Collecting human intelligence (HUMINT) is one of the most difficult endeavors in the realm of intelligence and investigations. Developing the right sources is a matter of not only time, but also patience and trust. Throughout the years, I have worked on all manner of field assignments with all kinds of human sources, from taxi drivers to high-ranking public officials, to high-net worth businessmen; the formula consistently holds true: trust and patience are the most critical

How do we know what we know? This is one of the transcendental questions that epistemology--the branch of philosophy concerned with the theory and origin of knowledge--seeks to answer. It’s not a question that people often think to ask, since they tend to take for granted the validity of their epistemological worldviews, but it’s critical that investigators think about its implications. When we trust a source of information we implicitly attribute authority to that source, t

Both the tactical and strategic risk industries are poised to change. When I refer to “tactical” risk/intelligence, I mean intelligence and risk factors that pertain to more granular, specific questions such as, “What are the reputational risks involved in working with X company?” or “What are my competitors main weaknesses?” When I refer to “strategic” risk or intelligence, I mean intelligence and risks that pertain to more “big picture” or geopolitical questions such as, “W

In a region like Latin America, the investigative landscape is one in which open source intelligence ('OSINT') is simply insufficient for adequate decision making in most cases. This is due to three key reasons: (i.) the disparities in availability of open source information between (and sometimes within) jurisdictions; (ii.) reliability issues, such as the possibility of manipulation, biases, and political motivations in OSINT sources; and, (iii.) analyst bias, or the tende