2025 OSINT Pathway
The heightened excitement of AI and learning models has garnered intense speculation and enthusiasm from the intelligence community, while also introducing a healthy skepticism based on the uncertainty of the new products in the market’s capabilities and limitations. Yet the persistence of technology evolvement does not waver, so OSINT analysts adjust and meet the challenge accordingly.
In 2024 we saw no less than three major intelligence leads (DNI, DIA and INR) introduce their OSINT strategies to meet this demand, agreeing OSINT is the INT of first resort, with major similarities across all their plans, which shows us where this OSINT pathway is headed in the new year.
Commonalities Found Across the Three OSINT Strategies
Strategic Alignment: OSINT’s growing importance, advocating for its integration into intelligence operations and highlighting its value in informing policymakers.
Governance and Policy: The need for governance frameworks to ensure proper use, legal compliance, and ethical management of OSINT.
Training and Workforce Development: Focus on enhancing training programs and upskilling personnel in OSINT methods, ensuring the workforce is prepared for the evolving landscape.
Collaboration: Deepening collaboration with allies, industry, and other government agencies. All strategies acknowledge that partnerships are essential to stay current with advancements and expand capabilities.
Technology and Tools: Leveraging advanced technology like AI, machine learning, and commercial tools to enhance OSINT capabilities, manage large datasets, and speed up analysis.
Given a common ask that aligns with what the industry practitioners have been saying for decades, we all hail and welcome the IC to our side of the fence, the corporate and academic practitioners welcome our government partners. For too long, OSINT with the USG has operated in an echo chamber, with contractors recycling knowledge already held by agencies. The real-world challenges faced by businesses, financial institutions and private sector investigators require a different approach – one grounded in professional expertise, ethical responsibility, and deep understanding of legal frameworks. OSINT is not a hobby. It is a profession, and it must be treated as such.
OSINT Pathways Grow in 2025
Meeting in the middle, we see the following pathway moving our profession forward together unified in a mission to make our world a safer place; while affording researchers the ability practice their tradecraft expertly.
Fully Trained OSINT Analyst. Training built on tradecraft, expertise and established frameworks. Not just a singular one-day training event, but continuing education rapidly advances the OSINT professional from collector to analytical researcher. A critical part of the intelligence team supporting the leadership by understanding diverse markets, while managing large data catalogues, recognizing geopolitical challenges and financial market nuances.
Adaptation of Toolsets. Database providers are vendors of efficiencies. They help aggregate and refine large data sets quickly for an analyst to review. AI and ML are impactful force multipliers, and link analysis sees connections an analyst may miss. Properly trained analysts understand the power and appropriate use of these products to meet the needs of their research.
Ethics & Laws. Knowing the power of data to influence decision makers and steer, not only choices for entities, but countries, also means respecting the impact on governance. OSINT professionals need to be prepared to interpret and explain their use of information to help impact their mission while not harming others.
Collaboration. Working across the aisle to share and co-exist within a community of tradecraft practitioners, such as OSMOSIS Association, gives voice to the profession, while also allowing us to question ourselves amongst each other. We grow together or we don’t grow at all.
OSINT professionals will be recognized as necessary experts in the data flooded world, where everything is questionable, unsorted and overwhelming. Much like computer forensics of the 1990’s, first nascent and misunderstood, it has grown into a 13-billion-dollar market, with educational degrees, certifications, career pathways, enterprise software market, and all the trappings of an industry that was nothing 30 years ago.
The future is bright for critical thinking analysts who enjoy being impactful with their work. For hungry market fintech investors, the software capitalists and training academies, 2025 will be a very busy year.
