everything, All Reflections & Story Boards
Robert David Steele
Robert David Steele

The below article is important to those thinking about open source software in Europe:

Why China is the next proving ground for open source software

The article, from TechRepublic, focuses on the Chinese taking the lead in open source software related to big data infrastructure.  “China scale” is a term that should be noted.

My comments:

Continue reading “Robert Steele: Reflections on China, Open Source, & the Craft of Intelligence UPDATE 1”