Janes

In episode 15 of the World of Intelligence podcast, Terry Pattar, head of the Janes Intelligence Unit is joined by Cindy Otis, expert on disinformation, to discuss the global and national security implications of disinformation and what can be done to mitigate the effects.   City Otis is a former CIA officer, national security commentator, and a disinformation and cybersecurity expert. She is the author of TRUE OR FALSE: A CIA ANALYST'S GUIDE TO SPOTTING FAKE NEWS, coming out on July 28th. For more information on OSINT training delivered by Janes go to <a href= "https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fjanes.com%2FOSINTtraining&token=be84f8-1-1595532656365" target="_blank" rel="noopener">janes.com/OSINTtraining</a>

How disinformation is affecting national security and intelligence with Cindy Otis

In this podcast we revisit the conflict in Israel -Gaza.&nbsp; We explain how using open source intelligence and applying Janes tradecraft allows us to track the situation, its actors, the equipment being used and the implications on neighbouring countries in the region and beyond.

Jeremy Binnie has worked for Janes for 25 years, including as the editor of its terrorism and insurgency publication before moving to Janes Defence Weekly as the editor of its Middle East & Africa section in 2012. He was rerolled as Janes’ Middle East Defence Specialist in 2021. 

Jeremy Binnie

Middle East Defence Specialist

Sean Corbett retired from the Royal Air Force in September 2018 after a 30-year career as a professional intelligence officer, where he reached the pinnacle of his profession. He then established a Defence, Security and Intelligence Directorate within a 'new space' geospatial intelligence company, Earth-i, where he advanced innovative Al applications to earth observation data in support of the defence and security sector, and instigated the concept of 'intelligence as a service', leveraging a wide spectrum of publicly available information to answer challenging questions for the community. In October 2019, he set up his own business as a consultant specialising in the provision of strategic advice, commercial intelligence, the space sector, and the optimisation of organisational leadership and change management.

Sean Corbett

AVM (ret’d) Sean Corbett CB MBE MA, RAF

Lewis Smart is the Manager of the Janes Country Intelligence Middle East and North Africa (MENA) team. He used to head Janes' CBRN desk and still covers CBRN issues across the MENA region. He is also the template lead for JCIN's politics profile.

Lewis Smart

Country Intelligence Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Team Manager, Janes

Elliot Chapman is a Research Analyst, in the Middle East and North Africa team. Elliot joined Janes' Central Analysis Team in December 2020 before helping to stand up Janes Country Intelligence, beginning in August 2021. Before working at Janes Elliot worked for a political risk advisory firm focused on emerging markets. Prior to this Elliot worked as a researcher and producer for for military technology events. Elliot's work involves closely monitoring and analysis of Israeli security operations and Palestinian militant activity. Elliot also served in the British Army Reserves.

Elliot Chapman

Research Analyst, Middle East and North Africa team

In this podcast we revisit the conflict in Israel -Gaza.  We explain how using open source intelligence and applying Janes tradecraft allows us to track the situation, its actors, the equipment being used and the implications on neighbouring countries in the region and beyond. 


Tracking the situation in Israel-Gaza using OSINT

The situation in Yemen is particularly complex. Even before the start of the attacks on shipping in November 2023 by Ansar Allah (commonly known as the Houthis), the country has been of interest to many. A large-scale humanitarian crisis has emerged following a decade of conflict across the country drawing in the Yemeni government, Ansar Allah, southern Yemeni secessionists, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, and a minor Islamic State faction. In this podcast James Trigg, Senior Research Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa Country Intelligence team at Janes joins Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett to explore how open-source intelligence has allowed us to get a deeper understanding of the relatively closed environment of Yemen and the complex situation in the country.

James Trigg is a Senior Research Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa Country Intelligence team at Janes. He previously worked in an intelligence support role with a local constabulary.  He holds a master’s degree in international conflict, focused on the dynamics of genocide and other crimes against humanity.

James Trigg

Senior Research Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa Country Intelligence team at Janes

The situation in Yemen is particularly complex. Even before the start of the attacks on shipping in November 2023 by Ansar Allah (commonly known as the Houthis), the country has been of interest to many. A large-scale humanitarian crisis has emerged following a decade of conflict across the country drawing in the Yemeni government, Ansar Allah, southern Yemeni secessionists, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, and a minor Islamic State faction. In this podcast we explore how open-source intelligence has allowed us to get a deeper understanding of the relatively closed environment of Yemen and the complex situation in the country.


Using OSINT to understand Yemen

In this podcast Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett are joined by Amil Khan, the founder and CEO of Valent Projects, to delve deep into the implications of misinformation and disinformation for open-source intelligence. They identify the difference between misinformation and disinformation and how we can overcome thesechallenges to support open-source intelligence.

Amil started his career as a Reuters foreign correspondent followed by a stint as a BBC investigations reporter. Working in the early 2000s and having studied Arabic and Farsi, he covered breaking news in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine/Israel while also conducting investigations and embeds with militias in Darfur, Chad, Libya etc. Sensing that the information landscape was changing, Amil left journalism and started consulting for government, political groups and civil society organisations. In the aftermath of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Amil noticed that the online space was being manipulated not just by false information but by thousands of coordinated fake accounts. As most of the attention was being devoted to the nature of the false information and not its dissemination, Amil set about investigating the misuse of social media platforms and wrote one of the first studies for the UK cabinet office on technical manipulation. After a couple of years at Chatham House, Amil set up Valent after realising that the problem was only going to grow and few organisations maintained the mix of skills - social media strategists, political analysts and data engineers - needed to address the threat it posed.

Amil Khan

Founder and CEO Valent Projects

Mis and disinformation considerations for OSINT

Over the course of 2023 Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett hosted more than 20 podcasts exploring topics such as the implications of AI for OSINT, the need for empathy indecision making, and tradecraft in open-source intelligence. Janes analysts also discussed how OSINT has supported Janes analysis of new and emerging situations such as that in Sudan, Haiti, and Israel.&nbsp;In this episode Harry and Sean look back on the key themes and what they learnt from the discussions with their guests in 2023.

Sean Corbett 

Review of 2023

Claire Chu, Janes senior China analyst joins Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett to discuss how China's economic activity projects influence globally and what she learnt as part of the recent US Congressional staff delegation to China.

Claire Chu is a senior China analyst at Janes Group. She specializes in the geopolitical and national security implications of China’s global economic activity. She recently joined Janes in 2022 after the company’s acquisition of RWR Advisory Group, where she was in the same role, leading the firm’s China practice. Claire launched RWR’s Belt and Road Monitor in 2017, which provides a comprehensive biweekly overview of China’s overseas trade and investment activities and policy developments, and served as the editor until 2020. Claire previously held research roles at think tanks including the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin, Germany, the Project 2049 Institute in Arlington, and the Center for the National Interest in Washington, DC. She has also worked on rule of law and governance issues at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) and at Human Rights Watch. Claire has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and her commentary has been featured in major media outlets in the United States, Europe, and Asia, including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Voice of America, Foreign Policy, and Nikkei Asia.

Claire Chu

Senior China analyst, Janes

Claire Chu, Janes senior China analyst joins Harry and Sean to discuss how China's economic activity projects influence globally and what she learnt as part of the recent US Congressional staff delegation to China.


Understanding China’s Geoeconomic Influence

Janes analysts discuss the ongoing situation in Israel/Gaza and discuss how OSINT can help us look at events in conflict zones, including analysis of what happened at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza.

Amael Kotlarski has been responsible for the James Infantry weapons data set for the last 4 1/2 years, as well as recently becoming the manager of the weapons team which overseas a totality of the Jane's weapons data set, which includes air launch weapons, naval weapons, strategic weapons, infantry, weapons and the James Ammunition Handbook. Amael has a bachelor's degree in international politics and a master's in International Security.

Amael Kotlarski

Lead Analyst, Janes

Janes analysts discuss the ongoing situation in Israel/Gaza and discuss how OSINT can help us look at events in conflict zones, including analysis of what happened at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza. 


Using OSINT to provide intelligence on conflict zones in Israel and Gaza

Janes delivers validated open-source defence intelligence across four core capability areas threat, equipment, defence industry and country that are aligned with workflows across the defence industry, national security and government.

How disinformation is affecting national security and intelligence with Cindy Otis

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Today's Host

Harry Kemsley

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