Much has been written about the value of intelligence gathered from social media.Since this is a crucial target for cyber intelligence and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), it is crucial to examine its value as well as the risks it brings to intelligence collection and analysis.

Social network data can provide details on developing crises, from humanitarian disasters (such as Haiti) to political upheaval (such as “The Arab Spring”).It can provide geolocation information on demonstrations or activities as well as details about participants and organizers.Through an examination of postings, one can easily reconstruct the social networks of individuals of interest, determine their daily routine, and understand their political leanings.It can also show us how a group is mobilizing and gaining supporters (as in Egypt).Moreover, the key is that information can be delivered more quickly than most other intelligence – it is the ultimate “same time” intelligence.

However, there are significant risks in reliance on any one form of intelligence – but particularly in reliance on social media.All intelligence needs to be validated, and recent examples in social media demonstrate this well – from so-called “activists” creating fake personas as dissidents to individuals providing erroneous information about themselves and others, even “bragging” about accomplishments or events that never occurred.In essence, this is a manipulation of social media, and lack of verification leads to severe errors in analysis. The power of social media and the information gleaned from Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is prodigious. The use of social media can also change the course of human events. Can you think of other examples—other than the Arab Spring as discussed in the readings—that might benefit from Social Network intelligence employing cyber intelligence techniques?

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