Intelligence analysis has many important epistemological resemblances with science (problem solving, discovery, skillful use of tools, knowledge verification) and is more interested in a posteriori than a priori knowledge, on how or the basis on which a proposition may be known. The puzzle metaphor is used in both information and archeology. Both disciplines involve collecting evidence to build as complete a picture as possible. The process of converting raw information into actionable processed intelligence is almost identical for governmental and business (...) organizations. The medical practice of diagnosing identification, collection, analysis and dissemination is similar to that of intelligence. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26511.12963. (shrink)

Methodology, in intelligence, consists of the methods used to make decisions about threats, especially in the intelligence analysis discipline. The enormous amount of information collected by intelligence agencies often puts them in the inability to analyze them all. The US intelligence community collects over one billion daily information. The nature and characteristics of the information gathered as well as their credibility also have an impact on the intelligence analysis. Clark proposed a methodology for analyzing information by addressing the target-centric intelligence (...) cycle as an alternative to the traditional information cycle. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.23471.89769. (shrink)

David Singer afirmă că, în prezent, amenințarea constituie principalul obiectiv al agențiilor de informații. Activitatea de informații poate fi considerată ca fiind procesul prin care anumite tipuri de informații sunt solicitate, colectate, analizate și diseminate, și modul în care sunt concepute și desfășurate anumite tipuri de acțiuni secrete. Ciclul informațional reprezintă un set de procese utilizate pentru a furniza informații utile în luarea deciziilor. Ciclul constă din mai multe procese. Domeniul conex al contrainformațiilor este însărcinat cu împiedicarea eforturilor informative ale (...) altora. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10807.06563. (shrink)

In intelligence, epistemology is the study of the threat awareness and the way the threat is understood in the field of intelligence analysis. Most definitions of intelligence do not consider the fact that the epistemic normative status of the intelligence analysis is knowledge rather than a lower alternative. Counter-arguments to the epistemological status of intelligence are their purpose-oriented action, and their future-oriented content. Following the attacks of September 11, a terrorism commission was set up to identify the failures and weaknesses (...) of US intelligence agencies, to learn from security vulnerabilities and to avoid future attacks on national safety and security. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30264.70400. (shrink)

In intelligence, the ontological problem is related to the nature and characteristics of entities that threaten and are threatened. Developing a threat ontology requires a taxonomy. An ontology for threat analysis and action must be able to shape ontological distinctions between potential and viable threats. This provides a better understanding of how threats (ie intentions, capabilities, and opportunities) can exist and can be changed over time. Escalating threats from a state of potency to a state of viability could be avoided (...) by using appropriate threat mitigation techniques. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25163.54569 . (shrink)

Epistemic communities are informal networks of knowledge-based experts who influence decision-makers in defining issues they face, identifying different solutions, and evaluating results. Epistemic communities have the greatest influence in conditions of political uncertainty and visibility, usually following a crisis or triggering event. Counterintelligence is primarily considered an analytical discipline, focusing on the study of intelligence services. The basis of all counterintelligence activities is the study of individual intelligence services, an analytical process to understand the behavior of foreign entities (formal mission, (...) internal and external policy, history and myths within the entity, the people who compose it). DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22837.52962 . (shrink)

The analysts are in the field of "knowledge". Intelligence refers to knowledge and the types of problems addressed are knowledge problems. So, we need a concept of work based on knowledge. We need a basic understanding of what we know and how we know, what we do not know, and even what can be known and what is not known. The analysis should provide a useful basis for conceptualizing intelligence functions, of which the most important are "estimation" and "prediction". The (...) intelligence itself, in its basic form, has a decision-making function. Intelligence analysis applies individual and collective cognitive methods to assess data and test assumptions in a secret socio-cultural context. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25298.40646. (shrink)

The intelligence cycle is a set of processes used to provide useful information for decision-making. The cycle consists of several processes. The related counter-intelligence area is tasked with preventing information efforts from others. A basic model of the process of collecting and analyzing information is called the "intelligence cycle". This model can be applied, and, like all the basic models, it does not reflect the fullness of real-world operations. Through intelligence cycle activities, information is collected and assembled, raw information is (...) transformed into processed information, analyzed and made available to users. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25665.81760. (shrink)

După încheierea Războiului Rece, guvernele și agențiile de informații au continuat să utilizeze modelul convențional pentru a evalua amenințările de stat. Dar conceptele de securitate s-au îndepărtat de o confruntare extrem de militarizată între adversari cunoscuți și a crescut îngrijorarea față de amenințările nestatale mai greu de identificat. Actorii nestatali au devenit amenințări strategice, conceptul de "terorism strategic" fiind dezvoltat imediat după atacurile din septembrie 2001. Au existat acțiuni teroriste și în trecut, dar bin Laden a fost primul care a (...) folosit terorismul strategic pe scară largă împotriva unei superputeri. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14144.58883. (shrink)

Owen Ormerod has developed a theory that Michael Polanyi's opinion on science can contribute to understanding the process and the "product" of intelligence analysis. Michael Polanyi's arguments about the activities of scientists are transferable in the field of intelligence analysis, providing a nuanced perspective for perceiving the epistemological challenges and the problems faced by analysts. Polanyi's concepts of "tacit knowledge" and "personal knowledge" contribute to the development of a more efficient epistemological understanding of some aspects of the process and the (...) intelligence analysis product. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35825.43367. (shrink)

A process of intelligence gathering begins when a user enters a query into the system. Several objects can match the result of a query with different degrees of relevance. Most systems estimate a numeric value about how well each object matches the query and classifies objects according to this value. Many researches have focused on practices of intelligence gathering. In knowledge engineering, knowledge gathering consists in fiding it from structured and unstructured sources in a way that must represent knowledge in (...) a way that facilitates inference. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.32191.15527. (shrink)

Intelligence services are currently focusing on the fight against terrorism, leaving relatively little resources to monitor other security threats. For this reason, they often ignore external information activities that do not pose immediate threats to their government's interests. Extremely few external services operate globally. Almost all other services focus on immediate neighbors or regions. These services usually depend on relationships with these global services for information on areas beyond their immediate neighborhoods, and often sell their regional expertise for what they (...) need globally. A feature of both internal and external services is that they behave like a caste. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25847.68006. (shrink)

The perception of intelligence as power has intensified during the Second World War, when several intelligence agencies has been formalized and significantly increased. In all countries, new agencies and departments have been set up to deal with threats. Government publications in developed countries, following the September 11, 2001 attack, reflected a consensus that intelligence services are key to preventing mass attacks, spending huge amounts for the intelligence agencies that are considered a major component of national security systems. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.16398.20809.