Practical Cyber Intelligence

1Intelligence Analysis

Intelligence analysis is the process of using data to comprehend a situation or problem and support decision-making. It involves collecting and analyzing data from various sources, such as human intelligence, signals intelligence, open-source information, and other types of data, to provide insights and inform decision-makers. Intelligence analysts employ a range of tools and techniques, including data mining, statistical analysis, and modeling, to discern trends, patterns, and relationships within the data. They then utilize this information to formulate hypotheses, make predictions, and offer recommendations for action. Intelligence analysis is applied across numerous fields, including national security, law enforcement, and business. You might be wondering what it has to do with digital forensics. They have a lot in common; they are both about identifying the most likely hypotheses based on the available data. The thing is we would always like to be precise in forensics, but that is not always possible as the necessary data might not be available to give a precise and scientific answer. In these cases, we have to look at the available data, understand the story it is telling, and then give an estimate of what most likely has happened. This is why the first section is about the tools used in intelligence analysis.

1.1 Intelligence Life Cycle

The intelligence life cycle¹ is a framework that outlines the various stages involved in the process of collecting, ...