Private Companies for U.S. Government/Military Intelligence Needs?

At first it may seem like a strange idea for the government to hire private organizations for their intelligence needs. However, this is a new industry and has been growing exponentially in the past decade or so. In reading the book “Spies for Hire” by Tim Shorrock, as well as this week’s reading assignment by Stephen Mercado I gained a lot of insight into the process. I’m still left with a tough call as to which one I agree with, however let’s take a look at the pros and cons.

On the traditional DOD OSINT side, you have actual military personnel working under direct DOD supervision. The cost of man hours is significantly less expensive on a direct basis. On the negative side the lower cost in man hours also means the personnel are getting paid less and are apt to seek employment elsewhere once their EAOS date arrives. OSINT collection tends to have a lower budget as well when compared to other disciplines. Also in any government undertaking, you will have red tape and bureaucracy.

On the Private OSINT side, you have well paid personnel, most of whom are prior DOD/military Intelligence operators. Thus, in theory you are drawing from the same field of personnel as DOD. The fact that the personnel tend to be paid significantly higher than DOD employees leads to more potential for retention and efficiency. Private industry tends to be more efficient than government counterparts, thus eliminating the bureaucracy and red tape, for the most part. On the negative side, private company is just that, private. They will have their own agenda and may even answer to shareholders. This can lead to significant conflicts of interests at times. Private OSINT tends to be much more expensive than DOD. Also in private industry you have the loyalty issue. Theoretically a company can work for anyone it desires, provided its legal team is strong enough. This can lead to extremely precarious situations.


Works Cited:

1. Tim Shorrock. Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing.

2. Stephen C. Mercado. Reexamining the Distinction Between Open Information and Secrets. CSI Studies. Vol. 49, No. 2.

Information vs Intelligence and the place therein of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)

What is the difference between information and intelligence? Where does OSINT fit in? 

Information is simply raw data in any form, whether a newspaper article, a website, photographs, phone records etc. The unprocessed data gleaned from any source on its own is simply information. 

Information becomes intelligence when it is actually processed and pieced together to form a bigger picture. The information itself is put together in a fashion that allows it to be analyzed with a a specific outcome in mind. The various pieces of raw data are put together to allow a purposeful investigation or mission to be planned from the information that wouldn't have been possible based on the separate pieces of the "puzzle" alone. 

OSINT fits into the equation in the sense that all OSINT data is initially information, and the vast majority of the population consider it simply to be only information. However, an analyst can take the vast amount of material available via open sources and put it all together to form actual actionable intelligence. To me OSINT is the perfect example of how information becomes intel. Most individuals tend to think of intelligence as highly classified information gleaned via covert methods such as those portrayed by movies and books, however proper OSINT collection and analysis is a prime example of how seemingly innocuous information can be used to form highly actionable intelligence.