In case of national emergencies, authorities must be able to get real-time insights to act quickly and effectively to prevent any type of escalation that could result in civil unrest or even riots. Operational intelligence consists of real-time dynamic analytics that delivers visibility and insight into data, streaming events, and operations. In other words, it provides the intelligence that teams deployed in the field need to respond and adapt to situations in real-time.

The reliability of operational intelligence analytics and the success of the units mission depends on the sources used. With people posting updates on the spot on social media, open-source intelligence (OSINT) is a valuable resource to get situational awareness in near real-time. Using OSINT tools allows authorities to detect patterns and quantify events, risks, and potential consequences, while field teams can follow these leads to take appropriate action.

To get real-time insights, authorities need to use an OSINT framework such as the WEBINT platform of Cobwebs Technologies that incorporates OSINT tools. The platform collects and analyzes data from the open, deep, dark web and social media quickly and effectively to provide insights about e.g., threat actors, groups instigating social unrest, but also people in need of medical or other assistance. It allows for pinpointing the exact location in real-time that is relevant for the field teams.

The operational intelligence analytics helps the boots on the ground to answer questions such as: (1) What is happening now? (Identifying suspicious behaviors, also of threat actors and groups of interest, which we as members of the field team need to address on the spot); (2) Where is it happening? (Geolocation pinpointing hotspots, so we as the field team are at the right time at the right place); (3) What could happen next that we have to be aware of and anticipate? (Predicting next occurrence, including triggering alerts when it happens, so we can respond quickly and effectively); Could this happen again in the near future? (Predicting future occurrence, including triggering alerts when it happens, so we can execute the playbook to respond in real-time, also preventing social unrest and escalation).

By monitoring online chatter, the WEBINT solution can also collect all related open-source information in real-time while events are unfolding to make informed decisions. This collecting capability of the platform allows analyzing the operation afterward and update the case details.

Using operation intelligence is, of course, also useful for companies that especially in the context of facing digital risk due to their digital transformation for improving customer experience, increasing revenues, and reducing costs. To get insight into their digital risk status in real-time to take appropriate action, operational intelligence is needed to get actionable insights. This requires collecting and analyzing big data from the surface, deep and dark web as well as social media and other OSINT sources, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The WEBINT platform of Cobwebs can quickly and accurately harness and analyze these vast amounts of data in near real-time displaying the results in a user-friendly GUI for follow-up. This is also useful for banks and financial institutions that have to comply with the various stringent anti-money laundering (AML) and terror financing laws and regulations.