Open Source Information Research Articles

Mapping the Use of Open Source Research in UN Human Rights Investigations

Abstract Open source information, particularly digital open source information that is publicly available on the internet, plays an increasingly central role in the landscape of human rights investigations. This article provides a thorough analysis of how open source information is used in practice by UN human rights fact-finding missions, commissions of inquiry and other official human rights investigations. Combining data from semi-structured interviews carried out with investigators with specific experience in open source human rights investigations with a review of reports and other primary and secondary sources, it examines the utility of open source information to UN human rights investigative bodies. It posits that open source research can offer tremendous benefits in planning investigations, supplying lead evidence, and providing direct evidence of violations, thereby overcoming some of the access barriers that investigators face, and potentially giving voice to a wider range of perspectives. On the other hand, this article argues that open source investigations should be approached with a clear eye to their challenges and possible pitfalls. These include the gaps of open source information and the potential to silence already-marginalized communities through open source investigations, as well as the resource-intensive nature of these investigations, the danger that open source information can affect witnesses’ perceptions, and the risks posed by online disinformation. As open source research is likely to comprise an important component of the human rights investigator’s toolbox in the future, this article argues in favour of the institutional buy-in, resourcing, and methodological rigour that it deserves.

An Environment-Specific Prioritization Model for Information-Security Vulnerabilities Based on Risk Factor Analysis

Vulnerabilities represent a constant and growing risk for organizations. Their successful exploitation compromises the integrity and availability of systems. The use of specialized tools facilitates the vulnerability monitoring and scanning process. However, the large amount of information transmitted over the network makes it difficult to prioritize the identified vulnerabilities based on their severity and impact. This research aims to design and implement a prioritization model for detecting vulnerabilities based on their network environment variables and characteristics. A mathematical prioritization model was developed, which allows for calculating the risk factor using the phases of collection, analysis, and extraction of knowledge from the open information sources of the OSINT framework. The input data were obtained through the Shodan REST API. Then, the mathematical model was applied to the relevant information on vulnerabilities and their environment to quantify and calculate the risk factor. Additionally, a software prototype was designed and implemented that automates the prioritization process through a Client–Server architecture incorporating data extraction, correlation, and calculation modules. The results show that prioritization of vulnerabilities was achieved with the information available to the attacker, which allows evaluating the overexposure of information from organizations. Finally, we concluded that Shodan has relevant variables that assess and quantify the overexposure of an organization’s data. In addition, we determined that the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is not sufficient to prioritize software vulnerabilities since the environments where they reside have different characteristics.

Роль программ поддержки пациентов в реализации ценностно-ориентированного здравоохранения

Patient support programs as a new institutional phenomenon take over part of the functions of the Institute of Healthcare in drug provision, diagnostics, clinicians and patients education, infrastructure support. Purpose: to evaluate the role of patient support programs (PPMS) by describing the mechanisms of their implementation. Materials and methods. On the basis of open sources of information and scientific literature data, the initiatives to launch PPP in Russia of medicines and medical devices were analyzed. Results. The most common programs are that combine financial and information mechanisms. The key principle of the development of the PPP is orientation to the patient’s pathway. Typical tools for the implementation of PPP include the following: hotline, SMS-informing, patronage service, online monitoring, patient training, insurance. The effectiveness of the PPP is assessed by four groups of indicators: patient adherence, quality of life and patient experience, clinical outcome indicators, cost savings. Conclusions. Health authorities and medical professionals should be aware of the possibilities of programs to achieve the goals of improving the quality and accessibility of medical care, and can also help to systematically assess the effectiveness of such programs from the perspective of public health.

Improving Open-Source Information on African Politics, One Student at a Time

Improving Open-Source Information on African Politics, One Student at a Time

The role and importance of information from open sources in increasing vulnerability to security threats in cyberspace, with particular reference to cyberterrorism

The aim of the article is to present how the role and importance of open source information has increased in recent years as a significant part of the functioning of societies has moved to the world of Internet. Unfortunately, along with this trend, new threats have emerged, including those of a cyberterrorist nature, which require immediate action to limit their impact on information security.

Possibilities of use open sources and information requests in judicial journalism

This scientific publication is devoted to study of the following topics:
 — public informational needs for the judiciary journalism;
 — informing publications in the media as responses to a number of state reforms and court decisions on a number of high-profile cases; open source capabilities and information requests; 
 — setting new goals and partially predicting possible behavioral changes in society resulting from changes in forensic journalism.
 To demonstrate the information capability of court schedules, a table is formed that includes indicators for shares in criminal, civil and administrative proceedings which have been scheduled for hearing in courts of general jurisdiction as well as indicators of judge workloads.
 The study of the possibilities of open sources and information requests in forensic journalism is intended for a wider use in practice, which will increase the professional competence of journalists and discover new topics for investigative journalism, news, generation of analytical materials that will promote legal literacy among the population.

Trust as a necessary element of the employer's image (legal aspect)

The article considers the image and reputation of the employer and trust as their necessary element. The emphasis is on legal factors. It shows the dependence of the image and reputation of the employer in the labor market on compliance with legal norms, as well as the importance of open sources of information about the organization and/or employer, based on which the job seeker will decide on possible employment

Specialised Media Monitoring Tool to Observe Situational Awareness

The 21st century witnessed the rise of the digital age via the evolution of the Internet. A direct result of the established digital era is the growth of digital media. Although traditional media, such as print and broadcasting, remains relevant, the low accessibility and limited reach impact the effectiveness of such media. In comparison, digital media, such as social media, provides access to vast collections of open-source information. The open-source information available on digital media platforms is current and easily accessible. However, conversion of open-source information into intelligence becomes a time-consuming and quite ineffective process due to the large quantities of information available. Open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools attempt to address such limitations by offering technological solutions that provide access to up to date, as well as easily searchable digital information. Thus, OSINT tools, such as Shodan and Maltego, streamline the conversion of open-source information into intelligence. This paper introduces the design of a new but specialised media monitoring tool to assist with the monitoring of open-source information towards enabling situational awareness. The key design feature of this new media monitoring tool is to offer versatility by guiding the collection of open-source information. Controlling the amount of information gathered in turn improves the efficiency of the processes used to extract intelligence. The obtained intelligence, thus, enables the observation of situational awareness of chosen aspects within a secure environment. Also discussed in this paper is the motivation behind the design of the specialised media monitoring tool, as well as various design considerations, are taken to ensure effective usage of the tool. The paper concludes by discussing the various benefits offered by the specialised media monitoring tool concerning observing situational awareness.

Critical Systems Protection (CSP): The US Secret Service’s Tactical Cyber Capability for Securing Protectees

This paper examines a largely unknown cybersecurity function within the United States Secret Service (USSS), that is separate and apart from its traditional cybersecurity mission in financial crime investigations. This program - Critical Systems Protection (CSP) – is instead focused on the Secret Service’s protective mission and analyzes and secures the cyber environments of facilities and locations visited by the agency’s protectees. Exploiting publicly available documents about CSP, this paper will document this unique organization that combines some of the highest profile issues in cybersecurity – operational and tactical level cybersecurity efforts, and the security of cyber-physical systems. Drawing on open-source information and government documents, this paper sketches out the CSP mission, its partnerships with other agencies and organizations, and some of the tools and other capabilities it has developed.

A law and politics contextualization of corporate activism in Nigeria's 2020 anti-police brutality campaign.

Corporate activism—the progressive pursuit of social justice causes by corporations—is a growing global phenomenon. There are increasing expectations and, in many cases, demands that corporations pull off their gloves to actively confront sociopolitical issues bedeviling their communities. Emerging scholarship suggests that corporate activism is influenced by various factors, including the ethical, political, and commercial orientations of corporate minds and the relative political and legal landscape within which corporations operate. Adopting a qualitative research mechanism that reflects on open-source information about relevant actors, collected from blogs, Twitter, and news sites, as complemented by a broad variety of secondary sources, this interdisciplinary research explores the theoretical suppositions of corporate activism in light of corporate intervention in Nigeria’s youth-led nationwide anti-police brutality (#EndSARS) protests of October 2020. The analysis highlights how Nigeria’s legal, political, and socioeconomic dynamics factored into the dimensions of corporate activism in that momentous social justice agitation. As a key finding, the paper observes a relatively greater tendency of tech companies to engage in the Nigerian anti-police brutality movement than firms from other sectors, and attributes this relative involvement to the seemingly greater levels of representation of young tech industry employees as victims of police brutality. This tends to ground a crucial supposition in corporate activism theory: that corporations would more likely engage social issues that affect their business.

Accessible from the open web: a qualitative analysis of the available open-source information involving cyber security and critical infrastructure

Abstract In order to efficiently manage and operate industrial-level production, an increasing number of industrial devices and critical infrastructure (CI) are now connected to the internet, exposed to malicious hackers and cyberterrorists who aim to cause significant damage to institutions and countries. Throughout the various stages of a cyber-attack, Open-source Intelligence (OSINT) tools could gather data from various publicly available platforms, and thus help hackers identify vulnerabilities and develop malware and attack strategies against targeted CI sectors. The purpose of the current study is to explore and identify the types of OSINT data that are useful for malicious individuals intending to conduct cyber-attacks against the CI industry. Applying and searching keyword queries in four open-source surface web platforms (Google, YouTube, Reddit, and Shodan), search results published between 2015 and 2020 were reviewed and qualitatively analyzed to categorize CI information that could be useful to hackers. Over 4000 results were analyzed from the open-source websites, 250 of which were found to provide information related to hacking and/or cybersecurity of CI facilities to malicious actors. Using thematic content analysis, we identified three major types of data malicious attackers could retrieve using OSINT tools: indirect reconnaissance data, proof-of-concept codes, and educational materials. The thematic results from this study reveal an increasing amount of open-source information useful for malicious attackers against industrial devices, as well as the need for programs, training, and policies required to protect and secure industrial systems and CI.

Substantiation of Approaches to the Analysis and Assessment of the Effectiveness of Participants in the Implementation of Diversifcation Programs.

Purpose: of the article is to substantiate conceptual approaches to the formation of a toolkit for assessing the effectiveness of participants in the development and implementation of diversifcation programs for enterprises of the military-industrial complex in the context of digital transformation of management.Methods: the research methodology is based on general economic approaches to studying the problems of the efciency of economic activity of economic entities and special approaches to the formation of complex systems for analyzing and assessing the effectiveness and efciency of the activities of project management participants in the process of developing and implementing programs for the diversifcation of the defense industry. The basis of the methodology is the concept of performance management in the context of digital transformation of management.Results: the article presents the key provisions and the main results of the study, obtained on the basis of studying the materials of scientific publications and open information sources in the subject area under consideration using the methods of logical, content and statistical analysis. Based on the specifcs of diversifcation programs, it is proposed to use the provisions of the performance management concept as a theoretical basis for the formation of a tool for assessing the activities of their participants. An integral multiplicative criterion of efciency for a comprehensive assessment of activities is proposed. It is built on the indicators of fve aspects of assessing the performance of participants in diversifcation programs. These aspects assess the completenes s of the organizational and methodological support of the diversification process, the consolidated effectiveness and efciency of the program activities, the quality of management, as well as the fnancial security of the implementation of the diversifcation program activities.Conclusions and Relevance: a scenario approach to substantiating the parameters of the incentive mechanism in the model of coordinated activity of the participants in the implementation of the diversifcation program is proposed, which takes into account the assessment of its commercial parameters. The results presented in the article are useful in the development of methodological support for assessing the effectiveness and organizing incentives for participants in diversifcation programs in the context of the formation of a digital ecosystem for managing enterprises of the military-industrial complex.

The effect of ISO/IEC 27001 standard over open-source intelligence.

The Internet’s emergence as a global communication medium has dramatically expanded the volume of content that is freely accessible. Through using this information, open-source intelligence (OSINT) seeks to meet basic intelligence requirements. Although open-source information has historically been synonymous with strategic intelligence, today’s consumers range from governments to corporations to everyday people. This paper aimed to describe open-source intelligence and to show how to use a few OSINT resources. In this article, OSINT (a combination of public information, social engineering, open-source information, and internet information) was examined to define the present situation further, and suggestions were made as to what could happen in the future. OSINT is gaining prominence, and its application is spreading into different areas. The primary difficulty with OSINT is separating relevant bits from large volumes of details. Thus, this paper proposed and illustrated three OSINT alternatives, demonstrating their existence and distinguishing characteristics. The solution analysis took the form of a presentation evaluation, during which the usage and effects of selected OSINT solutions were reported and observed. The paper’s results demonstrate the breadth and dispersion of OSINT solutions. The mechanism by which OSINT data searches are returned varies greatly between solutions. Combining data from numerous OSINT solutions to produce a detailed summary and interpretation involves work and the use of multiple disjointed solutions, both of which are manual. Visualization of results is anticipated to be a potential theme in the production of OSINT solutions. Individuals’ data search and analysis abilities are another trend worth following, whether to optimize the productivity of currently accessible OSINT solutions or to create more advanced OSINT solutions in the future.

Techniques for up-to-date aquaculture compound feed production facilities

The subject of research was the techniques for the feed industry to select the main areas for improving the production of fish feed using promising competitive technologies and equipment. The research was carried out using information and analytical monitoring, as well as analysis and generalization of data obtained from open information sources. In the course of the research, the advantages of extrusion processes for the production of compound feed for aquaculture were identified and substantiated, in particular, such as sterilization; homogenization; stabilization of raw materials; increasing the digestibility of feed; reduced crumbling and less water pollution during feeding. These processes, due to their high efficiency and the possibility of using waste and secondary agricultural raw materials, can be considered as the best available technologies. The paper provides specifications of up-to-date feed extruders from foreign and domestic manufacturers. The advantages of using foreign technologies and equipment in the production of extruded fish feed at large enterprises are shown. It has been proven that mobile feed mills and mini-shops are promising for launching production directly at the farm using the available own raw materials and domestic equipment. The results of the work will contribute to the formation of an open source of information on the scientific and scientific-engineering groundwork in the field of innovative technologies and equipment for the production of feed for aquaculture. This includes providing their implementation at agricultural enterprises and the implementation of the state program of the Russian Federation titled ‘Development of the fishery industry’.

COMPUTER VISION

This article explores the subject of computer vision systems – a technology that allows vehicles to identify, track, and also classify objects on the roadway. The objectives of the study are to consider the principle of operation of these automated systems, their advantages in comparison with modern road regulation, as well as the problems of implementation and development of these systems. The research was carried out on the basis of the analysis of information from open information resources. The statistics of accidents at work are presented, the high rates of which are due to large volumes of production and an outdated system for monitoring compliance with safety rules and the availability of personal protective equipment for employees. The scheme of interaction of the components of a computer vision system is considered, which will allow monitoring of events occurring in production during operation, monitoring the situation at the enterprise for the occurrence of a potentially dangerous situation for personnel and equipment, and, accordingly, this system will be able to prevent an emergency, as well as avoid personal injury by reacting even to minor deviations from operating parameters. The research was carried out on the basis of the study and analysis of materials published in open information sources.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATED ROAD CONTROL SYSTEM “ALA-ARCHA”

This article explores the subject of computer vision systems – a technology that allows vehicles to identify, track, and also classify objects on the roadway. The objectives of the study are to consider the principle of operation of these automated systems, their advantages in comparison with modern road regulation, as well as the problems of implementation and development of these systems. The research was carried out on the basis of the analysis of information from open information resources. The statistics of accidents at work are presented, the high rates of which are due to large volumes of production and an outdated system for monitoring compliance with safety rules and the availability of personal protective equipment for employees. The scheme of interaction of the components of a computer vision system is considered, which will allow monitoring of events occurring in production during operation, monitoring the situation at the enterprise for the occurrence of a potentially dangerous situation for personnel and equipment, and, accordingly, this system will be able to prevent an emergency, as well as avoid personal injury by reacting even to minor deviations from operating parameters. The research was carried out on the basis of the study and analysis of materials published in open information sources.

SSC-KA: A Framework of Space Situational Knowledge Acquisition for Status-Cognition of Satellites

With the rapid development of space technology, the environment of the space domain has become more and more complex and changeable, which brought great difficulties in cognition of space domain activity. As space domain awareness (SDA) required, any relevant information and knowledge from various sources are needed as much as possible, while all of those can be sorted and integrated for effective cognition of space objects, including the cognition of their status. This paper proposes a knowledge integration framework (SSC-KA) designed for the cognition of space target and its status. In the framework (SSC-KA), open-source information and data acquired from multi-kinds of sensors are sent into parallel channels, and then processed by the algorithm this paper designed into sequence data as the channels’ output. Furthermore, the rules and four statuses defined in this paper can be judged for the anomaly detection of satellites. Based on the space domain knowledge acquisition framework of SSC-KA, this paper describes a complete abnormal state detection method for satellites step by step through multi-level feature engineering. Therefore, the method is used to analyze four different statuses of satellites in this paper, to verify the validity and feasibility of the application of the method in the cognition of spatial events, thus laying the foundation for the cognition of Space Domain Awareness.

Analysis of possible physical conditions of using firearms by the employees of temporary holding facilities and guarding units of the police service

The topicality of the research is determined by the high-quality training of internal affairs officers of Russia, and by the necessity to study and design the corresponding pedagogical conditions including arms drill by simulating service situations at firearms training lessons.  The research problem consists in the fact that the directions of improvement of organization and the methods of internal affairs officers training should be developed on the basis of the data about the practice of use of firearms by police officers, as well as about the conditions and circumstances of their use.  The analysis of open source information shows that there’s a lack of research of this type over the last years. The required information is classified. Besides, the information about the use of firearms by internal affairs officers, which is accumulated by higher-level authorities and organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, often is not sustainable enough to be used in a comprehensive research.  The research goal is to use the results of the analysis of physical conditions of the use of firearms for the consideration of the possibility of studying and designing the corresponding pedagogical conditions including arms drill, by simulating service situations at firearms training lessons.  The author uses mostly empirical methods, such as questioning, description, comparison, measurement, and analysis of practice of employees of temporary holding facilities and guarding units of the police service. The author studies the results of the analysis of possible conditions of using firearms by employees of temporary holding facilities and guarding units of the police service, based on which it is suggested to create a set of professional and service situations for simulation during professional training.  

Sam Dubberley, Alexa Koenig and Daragh Murray (eds) Digital Witness: Using Open Source Information for Human Rights Investigation, Documentation, and Accountability reviewed by Molly Land

Sam Dubberley, Alexa Koenig and Daragh Murray (eds) Digital Witness: Using Open Source Information for Human Rights Investigation, Documentation, and Accountability reviewed by Molly Land

CX transformation of Tele2: From a discounter to a customer service leader

The case is devoted to the transition of the telecommunications company Tele2 to a management system based on the principles of continuous improvement of customer experience, or CX-transformation. The case describes the development of Tele2 in the Russian cellular market in 2003–2020. Firstly, it outlines the main aspects of the Tele2’s business strategy in 2003–2016. Secondly, it provides a detailed description of events that took place in 2015–2016, when Tele2’s financial and operational performance indicators dwindled, and the mobile operator was challenged to develop a new business strategy that meets the changing market realities. Finally, there is a description of a new customer-focused strategy that implied the integration of customer metrics into all organizational processes and the restructuring of the internal customer experience management system. The case describes actions taken by the company during 2017–2020 to implement customer experience management practices and outlines the key results of Tele2’s CX transformation. The case is based on Tele2’s internal reports, retrospective interviews with the company’s representatives involved in the CX transformation process, and secondary opensource information. The case can be used to discuss the prerequisites, goals, components, and success factors of CX transformation.