OSINT Targeting Essay

Introduction. The United States is the premier superpower in the world. Since World War II the United States technology and capabilities far exceed that of any other country in the world. That distinction bears the weight of making the United States a highly sought after target for other nations who seek to gain information and knowledge about the United States for purposes such as applying that intelligence to their own military operations and capabilities or; worst case scenario, to attempt to cause damage to the United States. Three of the most formidable nations posing a threat to the United States today are China, Russia and Iran. Each of these countries and their government has their own purpose and motivation to collect intelligence on the United States, ranging from the desire to steal technology from corporations and the government to the desire to destroy the entire United States infrastructure. Of these three nations, each one poses their own distinct threat to the national security of the United States. In order to better understand which of these nations poses the greatest …show more content…
However, given that the information they are likely targeting is readily available to anyone with access to the internet, it is safe to say they all pose a substantial threat in the OSINT realm. What makes one nation a greater threat than the other is boiled down to the ability to process the information and the desire to utilize the collected information. Due to the extensive HUMINT capabilities possessed by the PRC, they could be considered to be the most capable threat to United States national security among all three nations due to the close link between OSINT and HUMINT. The other two nation’s HUMINT collection capabilities are thought to be limited to the regional area. Russia has capabilities that reach out into Europe and Iran has the capabilities to operate in and around the Middle