Open Source Intelligence and Investigative Techniques for Locating Radioactive Sources

Abstract

Abstract Radioactive sources outside of regulatory control pose a wide range of safety and security threats to people and the environment. The chapter examines how traditional methods of administrative and physical searches to locate radioactive sources outside of regulatory control can be complemented by using open source intelligence (OSINT) techniques. The chapter discusses several types of open source data and analytical methods for locating radioactive sources outside of regulatory control and explains how the authors and others have used them as part of efforts to locate such material. A facility suspected to contain radioactive sources serves as an organizational hub for data and analysis. Different types of data, including satellite and ground truth imagery, academic and grey literature, news reports, and press releases are employed to learn about the facility, while social media provides information about current and former employees. The discussion of these data types is accompanied by examples and a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the various OSINT techniques. While open source data cannot replace traditional methods, it can play an invaluable role in supplementing additional information to national inventories of radioactive sources.