List of intelligence gathering disciplines

1. List of intelligence gathering disciplines • HUMINT (Human Intelligence) *Espionage/Spying • GEOINT (IMINT) geospatial intelligence / imagery intelligence • MASINT (measurement and signature intelligence) • OSINT (open source intelligence) • SIGINT (signals intelligence) • TECHINT (technical intelligence) • FININT (financial intelligence)

2. HUMINT Human Intelligence - gathered from a person on the ground. • Patrolling (Military police, patrols, etc) • strategic reconnaissance, as by Special Forces • military attaches • Friendly accredited diplomats • Prisoners of war (POW's) or detainees • Refugees • Traveler debriefing(e.g., CIA Domestic Contact Service) • Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

3. GEOINT (IMINT) • GEOspatialINTelligence, [IMINT = Imagery Intelligence] • is an intelligence discipline comprising the exploitation and analysis of satellite information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. • GEOINT sources include imagery and mapping data, whether collected by commercial satellite, government satellite or by other means, such as UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) or reconnaissance aircraft

4. MASINT [1] • Measurement and Signature Intelligence (1982) • is scientific and technical intelligence information obtained by quantitative and qualitative analysis of data (metric, angle, spatial, wavelength, time dependence, modulation, plasma, and hydromagnetic) • Comes from specific technical sensors for the purpose of: • identifying any distinctive features associated with the source, emitter, or sender and • to facilitate subsequent identification and/or measurement of the same

5. MASINT [2] MASINT includes: • Radar Intelligence (RADINT) • Acoustic Intelligence (ACOUSTINT) • Nuclear Intelligence (NUCINT) • Radio Frequency/Electromagnetic Pulse Intelligence (RF/EMPINT) • Electro-optical Intelligence (ELECTRO-OPTINT) • Laser Intelligence (LASINT) • Materials Intelligence • Unintentional Radiation Intelligence (RINT) • Chemical and Biological Intelligence (CBINT) • Directed Energy Weapons Intelligence (DEWINT) • Effluent/Debris Collection • Spectroscopic Intelligence • Infrared Intelligence (IRINT)

6. OSINT • Open Source Intelligence is an information processing discipline that involves finding, selecting, and acquiring information from publicly available sources and analyzing it to produce actionable intelligence. • Media • Public data • Observation and reporting • Professional and academic - conferences, symposia, professional associations, academic papers, and subject matter experts • Most information has geospatial dimensions, but many often overlook the geospatial side of OSINT: not all open source data is unstructured text

7. SIGINT • SIGnalsINTelligence, which is a intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between • people (i.e., COMINT or communications intelligence) or • machines (i.e., ELINT or electronic intelligence) • As sensitive information is often encrypted, SIGINT often involves the use of cryptanalysis • However, traffic analysis—the study of who is signaling whom and in what quantity—can often produce valuable information, even when the messages themselves cannot be decrypted.

8. TECHINT • Intelligence about weapons and equipment used by the armed forces of foreign nations (often referred to as foreign materiel). • Intelligence derived from the collection, processing, analysis, and exploitation of data and information pertaining to foreign equipment and materiel for the purposes of • preventing technological surprise, • assessing foreign scientific and technical capabilities, and • developing countermeasures designed to neutralize an adversary’s technological advantages."

9. FININT • Financial intelligence (FININT) is • the gathering of information about the financial affairs of entities of interest, to understand their nature and capabilities, and predict their intentions. • Examples of financial intelligence analysis could include: • Identifying high-risk housing tenants on the basis of past rental histories. • Discovering safe havens where criminals park the proceeds of crime. • Accounting for how a large sum of money handed to a targeted individual disappears • Checking to see if a corrupt individual has had any sudden and unexplained windfalls. • Detecting relationships between terrorist cells through remittances.