Arno H. P. Reuser

Arno H. P. Reuser

Chief, Open Source Intelligence, Defence Intelligence and Security Service

Title: A changing nature of warfare requires a change of mindset of defense intelligence and the role of OSINT and social networks therein

There is a radical change underway in which warfare is being conducted. That change is there, it has been there for quit some time and it will most probably continue to grow in importance and significance. It is called Computer Network Operations (CNO), or, information warfare or cyber warfare. Two forms are of particular interest: computer network attack (CNA: attacking, changing and possibly destroying systems of the opposing forces) and computer network exploitation (CNE: cyber espionage, or finding and taking sensitive information from computer networks). For every threat there are in reality two threats, the second one being the vulberability to attack by its victims, due to lack of awareness, training and education. Social networks play a crucial role in CNO especially for the deployment of cyber weapons such as identity theft and the disseminiation of malware to create computer zombie networks. Two traditional intelligence collection disciplines need to change their mindset: SIGINT and OSINT as the logical foundation of CNO. The keynote speech will address these issues and explain the important relationship between social networks

Short Bio

Arno Reuser is a professional librarian / information professional with more than 30 years experience in information handling and -processing. He founded the Open Source Intelligence Unit of the Dutch Defence Intelligence & Security Service about 15 years ago and still heads it today. Mr. Reuser holds a bachelor degree in librarianship and has completed many courses in digital information management, Internet search strategies, update workshops etc. He learned the technical requirements of today's digital world by learning how to write software, program scripts to automate tasks, building websites, getting the most out of the Internet by studying network theory, all in support of OSINT information management.

In addition to his work with the Dutch Defence and Intelligence Service, Arno established his own company "Reuser’s Information Services" in conjunction with his current position as head of OSINT. RIS’ primary goal is to teach Open Source Intelligence (systematic searching, finding and reporting with security in mind) and provide consultancy for government and private sector institutions worldwide.

Arno has an extensive history of teaching OSINT, and OSINT training has been a core focus of his professional activities for decades. Today, he teaches OSINT, search strategies, information handling and security to a wide range of audiences. He travels regularly to the United States, Switzerland, Austria, and United Kingdom to teach to a wide range of multilingual, multicultural audiences and is thus used to communicating with people from different backgrounds and possessing different language skills. Arno is a recognized expert on OSINT and speaks regularly at international conferences and workshops on the organization and maintenance of Open Source Intelligence Services, at home and abroad, for a diverse audience such as international organizations, government institutes, intelligence, military, and information professionals.

Arno is the owner and maintainer of Reuser's New Repertorium, an online categorised annotated listing of intel sources and search engines. He also wrote his own multisearch search engine Isolde to enable building block search strategies, and is the owner and moderator of NEDBIB-L listserv discussion list with 2000 participants.

Arno writes a regular column and has written journal articles and book chapters on OSINT.