Open Source Intelligence
Study Board for Continuing and Higher Education in Health & Social Sciences
Teaching language: Danish or English depending on the teacher
EKA: B780015102
Censorship: Second examiner: Internal
Grading: 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Autumn
Level: Professional Master
Course ID: B780015101
ECTS value: 5
Date of Approval: 28-02-2022
Duration: 1 semester
Course ID
Course Title
Teaching language
ECTS value
Responsible study board
Date of Approval
Course Responsible
Offered in
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Offered in
Duration
Mandatory prerequisites
Recommended prerequisites
The course From Cold War Espionage to Cyberwars: history, theory, and practice of intelligence and cybersecurity (B780004101) is mandatory, either studied at the same time as this course or passed previously. A student can still participate in the other elements of the programme if they have similar professional insights gained in other ways, e.g. through relevant courses or other education, or from work experience in the field.
Aim and purpose
Intelligence services' interest in open sources is ever-increasing due to the relevance and cost-effectiveness of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). The course provides participants with an understanding of OSINT, and its potentials and limitations. Participants will study both qualitative and quantitative methods for collecting information via open sources with a special focus on social media platforms. In addition, participants will learn to assess the credibility and reliability of information from open sources. Moreover, participants will be invited to critically reflect on the legal and ethical challenges connected with the collection and use of OSINT. Finally, the course will introduce to different understandings of the right to privacy and the boundary between public and private digital spaces.
Content
- Introduction to the applicability of and ideal behind open source intelligence
- Limitations and potentials of open sources
- Introduction to various methods for collecting and validating information from open sources
- Critical reflections on privacy related issues in the context of open source intelligence
Learning goals
Graduates from this course will be able to collect and evaluate information from open sources and engage critically with the legal and ethical constraints connected to open source intelligence.
Description of outcome - Knowledge
Participants in this course will gain knowledge about:
- The importance of open sources in intelligence work and other investigative practices
- Methods for collecting open sources
- Perceptions of privacy in public / non-public spaces
Description of outcome - Skills
Participants in this course will gain skills to:
- Collect information via various open sources by using both qualitative and quantitative methods
- Assess the credibility and reliability of open source intelligence
- Apply and engage critically with legal and ethical aspects of OSINT.
Description of outcome - Competences
Participants in this course will be obtain competences to:
- to develop their professional role and add new knowledge to their organization through the application and use of concepts and analysis relevant for handling of open sources.
- to identify and critically evaluate the use of open sources in intelligence practices.
Literature
The course contains approximately 600 pages of literature from intelligence studies with a focus on OSINT. Relevant texts could be:
George, R. “Privacy, Public Space and Personal Information.” In Core Concepts and Contemporary Issues in Privacy, AMINTAPHIL: The Philosophical Foundations of Law and Justice 8, edited by A. E. Cudd and M. C. Navin, 107–120. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-74639-5_8.
Hulnick, A. “The Dilemma of Open Sources Intelligence: Is OSINT Really Intelligence?” In The Oxford Handbook of National Security Intelligence, edited by L. K. Johnson, 230–241. Oxford: Oxford University Pres, 2010. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195375886.003.0014.
Juhlin, J. Alastair. Project Avatar: Intelligence Exploration of Social Media and Open Sources, Research Paper, Royal Danish Defence Academy, 2016. Available at: http://www.fak.dk/publikationer/Documents/Project%20Avatar.pdf
Lever, A. “Democracy, Privacy and Security.” In Privacy, Security and Accountability: Ethics, Law and Policy, edited by A.D. Moore, 105–124. London: Rowman & Littlefield International, Ltd, 2016.
Mercado, S. C. “Sailing the Sea of OSINT in the Information Age: Venerable Source in a New Era.” Studies in Intelligence 48, no. 3 (2004). https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/stu
dies/vol48no3/article05.html.
Nissenbaum, H. “A Contextual Approach to Privacy Online.” Daedalus 140, no. 4 (2011): 32–48. doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00113.
Omand, S. D., J. Bartlett, and C. Miller. “Introducing Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT).” Intelligence and National Security 27, no. 6 (2012): 801–823. doi:10.1080/02684527.2012.716965.
Pedersen, T. & P. T. Jansen (2019) “Seduced by secrecy – perplexed
by complexity: effects of secret vs open-source on intelligence credibility and analytic confidence”,
Intelligence and National Security, 34:6, 881-898, DOI: 10.1080/02684527.2019.1628453
Rønn, K. V. & S. O. Søe (2019) Is social media intelligence private?
Privacy in public and the nature of social media intelligence, Intelligence and National Security,
34:3, 362-378
Trottier, D. “Open Source Intelligence, Social Media and Law Enforcement: Visions, Constraints and Critiques.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 18, no. 4–5 (2015): 530–547. doi:10.1177/1367549415577396.
Teaching Method
Teaching will combine lecturing, case studies seminars, and exercise classes. Each session will actively involve the students, for example through discussion of the course material and presentations on relevant case-studies. This will also help to prepare the students for the exam at the end of the course.
Workload
The workload is equal to approximately 27 hours per ECTS credit point. In total a minimum of 135 hours.
The 135 work hours are distributed in the following way:
- Introductory day: 3 hours
- Lectures and seminars: 15
- Preparation for classes: app. 50
- Preparation for, and doing, the exam: 67
Examination regulations
Exam
Name
Exam
Timing
Exam: December/January
Reexam: February
Participation in re-examination requires participation in the ordinary exam in the same examination period. Hence, non-participation in the ordinary exam excludes from access to the re-examination.
First-coming access to examination will be the following ordinary examination period.
Tests
Exam
Name
Exam
Form of examination
Take-home assignment with oral defence
Censorship
Second examiner: Internal
Grading
7-point grading scale
Identification
Student Identification Card - Date of birth
Language
Danish, English
Duration
The synopsis is written during the semester.
Length
Synopsis is a maximum of 5 pages of 2400 characters incl. spaces but excluding the front page, bibliography and any appendixes.The number of characters must be indicated on the front page.
Examination aids
All aids allowed
Assignment handover
Assignment handin
Via Digital Exam
ECTS value
5
Additional information
Group synopsis with individual oral exam.
Individual oral exam 20 min. with 5 min. presentation of synopsis and hereafter the oral examination of the course and all literature. 5 min. for assessment.
EKA
B780015102