OSINT (Open Source INTelligence) - HUMINT (HUMan INTelligence)

OSINT, an acronym for Open Source INTelligence, is the activity of gathering information by consulting publicly available sources.

Our OSINT service proposes a methodology based on data fusion through the use of different information sources. The service is provided not only through manual search activities, but also through the automated acquisition of intelligence data. In the activities of investigation, collection and distribution of information, the manual work of our Team is supported by advanced tools and a proprietary platform.

The OSINT applies a specific process of information management, given the attention required in the prior identification and selection of relevant sources, as well as in the determination of their degree of reliability. The purpose of this type of analysis remains common to that of the other disciplines: to fill information gaps in support of a specific decision (made by an individual or a group).

The analytical approach in the OSINT process, initiated by the decision maker's information input, consists of four distinct phases:

• Discovery - Know who Knows;

• Discrimination - Know What's What;

• Distillation - Know What's Hot;

• Dissemination - Know Who's Who.

The collection of information in OSINT is generally a different matter from that represented by other collection disciplines, in which obtaining the raw information to be analyzed can be very difficult, especially if this initial data must be extracted from a non-collaborative source. In OSINT, the main difficulty lies in sifting out relevant and reliable sources from a vast pool of information in the public domain. However, it is not that much of a challenge for those who know how to access local knowledge and how to leverage those live experts who can create "tailored knowledge" instantly.

Among the various types of intelligence activities, we also find HUMINT.

HUMINT, an abbreviation of the words HUMan INTelligence, is the intelligence activity consisting of gathering information by means of inter-personal contacts and as such is contrasted with other more "technological" information channels. HUMINT is defined as "a category of intelligence derived from information collected and provided by human sources." Typical HUMINT activities are conversations that have people with access to relevant information as interlocutors.

Success in the marketplace is conceived as the result of a coordinated and joint activity by all forces in the economic field, among which intelligence systems are rightfully included, which can play an exceptionally important role, if properly geared to offer support, including operational support where necessary, to the competition in the most complex scenarios.

The success of strategic planning, in the economic/industrial sector, lays its foundations on the quality and quantity of information provided to the decision maker, who will be able to elaborate his own choices with greater ponderation: the more sensitive the acquired information is, the more it will tend to protect it and even more it will be necessary to oppose subjects intent on stealing it. The correct understanding and complete use of economic intelligence tools, therefore, require first of all an external projection of the company's decision-making apparatus.