- It will be delivered within Silo, Authentic8’s web isolation platform
- The Academy will provide access to a range of resources designed to get new analysts up to speed, streamline their intelligence cycle among others
Authentic8 has launched the Open Source Intelligence Academy (OSINT) that will have an integrated suite of resources and tools available exclusively to Authentic8 customers. It aims to augment their training securely from home and other remote work environments. It will be delivered within Silo, Authentic8’s web isolation platform. It has been designed to educate and improve the efficacy of internet-focused research teams.
OSINT Academy will include the OSINT Insider talk webcast series, the OSINT Forum for collaboration and peer-to-peer exchange, analysis case studies, demonstration videos, and OSINT Tradecraft Training. The Academy will provide access to a range of resources designed to get new analysts up to speed, streamline their intelligence cycle and equip experienced researchers with new skills to aim to stay current.
In Partnership with OSINT Combine
The curriculum was developed in partnership with training specialist OSINT Combine to create more than 40 targeted training modules. It includes video, presentation, study-guide, and interactive quiz materials designed to build and test analyst skill sets.
Justin Cleveland, head of sales at Authentic8 said, “As a virtual, globally distributed browser environment, Silo for Research provides an appropriately configured, secure and audited platform for researchers of all types to conduct their mission. We noticed that many of our customers don’t have the resources or capabilities to train, assess, and certify analysts as they come into the workforce. That’s why Authentic8 developed OSINT Academy.”
OSINT basics to advanced tradecraft
Authentic8 said that the new service aims to address critical training deficits in a field increasingly essential for safety and security in public and private sectors. Research teams turn to the web to collect intelligence data from publicly available sources to investigate financial crimes, cyber threats, illicit activity, or other security threats. According to a 2020 survey conducted by Cybersecurity Insiders, 85 per cent of professionals conducting OSINT have received little or no training.
Chris Poulter, founder and CEO of OSINT Combine said, “We are thrilled to work with Authentic8 to deliver computer-based OSINT training through their Silo platform. Drawing on our combined, in-depth expertise, we were able to craft content that meets the training and certification requirements of tens of thousands of open source analysts around the world.”
Mining and analytics tools
The curriculum will take the analyst from OSINT basics to advanced tradecraft. It will start with a learning overview and fundamentals. It will branch into collections on regional, industry, group, or individual targets. Analysts will learn to use mining and analytics tools, how to collect on the Dark Web, insight into cryptocurrencies among others.
Nick Espinoza, head of special services at Authentic8 said, “The Open, Deep and Dark Web are an ever-changing landscape, and as such, internet research is a dynamic process. We designed OSINT Academy to be similarly fluid, not static. We’ve approached the challenge of improving analyst skills and overall approach to a problem set as a continuous process, not a one-time change. By integrating learning resources into the analyst’s Silo account, we can continue to engage and keep informative content in front of users on an ongoing basis on the single pane of glass they use for research.”
