All open source intelligence (OSINT) practitioners share the same mindset. But that’s where their similarities end.
Most OSINT online courses are geared towards full-time OSINT investigators. While sharing the same mindset, international affairs practitioners differ from investigators in the way we conduct OSINT on a part-time basis, and answer different types of questions.
As a result, the tools and information types leveraged by full-time OSINT investigators worldwide aren’t useful for an international affairs professional. We all demonstrate a drive for accuracy with critical and creative thinking, but we need different OSINT tradecraft training.
This post examines the shared mindset among international affairs professionals and OSINT investigators. It also describes the similarities between the way their respective tradecraft trainings teach its core characteristics.
Different types of OSINT
To understand why mindset matters, consider some of the different types of OSINT. Different industries such as cybersecurity, business intelligence, journalism, public security, marketing, and traditional government and military intelligence conduct OSINT full-time or part-time. Most well known OSINT investigations have identified human rights violations or fraud and corruption.
OSINT could also be categorized by information source. Generally speaking, OSINT leverages open source information, also referred to as publicly available information (PAI) and commercially available information (CAI). PAI is typically free, with a knowledge premium. In other words, you need to know where to find it. CAI is information you purchase. PAI and CAI could be digital, print, and any other material that conveys information or a clue.
Some OSINT professionals specialize in insights from primarily one type of information. For example, those international affairs professionals focused on translating foreign media. Other examples include specialists focused on drawing insights from data breach repositories or trending X posts.
Not all types of information will be useful for every industry and every investigation. This is especially true in international affairs.
OSINT in international affairs
In the international affairs knowledge industry (IAKI), a practitioner needs to provide timely, relevant, convincing, and actionable recommendations and situational awareness to their government or corporate boss. An international affairs practitioner’s baseline expertise on a country or region is much higher than a full-time OSINT investigator who covers multiple topics daily.
A practitioner in IAKI may answer questions on a single current event or answer much broader questions like, “Is X country working to topple the international order?” Either type of question may be on a quick-turn or longer timeline depending on your leadership.
In both cases, seasoned international affairs practitioners know that to get the best information the fastest, they need to look directly in the relevant foreign language with open source information. They also know to draw from their understanding of the language, history, geography, government, laws, economy, population, and cultural norms of the country—also known as the 8 Basics to properly contextualize their answer.
One similarity across all OSINT types: Mindset
The mindset needed for OSINT in international affairs and in traditional investigations shares the same fundamental characteristics. Both industries must use creative and critical thinking. Both must have the drive for accuracy, and understand the cost of being wrong.
The well-known Dutch OSINT tradecraft practitioner and teacher, Nico Dekens has best described how an OSINT investigator can demonstrate the mindset. We’ll look at his fourteen-step process in a later post. To summarize his more detailed explanations, he’d probably agree that the fundamental characteristics of the mindset include being analytical and transparent in one’s analysis, based on IAThinker’s review of several of his interviews.
Nico’s and IAThinker’s different descriptions of the mindset for our respective industries use different words, but describe the same core attributes. For example, in international affairs, IAThinker has described “analytical” as creative and critical thinking to better serve practitioners who were drawn to the field because of their interest in cross-cultural communication and high-impact strategic topics.
Additionally, perceptions of the word “transparent” in international affairs are mixed given practitioners are steeped in the fast-paced highly political and competitive work environment. However, even in the international affairs knowledge industry (IAKI), no one wants to be wrong because they understand the costs. Successful practitioners with the drive for accuracy thoroughly cite their reports and seek out feedback—all of which is a way to be transparent in their process.
Steps to demonstrate the OSINT mindset
IAThinker and Nico both teach step-by-step methods to help practitioners in our respective fields easily demonstrate the OSINT mindset. Our processes both include intentional steps to enforce de-biasing and mitigate shortcomings in our industries, in order to achieve the analytical and transparent characteristics of the mindset.
IAThinker teaches two methods: one tailored for when an international affairs professional is responding to a quick-turn question, and a second method tailored for when professionals are deepening their understanding to maintain expertise. Nico teaches a repeatable fourteen-step process for full-time OSINT investigators to use in each investigation. We’ll compare our processes in more detail in a later post. (Stop missing the latest post by joining our email list.)
For now, what’s important to note is that both methods teach you how to demonstrate the OSINT mindset, in other words steps to ensure critical and creative thinking, and a drive for accuracy.
The International Affairs Thinker LLC’s Crossthink Process is four steps with built in de-biasing and human performance optimization. In the first two steps, the process walks practitioners through using research keywords related to the 8 Basics (the language, history, geography, government, laws, economy, population, and cultural norms that make the country tick) and researching contrary views. IAThinker has discussed the benefits of starting with the 8 Basics here and the benefits of confirming the opposite in multiple posts. In the third step, the Crossthink Process integrates human psychology and physiology by requiring researchers to assess how they’re feeling before they start writing their recommendations.
Nico’s process builds in de-biasing by documenting each research step and including at least three different timed search sessions with increasingly refined keywords. His process integrates human psychology by planning for a follow up conversation with the client after initial research to set expectations. This step helps manage clients’ desire for “answers now,” and gives investigators room to breathe and be thorough.
Shutdown
International affairs practitioners are hungry for tailored training because the context and timeline for the types of questions they answer on the job demands very different research methods than what they previously learned. Some turn to OSINT training, but unfortunately, most online courses for a professional OSINT investigator are irrelevant for an international affairs practitioner.
The number one thing the two fields have in common is mindset. We use the same mindset, but need different training to thrive in our respective fields.
As an international affairs practitioner, IAThinker developed the International Affairs Professional Development Course to support global practitioners with best practices tailored for our work environment. If you take other OSINT training instead, make sure you learn how to demonstrate the OSINT mindset, which you’ll need in both industries.
