Guide to SEC and Business Open Source Corporate Intelligence
Vol. 25
April 2025
Page 54
An agency of the U.S. intelligence community observes, “[t]he explosion of open source intelligence (OSINT) in recent years has transformed how governments and people around the world consume and process information about society and global issues.” It is likely that “[w]e all use open-source and probably don't even realize it, but we also use it for different reasons. You might use open-source information to do a credibility check and to find out more about the person selling you something on Facebook marketplace.” Others “may research someone… met on a dating app or before hiring someone for a job.” Every use of a search engine such as Google or Bing constitutes a use of open source intelligence. Other examples of open source competitive intelligence include: blogs; social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube; newspapers; Internet sources containing videos and images; The Dark web; and other websites.
In a business context, prior to the past few decades, most databases containing detailed corporate information have been behind rather expensive pay walls. Disclosures required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)―such as annual, quarterly, and notice of materially significant events― are a particularly valuable source of information for those engaged in business strategy. Other U.S. government agencies provide valuable information about various topics. This is the focus of our guide.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, Bureau of Intelligence and research, (INR), business strategy, CISA, civil liberties, communication, computing, communication, corporate governance, cybersecurity, data, data acquisition, data sets, disclosure, Division of Corporation Finance, DOJ, Enforcement, ethics, Executive Order 12333, FRED, FTC, law, National Open Source Committee, (NOSC), National Institute of Standards and Technology, national security, newspapers, NIST, open source, privacy, quantum, search engines, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, sensors, Social Science Research Network, SSRN, strategic planning, Yahoo Finance,
JEL Classifications:
Word Count (including footnotes) = 11,649.
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Vol. 25
April 2025
Page 54
An agency of the U.S. intelligence community observes, “[t]he explosion of open source intelligence (OSINT) in recent years has transformed how governments and people around the world consume and process information about society and global issues.” It is likely that “[w]e all use open-source and probably don't even realize it, but we also use it for different reasons. You might use open-source information to do a credibility check and to find out more about the person selling you something on Facebook marketplace.” Others “may research someone… met on a dating app or before hiring someone for a job.” Every use of a search engine such as Google or Bing constitutes a use of open source intelligence. Other examples of open source competitive intelligence include: blogs; social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube; newspapers; Internet sources containing videos and images; The Dark web; and other websites.
In a business context, prior to the past few decades, most databases containing detailed corporate information have been behind rather expensive pay walls. Disclosures required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)―such as annual, quarterly, and notice of materially significant events― are a particularly valuable source of information for those engaged in business strategy. Other U.S. government agencies provide valuable information about various topics. This is the focus of our guide.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, Bureau of Intelligence and research, (INR), business strategy, CISA, civil liberties, communication, computing, communication, corporate governance, cybersecurity, data, data acquisition, data sets, disclosure, Division of Corporation Finance, DOJ, Enforcement, ethics, Executive Order 12333, FRED, FTC, law, National Open Source Committee, (NOSC), National Institute of Standards and Technology, national security, newspapers, NIST, open source, privacy, quantum, search engines, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, sensors, Social Science Research Network, SSRN, strategic planning, Yahoo Finance,
JEL Classifications:
Word Count (including footnotes) = 11,649.