Inside the IC

• Former officials debate OSINT in the IC

  Open-source intelligence, or OSINT, has reached an inflection point in the IC. Several agencies in recent years have published strategies aimed at better harnessing OSINT. Now, they're embarking on new initiatives to improve data collection and management, train the workforce, and share best practices across the community. But a multitude of challenges remain, including skills gaps, data siloes, bureaucratic and cultural barriers, funding challenges, and more.Recently, I brought together a panel of experts to debate and discuss the past, present and future of OSINT in the intelligence community. The guests on this episode are:David Gauthier, the chief strategy officer for CXO, and the visiting fellow at the National Security Institute and former director of commercial operations at the National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyEllen McCarthy, the CEO of the Trust in Media Cooperative, and former assistant secretary of state for the bureau of intelligence and researchChip Usher, the senior director for intelligence at the Special Competitive Studies Project, and a former CIA executiveEliot Jardines, the founder and director of the OSINT Foundation, and former assistant deputy director of national intelligence for open sourceSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Espionage operations targeting laid off feds

  The widespread layoffs and resignations unfolding across the federal government represent a prime opportunity for foreign spy agencies. In an April bulletin, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center warned that foreign intelligence organizations are targeting current and former U.S. government employees by posing as consulting firms, corporate headhunters and other job opportunities. Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, recently uncovered a likely Chinese intelligence operation that targets laid off federal employees using fake consulting firms. I spoke with Max about how he investigated the operation and what feds, current and former, should look out for when they’re scrolling LinkedIn and online job boards. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Ethics and intelligence: Tradecraft in the age of AI

  Cortney Weinbaum, a senior management scientist at RAND, joins the show to discuss her recent paper, “Intelligence officers have an ethical responsibility to use tradecraft.” Countless professional disciplines have a code of ethics. But such a code does not exist for the intelligence community. Weinbaum argues that intelligence officers have an ethical responsibility to use the right tools and methods -- aka “tradecraft” -- and that recent intelligence failures stemmed from bad tradecraft. Meanwhile, the increasing reliance on AI within the IC means it’s crucial that intelligence officers understand the technology they use, along with its limitations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• ‘Still work to be done’ on security clearance reform efforts

  The Intelligence and National Security Alliance has a slate of recommendations for the incoming Trump administration. They touch on how the IC could make progress on hiring, personnel vetting (security clearances), AI skills and open source intelligence, among other areas. Inside the IC spoke with John Doyon, INSA's executive vice president, to dig into the suggestions ahead of the Jan. 20 transition of power. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• The intelligence community has a big new tech strategy

  The intelligence community has laid out new priorities for the cloud, AI, cybersecurity and more in a new "Information Technology Roadmap" released in late May. The IC's Chief Information Officer, Adele Merritt, joined the show to explain the goals of the new strategy. "This roadmap really provides a unified vision for where the IC needs to go over the next five years," Merritt told me. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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