Global Fusion Cells Programme Open-Source Investigations courses

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Global Fusion Cells Programme has developed one-week course on “Open-Source Investigations”. The course aims to improve practitioners’ ability to conduct intelligence-led counter-terrorism investigations using all available open-source information and to optimize open-source information in support of national counter-terrorism efforts. The course also covers basic concepts, theoretical approaches, and technical skills related to open-source investigations and provides participants with an understanding of the opportunities and uses of open-source information, identifying pitfalls, and highlighting mitigation for such challenges. The course also aims to improve participants' awareness of their national legislative and policy requirements when conducting open-source research and to help them understand how to adhere to these frameworks.

In addition, the course addresses the issues associated with using open-source information, such as privacy and data protection, and clarifies the legality of using publicly available information when investigating individuals or groups. Furthermore, the information available in the public domain can frequently be inaccurate, sensationalized, or biased, which creates challenges in the evaluation and analysis stages of the intelligence cycle.  Therefore, the course includes a review of each step of the intelligence cycle through an OSINT lens and discusses challenges and opportunities for law enforcement.