{"id":420390,"date":"2022-03-23T16:30:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T13:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/digital-sleuths-are-changing-the-course-of-the-ukraine-war\/"},"modified":"2022-03-23T16:30:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T13:30:03","slug":"digital-sleuths-are-changing-the-course-of-the-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/digital-sleuths-are-changing-the-course-of-the-ukraine-war\/","title":{"rendered":"#Digital sleuths are changing the course of the Ukraine war"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfe0f3459a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfe0f3459a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/digital-sleuths-are-changing-the-course-of-the-ukraine-war\/#%E2%80%9CDigital_sleuths_are_changing_the_course_of_the_Ukraine_war%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Digital sleuths are changing the course of the Ukraine war&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/digital-sleuths-are-changing-the-course-of-the-ukraine-war\/#What_does_open-source_intelligence_involve\" >What does open-source intelligence involve?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/digital-sleuths-are-changing-the-course-of-the-ukraine-war\/#Open-source_intelligence_and_the_war\" >Open-source intelligence and the war<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CDigital_sleuths_are_changing_the_course_of_the_Ukraine_war%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Digital sleuths are changing the course of the Ukraine war&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            For months now, a large and very active community of digital sleuths has been closely tracking the escalating crisis in Ukraine. These people have been using open-source intelligence to investigate and document the build-up to \u2013 and now the execution of \u2013 Vladimir Putin\u2019s war of choice.<\/p>\n<p>But what exactly is open-source intelligence? And how is it helping efforts to understand what\u2019s h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ening on the ground in Ukraine?<\/p>\n<p>Broadly speaking, open-source intelligence describes the knowledge or insight emerging from focused collection, monitoring, and analysis of publicly accessible information, now mostly online, using specialized methods and tools.<\/p>\n<p>At first sight, open-source intelligence seems to be a contradiction in terms. Intelligence is usually associated with secrets and spies, not the insights of online investigators, many of them amateur, who share their findings with anyone who is interested.<\/p>\n<p>Open-source intelligence does have roots in the intelligence context \u2013 indeed, these days it holds <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecipherbrief.com\/the-real-power-of-intelligence-auxiliaries?utm_source=Join+the+Community+Subscribers&amp;utm_campaign=725e902d7c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_02_21_03_13&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_02cbee778d-725e902d7c-122820030&amp;mc_cid=725e902d7c&amp;mc_eid=411e35725d\">more value<\/a> than ever for national intelligence efforts \u2013 but it\u2019s no longer tied exclusively to the intelligence community.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past two decades, the term has become common parlance in domains such as academia, journalism, and business. Across a range of sectors, information-driven organizations have realized that much of the analytical insight they need can be drawn from open sources that are, for the most part, easily accessible online.<\/p>\n<p>The best example is probably <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellingcat.com\/\">Bellingcat<\/a>, the collective of investigators and journalists who have had made headlines with a string of high-profile, open-source investigations.<\/p>\n<p>More traditional <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> outlets have also been successful in integrating open-source intelligence techniques such as geolocation (combining various sources of information to identify a precise geographical location) into their investigative journalism. Examples include the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/observers.france24.com\/en\/\">France 24 Observers<\/a> and the New York Times <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/spotlight\/visual-investigations\">Visual Investigations<\/a> team.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_open-source_intelligence_involve\"><\/span>What does open-source intelligence involve?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The practice is best viewed as a spectrum of activities. At one end of the spectrum is what I term the \u201cprospector approach\u201d. Here, the analyst or investigator is like a gold prospector, carefully sifting through the informational mud of the internet in search of nuggets of gold \u2013 those fragments of information that will advance their understanding of a particular problem or puzzle. This is how many of those investigating aspects of the war in Ukraine are approaching their work.<\/p>\n<p>To be successful, an aspiring open-source analyst needs to have a questioning mindset and good attention to detail. They need to become fluent in the various tools and techniques that can help refine searches and cut through irrelevant information (the Bellingcat website has some useful <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellingcat.com\/category\/resources\/\">resources<\/a>). Language skills are a bonus, but much can be done with freely available <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/translate.google.com\">translation tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If they lack subject matter expertise, investigators need to be able to situate themselves in the informational context of the investigation \u2013 quickly identifying major and reliable sources of relevant information \u2013 and be willing to seek answers from others.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, they need to give due regard to their digital footprint and consider the traces they leave in their pursuit of answers.<\/p>\n<p>These are the basics and anyone can pick them up. There\u2019s no requirement for prior training or qualifications. Bellingcat founder <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellingcat.com\/author\/eliothiggins\/\">Eliot Higgins<\/a> is a good example of this. When he started his open-source work, Higgins had no experience as an investigator and no expertise in matters relating to conflict. He\u2019s now regarded as one of the world\u2019s leading open-source investigators.<\/p>\n<p>At the other end of the spectrum, the approach is far more technical and relies on sophisticated algorithms and machine learning to gather, filter, connect and manipulate data. This approach to open-source intelligence is less accessible as it requires the skills of computer scientists, statisticians, and engineers, as well as analysts and subject matter experts. But it offers a means of gathering and interrogating vast amounts of data at lightning speed \u2013 a valuable proposition given the dizzying rate at which the online information environment is expanding.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Open-source_intelligence_and_the_war\"><\/span>Open-source intelligence and the war<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are lots of ways open-source intelligence can help us understand how the conflict in Ukraine is playing out. One is its contribution to situational awareness. In the lead-up to the invasion, for example, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2022\/02\/11\/russia-ukraine-military-videos-tiktok\/\">videos posted<\/a> to TikTok gave an insight into troop movements and build-up on the borders of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Since the invasion, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellingcat.com\/resources\/how-tos\/2022\/03\/08\/how-to-archive-telegram-content-to-document-russias-invasion-of-ukraine\/\">videos uploaded<\/a> to Telegram, combined with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2022\/03\/03\/world\/russia-ukraine#russian-convoy-kyiv\">publicly accessible<\/a> satellite imagery, have been shedding light on particular attacks and the progress of Russian forces. The monitoring of vehicle license plates grabbed from social media is providing <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellingcat.com\/resources\/how-tos\/2022\/02\/08\/tracking-russian-military-vehicles-on-the-move\/\">information<\/a> about the types of military vehicles deployed by the Russians, and their movements. Investigators even managed to intercept and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sbreakintl\/status\/1498619303717142529?s=20&amp;t=eD5O3gxzBrIs-u4PjiuUdA\">publish<\/a> unencrypted radio transmission between Russian forces.<\/p>\n<p>Open-source intelligence can also be used to support prosecutions of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humanrights.berkeley.edu\/programs-projects\/tech\/investigations-lab\">human rights violations<\/a> and war crimes. For example, Bellingcat has been seeking to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellingcat.com\/news\/rest-of-world\/2022\/03\/11\/these-are-the-cluster-munitions-documented-by-ukrainian-civilians\/\">track<\/a> the use of cluster munitions in the conflict. These weapons, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clusterconvention.org\/states-parties\/\">prohibited<\/a> by many states, stand out because of the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clusterconvention.org\/files\/publications\/A-Guide-to-Cluster-Munitions.pdf\">pain and suffering<\/a> they cause. The Bellingcat team has been gathering, verifying, and geolocating videos shot on the ground in Ukraine and uploaded to social media.<\/p>\n<p>Another area of open-source intelligence activity involves countering disinformation. Social media has been flooded with false information \u2013 claims of hoaxes, the use of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/factcheck-tvfootage-notcrisisactors-idUSL2N2V61K1\">crisis actors<\/a> and a broader narrative of Ukrainian provocations are all part of efforts to sow confusion and distort public perceptions of the conflict. Open-source intelligence researchers have played an important role in debunking false claims and exposing <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/7kb75e\/the-internet-is-debunking-russian-war-propaganda-in-real-time\">disinformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are plenty of challenges to navigate. All information must be carefully assessed and verified. What is the source? Is the information accurate? Are there any potential risks of using the data? For example, could using photos posted on an individual\u2019s social media account in published analysis pose a risk to that person if they\u2019re identified as the source of the photos?<\/p>\n<p>On a broader level, it\u2019s important to remember that open-source information can be accessed by all sides in any conflict. The desire to protect citizens in this context explains why Google <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/2\/28\/22954426\/google-disables-maps-traffic-data-in-ukraine-to-protect-citizens\">disabled<\/a> Maps features in Ukraine showing live traffic data and how busy places like shops and restaurants are.<\/p>\n<p>These are just some of the challenges and they shouldn\u2019t be lightly dismissed. On balance, however, the value of open-source intelligence far outweighs any drawbacks. This has been clearly demonstrated during the war in Ukraine so far.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/179135\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/179135\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><br \/>\n<em>This article by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/matthew-moran-107720\">Matthew Moran<\/a>, Professor of International Security, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/kings-college-london-1196\">King\u2019s College London<\/a> is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/open-source-intelligence-how-digital-sleuths-are-making-their-mark-on-the-ukraine-war-179135\">original article<\/a>.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/digital-sleuths-are-changing-course-ukraine-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Digital sleuths are changing the course of the Ukraine war&#8221; For months now, a large and very active community of digital sleuths has been closely tracking the escalating crisis in Ukraine. These people have been using open-source intelligence to investigate and document the build-up to \u2013 and now the execution of \u2013 Vladimir Putin\u2019s war&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":420391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/bellingcat-OSINT.jpg&signature=204c4f39c6b726cfeb920f3c26b2d266","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-420390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}