Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is the practice of collecting, processing and analyzing publicly available information. The goal of gathering this type of intelligence is to add crucial context to other forms of intelligence, creating a comprehensive situational awareness report to inform decisions at any stage of operations.
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Hensoldt Analytics, based in Europe and part of the Hensoldt Group, is a global player in the OSINT sector, developing market-leading products and components (Picture source: Hensoldt)
OSINT comes from various sources, such as television, radio, print, social media, websites, or electronic documents. When it comes to open-source intelligence, the amount of information being generated every minute, as well as its relevancy and accuracy, are the biggest challenges for the defense and security sectors. Nowadays, trained analysts face millions of new pieces of content daily – media broadcasts, social media posts, messages, and webpages – which hold potentially valuable intelligence. According to Statista, over the next five years, the total data created, captured, copied, and consumed worldwide is projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes (1) .
Combined with the number of open sources, which grow, transform, or phase out every year, open-source intelligence gathering is a difficult, time-consuming, and costly task. This is why the market of OSINT solutions has been revolutionized in recent years, incorporating machine learning, AI, and big data analytics. These emerging technologies influenced the way open-source data is collected, giving rise to new opportunities for solution providers able to deliver scalable systems that accelerate OSINT workflows for governmental, military, and civil users alike.
Hensoldt Analytics, based in Europe and part of the Hensoldt Group, is a global player in the OSINT sector, developing market-leading products and components. The Media Mining System is a complete end-to-end OSINT solution that automates the process of recording, harvesting, and analyzing image and text data from multiple sources, including video and speech, in 35 languages and dialects. Hensoldt’s product can monitor traditional media, web, social media, digital satellite TV and radio, FM radio, podcasts, email, documents, or messaging platforms (such as Telegram), achieving comprehensive coverage of your selected open sources. In addition to choosing which information to feed into the system, users can plug in their own data streams and create custom profiles and ontologies to sift through irrelevant information and fine-tune query matching.
Enabling fact-based situation reports, decisions, and predictions
The Media Mining System was designed to assist data analysts in all stages of the open-source intelligence-gathering process, including analyst and decision-maker collaborative environment for ease and speed of information-sharing. From fully automatic 24/7 or scheduled recording of data from multiple sources; indexing and archiving; complex data and trend visualizing, to custom reporting and disseminating – the system increases the accuracy and efficiency of investigative work.
Hensoldt’s product is geared towards both short-term OSINT collection campaigns (such as election monitoring, emergency situations, and disaster relief efforts) and long-term operations. For example, integrations with existing SIGINT and IMINT tools and services to enhance their native capabilities. The solution is easy to install, expand and upgrade, with data being stored on servers, typically installed on-premises, for immediate access.
Scalable automated processing and merging of open-source data for defense and security
The competitive advantage of the Hensldt Analytics product lies in its adaptability and flexibility. The possibilities for customizations and on-demand features create an opportunity for defense and security professionals to build a system that truly addresses their operational requirements. In addition, the in-house development, computer vision, and research departments based in Austria and Germany work to extend the proprietary technologies at the core of the Media Mining System to respond to the challenges of collecting intelligence in data-saturated environments.
One of the recently improved components – ODCT – utilizes computer vision technology, enabling object detection, tracking, and classification in real-time videos. Thanks to the new features, our customers can easily build upon the different options of the Media Mining System, select the capabilities they require, and accelerate their small- and large-scale open-source gathering operations.
Hensoldt Analytics is committed to creating customer-oriented solutions that equip OSINT analysts and decision-makers with actionable intelligence. With the combined power of Natural Language Processing, Automatic Speech Recognition, Computer Vision, AI, and Machine Learning at the fingertips, the Media Mining System gives its users a real advantage in a world where data is one of the most valuable currencies.
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(1) Source: Statista, Volume of data/information created, captured, copied, and consumed worldwide from 2010 to 2020, with forecasts from 2021 to 2025, https://www.statista.com/statistics/871513/worldwide-data-created/
Defense News March 2023
