Artificial intelligence (AI), solving puzzles and transforming two-week-long processes into just a few hours.
These are all things we discussed with Nico Dekens, Director of Intelligence at ShadowDragon, during our inaugural podcast episode.
Best known in the online world of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) as ‘Dutch OSINT Guy’, Nico has over 25 years’ worth of experience behind him. We couldn’t have asked a better guest for the first episode of From the Source: The Blackdot Podcast. You can listen to the full episode here: The OSINT mindset and the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) with Nico Dekens.
From police officer to OSINT educator
Nico’s career began almost 30 years ago when he worked in law enforcement with the Dutch government, initially as a police officer. After realising his passion for solving puzzles, he transitioned to intelligence analysis and focused on criminal youth gangs. This is where he discovered the power of OSINT, which Nico still teaches today at the SANS Institute.
For Nico, teaching is about inspiring students through real-world stories and practical demonstrations. This includes focusing on thinking patterns and methods, dealing with information noise, and identifying false positives. When working with leadership and decision-makers, he also has to educate them on why OSINT is vital for everyone - from government and businesses to insurance companies and online shoppers.
What about OSINT tools?
“Tools can do a lot,” says Nico. “But if you don't know how to ask the right question, you will not get the most out of a tool.”
He explains that OSINT professionals must start by defining a goal, asking the right questions and setting boundaries. Then, they can collect data tailored to the question, process and analyse it to create actionable intelligence. “I can present you with something you can take away and make new decisions upon,” he says. “Otherwise, it's just information. We need to make sense of that information.”
What does ShadowDragon do?
Nico explains that ShadowDragon simplifies the manual research process by pulling data from more than 500 sources while giving investigators anonymity. “We basically give you scalability and speed… which gives you more time for the in-depth analysis,” says Nico.
Nico’s role at ShadowDragon is all about exploring the art of the possible in OSINT. For example, this could mean spending a lot of time exploring apps and platforms where phone numbers are linked to user accounts to ethically and legally obtain information from publicly available sources.
He adds that while it’s challenging to keep up in the industry, he is encouraged by lawyers and judges beginning to better understand the field, as well as the formation of OSINT policies.
“We see that larger companies are stepping up their game, like Blackdot is doing… like ShadowDragon is doing,” says Nico. “We are professionalising, we are giving more training, we're talking more about ethics, we're talking more about what you can do, but more importantly, what you should not do when it comes to this profession.”
AI — a blessing or curse for OSINT?
“I'm currently geeking out on new technology,” says Nico. “Everything that has to do with artificial intelligence… I'm trying to understand that, trying to get the most out of it, but also trying to raise awareness for users to understand the risks.”
As AI becomes an integral part of many industries, Nico believes there are pros and cons to its use in OSINT.
“I’m noticing it makes people lazy,” he begins. “I see a lot of investigators that don't even take the time to validate the outcomes. And that's what I think is now the negative impact of artificial intelligence.”
While Nico has been experimenting with AI for research, he believes there is more work to be done. “It's not yet where I want it to be, but I have seen examples from other companies that have experimented with this a little bit longer,” he says. “But most of the people that I do business with are government or large organisations that can and never will use commercially available AI, simply because they're not allowed to upload and share their own intellectual property to a third party.”
Nico does think, however, that AI does a fantastic job of coding, generating scripts for data extraction, and processing. “It's like having a junior developer sitting next to me,” he adds.
Getting into OSINT
Want to stay ahead of the curve in OSINT? Nico recommends reading the latest blog posts from Blackdot and ShadowDragon. He also suggests checking out his podcast, OSINTCurious, and following him on social media by searching ‘Dutch_OSINTGuy’ or ‘Nico Dekens’.
“As long as you have an internet connection, motivation and time, everybody can learn it. But it takes time. It really takes time to get under the skin of this profession,” says Nico.
Listen to The OSINT mindset and the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) with Nico Dekens in full and stay tuned for even more OSINT insight on Blackdot’s next podcast episode.
