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ABSTRACT
Grey literature encompasses documentary material that is not commercially produced and includes a large and heterogeneous body of sources such as technical reports, working papers, business documents, and conference proceedings. Intelligence organisations worldwide have long incorporated grey literature in their collection and analysis activities as a cost-effective and indispensable source of valuable information that provides strategic insights and helps to form operational decisions. Despite advancements in electronic collection methods, the sourcing of grey literature in many instances still requires the physical presence of a collector, especially in countries and regions with low informational availability, limited digital infrastructure, and those ruled by authoritarian regimes. The classification of grey literature within other ‘INTs’ in general and open source intelligence (OSINT) in particular poses a challenge as it blurs the boundaries between human intelligence (HUMINT) and OSINT. Outsourcing OSINT collection, analysis, and dissemination to private vendors has been gaining speed and volume over the last decade. The article identifies three categories of private vendors active in collecting and analysing grey literature for the intelligence community while seeking to draw renewed attention to the importance of this source of information.
Acknowledgments
I owe a special debt of thanks to Dr. Lewis Sage-Passant for his invaluable insights.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Lenin, What Is to be Done?, 153.
2. Babcock, “Soviet Military Spy Caught in FBI Trap,” A-1.
3. Jamali and Henican, How to Catch a Russian Spy, 25, 36, 98.
4. The CIA. “Forging an Intelligence Partnership,” 37; The CIA. “Chief of Station, Karlsruhe,” 2; Juretzko, Bedingt dienstbereit, 138, 140–141.
5. Ferguson, SPY: A Handbook, 82–83; Gibson, BRIXMIS, 108–109, 122–123 (electronic book).
6. Katzenstein, Cultural Norms and National Security, 39.
7. Rucinski, “The Elephant in the Room,” 543–560, 552.
8. Lowenthal, “OSINT: The State of the Art, the Artless State,” 62.
9. Malinowska and Kwapien, “Gray Literature – Funds, Systems, Users.”
10. Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy
11. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “The IC OSINT Strategy 2024–2026”.
12. Bureau of Intelligence and Research, “Open Source Intelligence Strategy,” May 2024.
13. Rucinski, 546; Auger, Information Sources in Grey Literature, viii.
14. Auger, viii.
15. Schöpfel, “Grey Literature and Professional Knowledge Making,” 137.
16. Mering, “Defining and Understanding Grey Literature,” 238.
17. Schöpfel, “Towards a Prague Definition of Grey Literature,”; Okoroma, “Towards Effective Management of Grey Literature,”; Marzi et al. “A Terminology Based Re-Definition of Grey Literature.”
18. Boekhorst et al. “Grey Literature Survey 2004,” 6.
19. GreyNet International, Document Types in Grey Literature; McGlamery, “Lifting the Fog,”; Nahotko, “Some Types of Grey Literature,”; Adams, et al., 434.
20. Antoniou, “Open Source Information,”128.
21. Denda, “Fugitive Literature in the Cross Hairs.”
22. Adams et al., 435.
23. Pavlov, Grey Literature as a Source of Scientific and Technical Information, 38.
24. Adams, et al., 441.
25. Bean, “The Paradox of Open Source,” 49.
26. Rasak, “Event Barraging and the Death of Tactical Level Open-Source Intelligence,” 53.
27. Mercado, “FBIS Against the Axis, 1941–1945,” 1; Bradshaw, “Listening to Cairo,” 2.
28. Leetaru, “The Scope of FBIS and BBC Open-Source Media Coverage,” 18–19.
29. Ibid, 19.
30. Mercado, “FBIS Against the Axis, 1941–1945,” 2.
31. Peiss, Information Hunters, 9.
32. Ibid, 59.
33. Jardines, “Open Source Intelligence,” 7–8.
34. Leetaru, 20.
35. Bradshaw, 2–3.
36. Leetaru, 20.
37. Ibid.
38. Hassig, 559.
39. Becker “Comparative Survey of Soviet and U.S. Access to Published Information,” 37.
40. Croom, “The Exploitation of Foreign Open Source,” 132.
41. Andrew and Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield, 338; Rodier, L’Espionnage Russe, 99.
42. Riehle, The Russian FSB, 56–57.
43. Earley, Comrade J, 44–48.
44. Information Work in Intelligence, 4, 29–30.
45. Haslam, Near and Distant Neighbors, 257.
46. Sopryakov, The East is a Delicate Matter, 28.
47. Eichner and Dobbert, Headquarters Germany, 268–274.
48. Soldatov, “The Analysis in State Security Agencies.”
49. Petkyavichus, “Operations against the NATO countries by the KGB.”
50. Petkyavichus, ‘On the Subscription to the Lithuanian Émigré Newspapers and Magazines’.
51. Kontrimas, “About Operation ‘Impuls’.”
52. Nahotko, op. cit.
53. Jiang and Minami, “The Eyes and Ears of the Dragon.”
54. Nadezhin, “Concerning the Ideological Sabotage by Chinese Intelligence Services,” 304.
55. Hannas et al., Chinese Industrial Espionage, 64, 66.
56. Interagency Grey Literature Working Group, “Grey Information Functional Plan” quoted in Soule and Ryan, 24.
57. Farace and Schöpfel, Grey Literature in Library and Information Studies,111.
58. Goldman, Words of Intelligence, 61.
59. The CIA, “Collection Deck: Technique Cards,” 4.
60. Defense Science Board, “Transition to and from Hostilities.”
61. Community Open Source Program Office, “IC Community Open Source Strategic Plan.”
62. Antoniou, opt. cit.
63. Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group, “Intelligence Guide for First Responders,” 3.
64. Army Techniques Publication, “Open-Source Intelligence,” 33.
65. Carter, Law Enforcement Intelligence, 302.
66. Hatfield, “There Is No Such Thing as Open Source Intelligence,” 401.
67. Naquin, “Remarks by Doug Naquin, CIRA Luncheon,” 8.
68. Blackdot Solutions, “The OSINT Handbook for Law Enforcement.”
69. ”CIA Launching ‘Open Source’ Intel Center.”
70. Naquin, “Remarks and Q&A,” 38.
71. Jardines, 25.
72. Ibid, 28.
73. The Scientific & Technical Intelligence Committee, “STIC OSS Working Group. Special Meetings.”
74. Carter, 302.
75. Schindler, Wer hat Angst vorm BND?108.
76. Soule and Ryan, op. cit.
77. Williams and Blum, “Defining Second Generation Open Source Intelligence.”
78. Soule and Ryan, 25–26.
79. Ibid, 28.
80. Ibid, 28.
81. Williams and Blum, 10–11.
82. Ibid, 11–12.
83. Ibid, 15.
84. Ibid, 15, 18.
85. Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, 48–49, 195.
86. Ibid, 195.
87. Jardines, 10.
88. Hatfield, 398–399.
89. Miller “Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): An Oxymoron?,” 717.
90. Graham, “Remarks and Q&A,” 2.
91. ”CIA Launching ‘Open Source’ Intel Center.”
92. Bean, “The Paradox of Open Source,” 52.
93. Bean, No More Secrets, 60–62.
94. Naquin, ‘Remarks by Doug Naquin, CIRA Luncheon’, 50.
95. I am thankful to an anonymous reviewer for bringing my attention to this fact.
96. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “The IC OSINT Strategy (Citation2024–2026”
97. Ibid, 2.
98. On the concept of theorisation s. Lawrence and Suddaby, ‘Institutions and Institutional Work’, 215–45.
99. Bean, No More Secrets, 55.
100. National Open Source Committee, “National Open Source Strategic Action Plan,” 7.
101. Josef Hatfield, email to the author, 23 March 2024.
102. Hatfield, 412.
103. Boekhorst, et al., 6.
104. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “Panel on Commercially Available Information,” 1.
105. Sims, Decision Advantage, 35.
106. Nye, “Keynote address,” quoted in Jardines, 8–9.
107. Ferran, “US intelligence needs ‘professional cadre’ for OSINT to replace ‘amateur’ IC analysts.”
108. Weinbaum, “Intelligence Failures and the January 6th Attack,” 4; Weinbaum et al., “Options for Strengthening All-Source Intelligence.”
109. Johnston, Analytical Culture in the U.S. Intelligence Community, 17, 20 quoted in Bean, No More Secrets, 81–82.
110. Mercado, “Sailing the Sea of OSINT in the Information Age,” 52–53.
111. Bean, “The Paradox of Open Source,” 49.
112. Naquin, “Remarks by Doug Naquin, CIRA Luncheon,” 5.
113. Naquin, “Remarks and Q&A,” 52.
114. Hayden, “Statement for the Record.”
115. Soule and Ryan, “Gray Literature,” The Battelle/DTIC “SummIT,” 6.
116. The CIA, “Collection Deck: Technique Cards,” 3.
117. Aftergood, “CIA Halts Public Access To Open Source Service.”
118. Aftergood, “Improved Access To Open Source Intelligence Urged.”
119. Logan, “Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission,” 13.
120. Fisher, “China’s Space and Counterspace Programs,” 189.
121. Arterburn, “U.S. Investment in China’s Capital Markets,” 185.
122. Brown, “Finding and Using Grassroots Historical Sources from the Mao Era.”
123. Lan’kov, 317.
124. ”Otto Warmbier: US student sent home from North Korea dies.”
125. Lahneman, “Outsourcing the IC’s Stovepipes?,” 575–576.
126. Ibid, 582–587.
127. Ehrman, “What Are We Talking About Now,” 14–15.
128. Bean, No More Secrets, 5.
129. Naquin, “Remarks by Doug Naquin, CIRA Luncheon,” 5.
130. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “The IC OSINT Strategy (Citation2024–2026”, 2.
131. Mason and Jason M., “Emerging from the Shadows,” 1.
132. Social Links, “Linked-In account.”
133. Leich, “The Victor Kamkin Bookstore,” 27.
134. Mercado, “Sailing the Sea of OSINT in the Information Age,” 48.
135. For an in-depth analysis of grey literature resources provided by large information service providers both public and private s. Bonato, Searching the Grey Literature.
136. Keefer, “The Media Mouse Surviving the Big Tech Meteor.”
137. East View Information Services, “Government.”
138. Keefer, opt cit.
139. East View Information Services, “Journals.”
140. East View Information Services, “Soviet Military Posters.”
141. Davis, “Overview of Available Electronic Resources,” 25–26.
142. East View Information Services, “Resources from the Middle East,” 10.
143. Benchmark Maps, “East View Geospatial Hires Benchmark Maps Cartographers.”
144. Keefer, opt cit.
145. Mercado, “Sailing the Sea of OSINT in the Information Age,” 51; On Soviet military cartography s. Davies and Kent, The Red Atlas.
146. Smoljanski, “This is not a war!” 4–6.
147. Ibid.
148. Integrum World Wide, “About the company.”
149. Integrum World Wide, “Services”.
150. Smoljanski, opt. sit.
151. Voelz, “Contractors and Intelligence,” 605.
152. Harris, “Intelligence Shop.”
153. Bean, No More Secrets, 8.
154. Blackdot Solutions, 8.
155. Undisclosed company, “Unpublished International Market Study. Proposal report,” 22 September 2014: 8–9.
156. Narrative Strategies, “Doctrine Library.”
157. Sage-Passant, “The Security Intelligence Services of the Private Sector,” 234–235.
158. Zegart, Spies, Lies, and Algorithms, 231–50.
159. Sage-Passant, 234–235; Lewis Sage-Passant, email to the author, 14 March 2024.
160. Lowenthal, “OSINT: The State of the Art, the Artless State,” 62.
161. Sage-Passant, 154–158.
162. SOS International LLC, “About SOSi,” 2009.
163. SOS International LLC, “About SOSi,” 2011.
164. Debachere, “Problems in Obtaining Grey Literature,” 96.
165. Sigurdson and Nelson, 25–26.
166. Kahaner, Competitive Intelligence, 61.
167. Toshiro, “The Japanese investigative industry.”
168. ‘Turkey Detains 44 People’; “Turkey Details Disrupting anti-Iran Mossad Spy Network”; Bozkurt, “Anti-Mossad Operations in Turkey Define the New Character of Erdogan’s Islamist Regime”; Toksabay, “Turkey Detains Seven Suspected of Selling Information to Israel’s Mossad.”
169. ”Mossad’s Turkish Spies Paid Thousands to Collect Intel in Germany.”
170. West, Historical Dictionary of International Intelligence, 99.
Additional information
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Grigorij Serscikov
Grigorij Serscikov is a seasoned independent researcher and consultant with over 15 years of experience in offering strategic advice and analysis to companies within the energy and financial sectors. He earned his Master’s Degree in Crisis and Security Management from Leiden University and a Ph.D. from the University of Dundee.