OSINT with ShadowDragon & Digital Tools For Modern Investigations

Guest introduction & background Melisa describes how the 2010–11 Arab Spring revealed the power of social-media data while she was a Department of the Army civilian in Afghanistan. Since then she has worked across academia, federal agencies, and the private sector to professionalize open-source intelligence, currently serving as OSINT Director at Guidehouse and chair of AFCEA’s Emerging Professionals in the Intelligence Community (EPIC) committee. Why OSINT matters now Every modern investigation—military, law-enforcement, or corporate—relies on publicly available information (PAI); skipping it “short-changes” the mission. Recent unclassified U.S. DoD, ODNI, and Army OSINT strategies publicly signal a whole-of-government commitment and an invitation for industry partnership. Congress has underscored this shift with the first House Subcommittee dedicated to open-source intelligence. Public-private synergy & funding gaps Dual-use commercial tools and venture-backed research and development give the U.S. an edge, but the Intelligence Community still allocates less than 1% of its budget to OSINT despite the discipline providing roughly 30% of material in the President’s Daily Brief. Cloud storage, advanced data sets, and continuous tool development make OSINT “cheap relative to satellites” but far from free; chronic underfunding risks hollowing out capabilities. Generative AI opportunities & cautions Large language models accelerate sense-making (summarization, triage, translation) amid an ever-expanding data ocean. Analysts must demand rigorous sourcing and bias evaluation—“every AI-generated sentence needs a footnote”—and should favor secure, controlled models over public chatbots. The real value lies in “a collector who knows how to use AI,” not in AI replacing human tradecraft. Operational vs. strategic OSINT Tactical users (SOF, JSOC) need rapid, geotagged, mission-ready insights; strategic analysts focus on long-term trends, indications & warnings, and partner sharing. Both require advanced skills—data science, cyber forensics, provenance verification—not just “having an internet connection.” Professionalization & future skills Formal tradecraft standards, dedicated career paths, and prompt-engineering expertise are emerging to match HUMINT, SIGINT, and GEOINT. Melisa urges the next generation of intel professionals to embrace OSINT’s complexity, continuous learning curve, and growing strategic impact. Persistent misconceptions debunked Myth #1: OSINT is “free.” Reality: tooling, storage, and talent are expensive and scaling. Myth #2: OSINT is inferior to classified sources. Reality: it often provides the first, fastest, and sometimes only vantage point—and stands on equal analytic rigor. Special Guest: Melisa Stivaletti .

Former Green Beret and national-security advocate Doug Livermore joins the ShadowDragon team to unpack how publicly available information (PAI) and commercial open-source intelligence (OSINT) are transforming modern conflict—and why agile private-sector partners now shape outcomes as much as governments do. Key points & take-aways Breaking the “intel vs. ops” firewall * U.S. commanders once distrusted anything that didn’t come from classified HUMINT or SIGINT; today, PAI often drives the find-fix-finish cycle faster than traditional sources. Field lessons from five theaters * Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, the DRC, and the Central African Republic showed that PAI is frequently the only data commanders can legally share with immature or non-NATO partner forces. * Cheap commercial tools—Google Maps, social media scraping, Internet-of-Things exhaust—now reveal patterns of life, financial flows, and physical locations in minutes. Cultural turning points * The Arab Spring (2010) and ISIS propaganda boom (2014-15) proved that open networks can topple regimes and expose targets. * Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war brought OSINT to prime time, with private analysts mapping tank battalions and documenting war crimes in real time. Afghanistan 2021: Private networks move faster than states * Livermore’s nonprofits No One Left Behind and SOAA used PAI, commercial satellites, and encrypted chat to steer evacuees past Taliban checkpoints when official channels bogged down. * U.S. intelligence officers quietly pulled data from these civilian ops centers—a preview of future public-private crisis response. Information warfare & influence ops * Open digital terrain lets both democracies and adversaries micro-target audiences, erode civil trust, or rally global support; mastering sentiment analysis is now a core skill for operators. Policy & the road ahead * Expect formalized private-public frameworks that let nonprofits and tech firms plug straight into combatant-command fusion cells. * Civil-liberties safeguards must keep pace, distinguishing U.S. person data from foreign-adversary exploitation. Special Guest: Doug Livermore.

In this episode of the Shadow Dragon podcast, Director of National Security David Cook (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-n-cook/) hosts a conversation for National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The panel features: - Matt Richardson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwrichardson/), Senior Advisor of Intelligence and Child Safety at the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (https://followmoneyfightslavery.org/) (ATII) and Head of Intelligence at the Canadian OSINT Center (https://theosintcentre.ca/) - Daniel Clemens (https://www.linkedin.com/in/clemensdaniel/), CEO and Founder of Shadow Dragon - Elliot Anderson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lemmingrush/), CTO of Shadow Dragon This episode explores how open-source intelligence (OSINT) methods can unveil hidden threads of human trafficking by tracing repeated text, phone numbers, and images in online ads. Experts from both ShadowDragon and the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII) emphasize that ethical, transparent data collection is vital for legal admissibility. They also stress the significance of parental involvement—through open dialogue, clear device-use boundaries, and vigilance for red flags like unsolicited gifts or secrecy—in thwarting exploitation before it begins. Central to prevention is the “stop, block, and talk” framework, which empowers children to discontinue unsafe interactions, block perpetrators, and immediately seek help from a trusted adult. Ultimately, the episode underscores that deploying cutting-edge OSINT tools, coupled with engaged parenting and community collaboration, remains key to addressing the global crisis of human trafficking. Key Takeaways OSINT in Trafficking Investigations: Repeated text, phone numbers, and images in online ads can offer critical leads on trafficking networks. Ethical Data Collection: Transparent, legally compliant methods ensure that gathered evidence is admissible in court. Parenting & Prevention: Open communication, device-use boundaries, and awareness of red flags (like secretive behavior) are essential for child safety. “Stop, Block, and Talk”: A straightforward guideline that urges children to halt disturbing interactions, block the user, and seek adult assistance. Community Collaboration: Harnessing advanced OSINT tools alongside active parental and broader community engagement is crucial in the fight against human trafficking. Request to view ShadowDragon and CACI's DarkBlue Intelligence Suite Webinar on using OSINT to find indicators of human trafficking online: https://share.hsforms.com/1dcl3pCneSpOAeQpkQFI66g53lw0 Special Guest: Matt Richardson.

In this episode of the Shadow Dragon podcast, Director of National Security David Cook (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-n-cook/) hosts a conversation for National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The panel features: - Matt Richardson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwrichardson/), Senior Advisor of Intelligence and Child Safety at the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (https://followmoneyfightslavery.org/) (ATII) and Head of Intelligence at the Canadian OSINT Center (https://theosintcentre.ca/) - Daniel Clemens (https://www.linkedin.com/in/clemensdaniel/), CEO and Founder of Shadow Dragon - Elliot Anderson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lemmingrush/), CTO of Shadow Dragon They discuss how human traffickers operate, the indicators that a child or adult may be at risk, and the ways online investigative tools—particularly open-source intelligence (OSINT) platforms—support law enforcement efforts. Matt shares the emotional toll of these cases and the importance of self-care for investigators, emphasizing that while the work can be harrowing, it is a privilege to help protect vulnerable individuals. The group also highlights the power of community partnerships, legal collaboration, and technology in preventing human trafficking and rescuing victims. This episode is part one of a three-part series focusing on human trafficking and online marketplaces, with a strong warning that some content may be disturbing to listeners. Request to view ShadowDragon and CACI's DarkBlue Intelligence Suite Webinar on using OSINT to find indicators of human trafficking online: https://share.hsforms.com/1dcl3pCneSpOAeQpkQFI66g53lw0 Special Guest: Matt Richardson.