From tracking Russian troop movements in Ukraine, to conducting due diligence as part of M&A deals, Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is foundation to understanding risk across industries.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is the practice of collecting and analysing information gathered from open sources to produce actionable intelligence that informs decision-making.
Paul Wright, Neal Ysart and Elisar Nurmagambet, experts at the of Coalition of Cyber Investigators, have shared an authoritative analysis on the challenges of online intelligence collection, particularly around evidential integrity, contextual accuracy and investigative tradecraft, is both timely and essential.
Having served as Director of Intelligence at the City of London Police, I resonate with their findings. Confidentiality, source protection and operational integrity were not abstract principles, they were the difference between safeguarding life and property or placing people at risk. Wright, Ysart and Nurmagambet articulates that OSINT is not only supplementary, but a primary intelligence discipline that requires the same rigour, cultural awareness and protection measures as any conventional techniques.
The authors highlight several issues that should concern every professional investigator today:
1. OSINT is expanding faster than many organisations can adapt
The Coalition’s work frequently emphasises that investigators now rely on a vast array of public facing data sources spread across global digital ecosystems. Their analyses of OSINT practices underscore the importance of structured methodologies, evidential discipline and contextual interpretation, especially as investigations traverse multiple online environments and jurisdictions.
2. OSINT without cultural and linguistic accuracy is dangerous
A critical theme running through their body of work is the importance of context. As they have noted in various publications, misinterpretation, whether linguistic, cultural or behavioural, can result in flawed assessments, mistaken identities, and investigative blind spots.
This is an issue that deserves far more attention.
English remains the dominant language of the OSINT community, but it is not the dominant language of the world.
Investigators cannot afford to overlook or ignore:
These elements often contain mission critical signals that do not translate cleanly through generic machine translation tools commonly used by investigators.
Secure tools such as CoPilot can be integrated into investigation and e-discovery workflows to translate content and give up to 95% accuracy. But the greatest risk can be hiding within that last 5%. A single mistranslation, lost nuance or misinterpreted phrase can compromise an entire line of inquiry.
In extremist communities, criminal networks and fraud ecosystems, coded language is used deliberately to obscure meaning, mislead outsiders, and communicate sensitive information only insiders will recognise. Wright and Ysart’s broader commentary on the evolution of online deception and fraud dynamics shows how adversaries increasingly use sophisticated digital methods to conceal activities in plain sight.
Missing these signals due to language bias increases the risk of harm, wastes precious investigative resources and damages confidence among stakeholders.
One of the commonly overlooked risks in OSINT work today is the digital footprint of the investigator.
Every search, click, and translation request leaves traces. Some platforms track user behaviour. Others expose metadata. Many online translation engines retain input text, building datasets whose security and privacy controls investigators cannot verify.
As Wright and Ysart emphasise in their discussions on evidential integrity and tradecraft, investigators must protect not only their findings but also their own visibility, identity and methods.
In sensitive investigations, particularly those involving hostile actors or serious organised crime groups, a careless online footprint risks:
This is a threat intelligence leaders understand all too well. As a police Director of Intelligence, my number one priority was the protection of my officers and the sources who supplied intelligence product. The rigorous application of field craft is essential especially in fast, high-risk setting. Advances in AI tools for investigators, has added powerful new tools to their arsenal, that require careful handling to prevent them being turned upon them.
This is precisely why modern investigators need tools designed with operational security, linguistic accuracy, evidential reliability and interoperability at their core.
Where GAI Translate Helps
While this is not a sales pitch, I would be remiss not to highlight why Guildhawk works closely with regulated professionals like Tenet Law to develop solutions such as GAI Translate and GAI Small Language Models (GAI SLMs) that address the very challenges Wright, Ysart and Nurmagambet discuss.
In the world Wright, Ysart and Nurmagambet describe, one where OSINT is increasingly sophisticated, cross-border, and mission critical, these capabilities are not “nice to have.” They are essential. This reflected too in the judges praise when honouring GAI with the Safety & Security Entrepreneurs Awards, Market Disruptor of the Year award.
The work of Paul Wright, Neal Ysart and Elisar Nurmagambet is a reminder that OSINT is undergoing a transformation. As the digital landscape becomes more multilingual, more deceptive and more operationally complex, our investigative tools and practices must evolve with it.
For investigators, intelligence professionals and analysts, the message is clear:
Their insights strengthen the profession, and they underscore why secure, multilingual, culturally aware intelligence workflows are now indispensable in the age of AI.
If we are to protect people, assets and communities effectively, as I had to every day in my former role with the British Police and United Nations Police Investigator, we must ensure our OSINT practices meet the threats we face.
And that starts with understanding the world in all the languages it speaks.