OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE (OSINT). OSINT is intelli-
gence information collected from overt sources, such as newspapers,
books, journals, and similar publications. Because it is widely avail-
able, OSINT is easy to collect but often difficult to use. For one
thing, the sheer volume of open-source information makes it diffi-
cult to separate the wheat from the chaff. For another, intelligence
analysts, accustomed as they are to relying on classified sources, are
suspicious of the reliability of open-source materials. During the
Cold War, only about 20 percent of intelligence information about
the Soviet Unioncame from open sources. Following the Cold War,
over 80 percent of intelligence information about Russia has come
from open sources.OPERATION AJAX.SeeAJAX (OPERATION).OPERATION CHAOS.SeeCHAOS (OPERATION).OPERATION COLDFEET.SeeCOLDFEET(OPERATION).OPERATION CONDOR.SeeCONDOR (OPERATION).OPERATION DEEP BLUE.SeeDEEPBLUE (OPERATION).OPERATION EAGLE CLAW.SeeEAGLE CLAW(OPERATION).OPERATION FEATURE.SeeFEATURE (OPERATION).OPERATION FUBELT.SeeFUBELT(OPERATION).OPERATION FU GO.SeeGENETRIX (OPERATION).OPERATION GENETRIX.SeeGENETRIX (OPERATION).OPERATION GOLD.SeeGOLD (OPERATION).OPERATION HISTORY.SeeHISTORY(OPERATION).OPERATION IVY BELLS.SeeIVYBELLS (OPERATION).150 • OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 150