Language, cultural understanding and OSINT with Skip Schiphorst

Skip Schiphorst from i-intelligence joined us in an episode of From the Source, the Blackdot podcast. He discussed his journey into OSINT, the importance of language skills and cultural understanding, the challenges of maintaining mental health in the field and how professionals can keep their passion alive in their careers. Skip shares insights on news detoxing, the diverse paths into OSINT careers, and the significance of community support in this niche field. You can read his insights below or listen to the full episode here.

The power of a ‘news detox’

Skip begins by explaining that there are two things he’s particularly passionate about right now. The first is a project running webinars about OSINT techniques, including Chinese OSINT, strategic analysis and maritime OSINT. The second is giving himself time to detox from the news, which he says isn’t going so well for him right now.

‘Every year I give myself a news detox,’ begins Skip. ‘Sometimes it lasts for a few days and my record is about three months. I do not touch news, I don't look at news, I swipe away, I choose not to look and it frees all this space in my mind to do things... Learning a language, working out, spending time with people I value, etcetera.’

When he first tried it, he went cold turkey. He adds that three months may be a little ‘extreme’, but detoxing from the news for a few days at a time can be helpful and healthy.

Getting started in OSINT

JSkip explains that while some universities offer OSINT programmes, many professionals get started through alternative routes.

‘I got into it pretty much by accident,’ he laughs. ‘It was only after I was researching online in foreign languages online at university, that I figured out that there's this thing called OSINT, which… if I had known that before going into an academic program, I would have saved so much time, written better things, and gotten better grades.’

Skip studied Sinology, also referred to as the study of Chinese language, literature and culture, at Leiden University. Before that, he spent 17 years in the Marines. After he became injured and got medically discharged, Skip kept himself busy learning Chinese, which led him to selecting Sinology as his area of study when he got the chance to attend university at 34 years old. He spent some time in China and  Taiwan as part of his studies, and during this time, Skip had to search online in Chinese. This is where his career in OSINT began.

OSINT courses, i-intelligence and language in OSINT

i-intelligence is a consultancy firm based in Switzerland that works at the intersection of intelligence, foresight, strategy and policy. The company is well known for its courses, which range from strategic analysis and Human Intelligence (HUMINT) to dark web, social media intelligence, and research in foreign languages. This includes a foundation and an advanced Chinese OSINT course, an Arabic OSINT course and a Russian OSINT course. Skip teaches the company's Chinese OSINT course and coordinates its courses.

Although he teaches courses focused on researching in foreign languages, Skip explains you don’t have to be fluent.

‘Do you need to be fluent in a language to find information about somebody? Absolutely not. About finding a document, finding a location? No, you don't,’ he explains. ‘There are certain principles which you can stick to, which we cover in our Arabic, Chinese and Russian courses. If you stick to those basic principles, you will be able to type… actually search in a foreign language without having to speak that language. Of course it does help if you speak that foreign language, it does give you an edge, but it's not necessary.’

Skip adds that if your or area of interest is likely to be specific to one language for several years, it may be worth investing the time to learn it.

‘But if your job is to look at all over the place, how many languages are you going to start learning?’ he asks. ‘Also I would caution people not to learn a language for a job. Just learn a language you click with.’

Skip explains that at the beginning of his OSINT career, he was quickly surrounded by people who had been doing it for much longer than him, including someone considered to be an ‘OSINT celebrity’ who attended one of his courses.

‘I always ask people in my courses to present themselves. He presented himself. I had no idea who it was, which he found cool because he was treated like a regular person in the group,’ he shares.

OSINT methodology meets language and culture

Skip explains that growing up in the west of Switzerland, anything he watched on TV would be English, but dubbed with French. He says being immersed in this helped him soak up the language, without having to learn it specifically.

‘I'm a big fan of telling people if you if you have a multicultural family please mix your languages at home because that's only going to expose your kids to different constructions of grammar, which is only going to make it easier later to learn a language,’ says Skip.

Skip also explains that different languages, places and cultures will have different nuances that go beyond simply speaking or being able to search using the language. For example, in Arabic, you read and write from right to left. Similarly, he explains that in the UK, naming conventions typically include first names, last names and perhaps a middle name. This may make it easier to find an individual than in North Africa, where they may use clan names, their father’s name, or a nickname, for example.

‘If your job is going to be to look at a certain country, dig deeper into the culture as well,’ he adds.

The dark side of OSINT

While OSINT is rewarding, there are dangers too. Skip explains that many OSINTers are hobbyists, meaning they may research online after their ‘day job’. This can lead to physical issues, such as not getting enough movement, sunlight or fresh air. Additionally, anyone with access to the internet today has access to graphic, harmful, and upsetting content. For hobbyists or OSINTers without the right training, exposure to this content can be distressing, disturbing and can ultimately become too much.

How to keep the spark alive as an OSINTer

Skip and Matthew discuss the OSINT community and how your colleagues and peers can help support you in the industry. This includes reaching out to specialists and asking questions.

‘It’s okay to be a generalist, but you can’t be a totalist,’ Skip begins. ‘I don't think you can know everything that there is to find.’

He adds that starting as a generalist and finding your niche can help you keep the spark alive.

‘What are you passionate about? Are you passionate about solving missing-person cases? Then just focus on naming conventions, social media, how to export phone numbers, location and usernames. If you're more interested in geopolitics, then go down that track. People have been very generous with their time with me as well when I reached out to them,’ he says.

Listen to Language, cultural understanding and OSINT, and stay tuned for even more OSINT insight on Blackdot’s next podcast episode.