The Death of Secret Intelligence? Think Again
While the Ukraine war has seen an explosion in the collection and distribution of open source intelligence, the work of secret intelligence agencies remains as important as ever.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the world of secret intelligence is no more. Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a stream of opinion pieces arguing that traditional state-based agencies are struggling to keep up in the face of open source intelligence (OSINT). The volume and speed at which we can access publicly available information is a revolution that large secret intelligence agencies are struggling to cope with, or so we’re told. Whether it’s commercially sourced satellite imagery or social media posts, the US and UK intelligence communities are operating in an increasingly complex environment – that much is true.