Essential OSINT reading for this week.

Building your information position on OSINT is essential when you are in the OSINT world. In Ready, Research, Read I shall share on a weekly basis one or two titles that I consider very worth while reading, based on working in OSINT since 1990. Let me know your thoughts.

The open-source everything manifesto : transparency, truth, and trust / Steele, Robert David ; Blook, Howard [foreword] . – Berkeley (CA) : Evolver Editions , 2012

Allied joint doctrine for information operations : with UK national elements . – Brussels : NATO Standardization Office , 2023 . – (AJP-10.1 ; )
Allied Joint Publication (AJP)-10.1, Allied Joint Doctrine for Information Operations outlines the principles, relationships and processes for Info Ops. It explains how the Info Ops staff ensures consistency, coordination and synchronization of information activities, with a focus on the operational level to support commanders’ objectives. AJP-10.1 provides guidance to NATO commanders and their staffs to use Info Ops as the staff function for the horizontal integration of strategic communications direction and guidance through planning and coordinating information activities throughout the full spectrum of activities and operations. It clarifies the role of Info Ops staff within the communication directorate (or similar staff element), emphasizing their horizontal consistency responsibilities and their key contribution to joint operations.

Remember, OSINT is a very broad and general concept that applies to many different areas. That explains why there are so many different definitions and visions. It is up to you to derive what is useful in your own environment.

Want to read more? Consider the OSINT Treasure Trove, a bibliography devoted to the finer art of OSINT.

Happy reading!