The Advanced Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Tradecraft program is an intensive, hands-on course designed for professionals who want to move beyond basic online research and develop the advanced investigative tradecraft used to find, verify, exploit, and connect publicly available information across the digital and physical information environment.
Students learn how to conduct sophisticated searches and uncover difficult-to-find information; trace claims to their origins and establish digital provenance; investigate and verify images and videos; determine where and when events occurred; analyze satellite and geospatial information; investigate digital identities, organizations, and networks; exploit websites, domains, archives, and metadata; and uncover connections through public records, databases, and structured data. Throughout the program, students work directly with OSINT tools and apply advanced investigative techniques to realistic problems and real-world information.
Rather than teaching a list of websites or tools that may quickly become outdated, the program develops repeatable investigative tradecraft that graduates can apply across platforms, technologies, sources, and intelligence problems—even as the digital environment continues to evolve.
By the end of the program, graduates will be better equipped to answer the questions at the heart of advanced OSINT: Where do I look? What can I uncover? Can I verify it? Where and when did it occur? Who or what is connected to it? And what does the available evidence actually establish?
KEY DETAILS
Who Will Benefit:
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Intelligence, Defense & Policy
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National Security & Cyberspace
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Private Sector & Business Intelligence
Where:
Live-Online (Synchronous)
Duration:
4 Weeks; 2 modules per week that are 2 hours each
Total of 8 modules; 3 credits
When:
Spring (April 2027)
Fall (September 2027)
Tuition:
$2,550
Stand Out in a Competitive Intelligence Career Field:
In an information environment where enormous volumes of publicly available data can obscure as much as they reveal, employers need professionals who can do more than simply search for information. They need analysts who know where to look, how to uncover what is difficult to find, how to verify what they discover, and how to connect fragmented information to reveal what the evidence actually supports. The Advanced OSINT Tradecraft program develops practical tradecraft across advanced search and discovery, source and visual verification, digital provenance, geolocation and geospatial analysis, digital identity and network research, technical web exploitation, and public records and data analysis. Whether pursuing careers in intelligence, defense, law enforcement, investigations, cybersecurity, journalism, corporate security, or related fields, graduates bring a distinctive capability to the table: the ability to systematically find, verify, exploit, and connect publicly available information to uncover insights others may miss.
Program Key Takeaways:
* Master Advanced Search & Discovery — Go beyond basic internet searches using Boolean logic, advanced search operators, archives, multilingual searching, and systematic search strategies to uncover difficult-to-find information. *Verify Information & Establish Digital Provenance — Trace information to its origin, evaluate source reliability and information credibility, corroborate claims, detect circular reporting, and establish what the available evidence actually supports. * Investigate & Verify Images and Videos — Apply reverse-image search, metadata analysis, video frame analysis, source tracing, and visual verification techniques to identify manipulated, recycled, decontextualized, or potentially synthetic content. *Conduct Geolocation, Chronolocation & Geospatial Analysis — Determine where and when events occurred using environmental clues, maps, satellite and historical imagery, terrain, infrastructure, weather, shadows, and change detection. *Investigate Digital Identities, Organizations & Networks — Discover and connect accounts, usernames, people, organizations, and relationships across platforms while applying entity-resolution and network-analysis techniques to distinguish meaningful connections from coincidence. * Exploit the Web, Technical Data & Public Records — Investigate websites, domains, archives, DNS and registration data, document metadata, corporate and government records, databases, procurement information, sanctions data, and other structured sources to uncover relationships and information that may not be visible on the surface.
COURSE OVERVIEW
MODULE 1: ADVANCED SEARCH & DISCOVERY TRADECRAFT Learn how to find information that ordinary searches often miss. Students move beyond basic search engines and develop systematic discovery strategies using Boolean logic, advanced search operators, targeted queries, multilingual searching, specialized databases, archives, and iterative search techniques. The module emphasizes how skilled OSINT practitioners develop and refine searches, follow digital leads, and pivot from one piece of information to another to uncover relevant sources, documents, records, and data. MODULE 2: SOURCE VERIFICATION, EVALUATION & DIGITAL PROVENANCE Finding information is only the beginning—the analyst must determine whether it can be trusted. Students learn how to evaluate source reliability and information credibility, trace claims back to their original sources, corroborate information across independent reporting, recognize circular reporting, reconstruct publication histories, and document digital provenance. The module also examines misleading, manipulated, recycled, and decontextualized information and teaches students how to establish what the available evidence actually supports. MODULE 3: IMAGE & VIDEO OSINT Images and videos can contain significant intelligence beyond what is immediately visible. Students learn advanced visual-verification techniques, including reverse-image searching, identifying the earliest known appearance of imagery, extracting and analyzing video frames, examining available metadata, comparing visual features, tracing content across platforms, and identifying signs that imagery may have been altered, recycled, or presented in a false context. The module also introduces considerations surrounding synthetic and AI-generated media. MODULE 4: GEOLOCATION & CHRONOLOCATION Where was an image or video captured—and when? Students learn how OSINT practitioners combine clues such as landmarks, terrain, road networks, architecture, signage, language, vegetation, weather, shadows, infrastructure, maps, and historical imagery to investigate location and time. Rather than relying on a single clue, students learn to triangulate multiple indicators and develop evidence-based geolocation and chronolocation assessments. MODULE 5: SOCIAL MEDIA, DIGITAL IDENTITY & NETWORK OSINT The modern information environment leaves interconnected digital traces across platforms. Students learn how to investigate usernames, accounts, organizations, online communities, and digital identities; pivot between platforms and sources; resolve potentially overlapping entities; reconstruct digital activity; and identify relationships among people, organizations, accounts, and information. Students are also introduced to network-mapping techniques while learning to distinguish meaningful relationships from weak or coincidental associations. MODULE 6: WEB, DOMAIN, DOCUMENT & TECHNICAL OSINT Go beneath the visible surface of the web. Students learn how publicly accessible technical information can reveal additional details about websites, domains, organizations, and digital infrastructure. Topics include domain and registration research, DNS and related records, website histories and archives, document and PDF metadata, publicly indexed files, and other technical artifacts. Students learn how to pivot between these sources to uncover connections that may not be apparent from a webpage alone. MODULE 7: GEOSPATIAL & SATELLITE IMAGERY OSINT Students expand beyond individual photographs and videos to investigate activity across the physical environment. The module introduces satellite imagery, historical imagery, mapping platforms, terrain analysis, infrastructure identification, imagery comparison, and change detection. Students learn how multiple forms of geospatial information can be combined with other open sources to investigate locations, infrastructure, events, and changes over time. MODULE 8: DATA, RECORDS & INVESTIGATIVE OSINT Some of the most valuable open-source information is found not on social media or ordinary webpages, but within records, databases, registries, and structured datasets. Students learn how to locate and exploit publicly available corporate records, government databases, procurement information, sanctions data, transportation and other specialized datasets, and additional public records. The module emphasizes entity resolution, cross-referencing records, identifying relationships, and connecting fragmented data points to uncover information that may not be apparent when sources are examined individually.
Dr. Elena Taube Bailey
Dr. Bailey brings a wealth of expertise spanning intelligence, policy, defense, and academia, as well as the nonprofit and private sectors. In academia, Dr. Bailey serves as the President and Program Director of Cyberpsychology at The Academy. Additionally, Dr. Bailey is a professor at the National Defense University’s College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC), where she teaches courses on influence warfare, cyberspace, national security, and strategic communication. She also holds the position of Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, within the Master of Professional Studies in Applied Intelligence program. Dr. Bailey is the co-founder and CEO of Glocal, the world’s pioneering News Superintelligence platform, combining human collective intelligence and AI to elevate the information environment. Fluent in English, Russian, Ukrainian, and conversational Hebrew, Dr. Bailey resides in the Washington Metropolitan Area with her husband. Counterintelligence & Intelligence: Dr. Bailey served as a senior counterintelligence (CI) specialist at the Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), where she focused on CI and worldwide cyber threat analysis. DTRA enables the DoD and the U.S. Government to prepare for and combat WMDs and improvised threats and to ensure nuclear deterrence. The agency’s legacy extends back to the Manhattan Engineering Project that was created to develop the world’s first atomic bomb during World War II. Prior to DTRA, Dr. Bailey served as a senior CI analyst at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), where she supported joint CI operations and led a program that drove intelligence integration and collaboration across the intelligence community (IC). During this time, Dr. Bailey also served as a Regional Subject Matter Expert (SME) to the DoD, Department of the Army, focusing on geographic, economic, industry, political, security, and geopolitical issues in Ukraine. Before her tenure at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Dr. Bailey served as an Intelligence Analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where she collaborated closely with operations on counterterrorism initiatives. Additionally, Dr. Bailey successfully completed a rotation with the U.S. Department of State’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications where she specialized in developing and executing overt counterterrorism messaging operations. Foreign Governments: Between 2006 and 2007, Dr. Bailey provided political and media analysis, as well as, conducted public relations and strategic communication at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles, and the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco. Local Government & Politics: In 2009, Dr. Bailey served as a Legislative Deputy Assistant to Councilman Greig Smith, who was succeeded by Councilman Mitchell Englander, at the Los Angeles City Hall, Council District 12, representing the San Fernando Valley. More specifically, Dr. Bailey developed and maintained relationships between the district office and the diverse constituents in District 12. She also managed public relations with local, state and federal bodies, organizations, and the LA Joint Terrorism Taskforce (JTTF)—a partnership between the FBI and other law enforcement agencies charged with countering terrorism. Between 2004 and 2005, Dr. Bailey worked as a Presidential Campaign Coordinator in Fremont, CA. Then in 2007, she went on to serve as the Field Manager of California Region 3, for a presidential candidate. Education: Dr. Bailey completed a Ph.D. in Strategic Communication from George Mason University. She received a Masters Degree in Psychology from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business with a focus in marketing, strategy and management. She had also received a Masters Degree in Politics with a focus in International Relations and American Government from New York University (NYU). Additionally, Dr. Bailey holds a Certificate in Intelligence Analysis from the Sherman Kent school for Intelligence Analysis, which is a training school for CIA intelligence analysts, a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Marketing Management from Georgetown University, and a Graduate Certificate in Messianic Jewish Studies from the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute. Dr. Bailey had pursued her undergraduate studies at Harvard University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and UCLA where she graduated with honors and earned a B.A. in Political Science with a focus in International Relations and a minor in Middle Eastern Studies.
Dr. Howard Gambrill Clark
Professor Gambrill Clark has specialized in influence strategies and psychological warfare for 27 years. He graduated from Yale University with a degree in international relations focusing on the Middle East. While a student, Dr. Clark was a writer for U.S. Information Agency's Middle East / South Asia Division; served on the staff of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; and studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo via a Department of Defense grant. After Yale, Dr. Clark served as policy analyst in the Executive Office of the President for the President’s Chief Economic Adviser, focusing on counterterrorism. Following the White House, Dr. Clark served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an intelligence officer and multi-national / special-unit commander with multiple deployments to Iraq as well as Afghanistan and the Philippines. After military service, Dr. Clark was presidentially appointed as Department of Homeland Security Chief Intelligence Officer's Special Assistant. Then, as Senior Intelligence Analyst for Homeland Security Counter-Radicalization, Dr. Clark helped lead the Intelligence Community in intelligence support to countering violent extremism. He was then promoted to Senior Intelligence Officer for Homeland Security Operations Intelligence (headquarters) before acting as consultant (contracted Senior Intelligence Analyst) to Special Operations Command's Counter-Radicalization Branch. While earning his Ph.D. from King's College London War Studies, he served as senior counter-violent-extremism adviser and trainer for USAID, USSOCOM, USDA, DOS, Special Forces, USMC, NATO, and partner governments in southwest Asia and Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. Recent positions includes: CEO, Stability Institute (non-profit) - training and advising special operators and stabilization professionals on defeating extremist groups throughout five continents. Faculty, National Defense College (UAE) - director and coordinator for 'Countering-Violent-Extremism,' 'Information and Cyberwarfare,' 'Media and National Security,' and 'International Security' programs (sponsored by the U.S. National Defense University) Lecturer, Civil and Political School (Ukraine) He is now the president of Narrative Strategies, where he teaches and researches the fields of strategic influence, psychological warfare, counterterrorism, and countering violent extremism. He is also an associate professor of influence strategy and psychological warfare in Washington, DC. Select books / theses: Influence Warfare Volume I: A Blueprint, Narrative Strategies Ink, Washington, DC, 2021 Information Warfare: The Lost Tradecraft, Narrative Strategies, LLC, Washington, DC, 2017 Information as an Instrument of State Power: A Primer, UAE National Defense College, UAE General Headquarters, 2017 Countering Violent Extremism: A Primer, UAE National Defense College, UAE General Headquarters, 2017 Defeating Violent Extremists: The Tradecraft, UAE National Defense College, UAE General Headquarters, 2016 Village Stability Operations, U.S. Army Peacekeeping & Stability Operations Institute, 2015 (coauthor) Lions of Marjah: Why Marjah’s Militia Combats Violent Extremists, King’s College London thesis, 2014 Revolt Against Al-Qa`ida: A Strategy to Empower Muslims and Collapse International Insurgency, Light of New Orleans Publishing, New Orleans, 2010 Narrative Analysis: Taliban, Special Operations Command, Tampa, 2010 (coauthor) Kill Al Qaeda, Light of New Orleans Publishing, New Orleans, 2009 Select articles and chapters: "War and Narrative," chapter in Dangerous Narratives: Warfare, Strategy, Statecraft, Narrative Strategies Ink, 2020. "How to Teach Influence: Thoughts on a New Discipline," article in Teaching Public Diplomacy and the Information Instruments of Power in a Complex Media Environment, National War College and U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, Washington, DC 2020. “Money and Stabilization,” National Defense Journal, National Defense College, UAE, June 2017 “The Responsibility to Protect in the Context of State-Sponsored Terror,” Defense and Intelligence Norway,” July 2016 (coauthor) “Go Local,” American Interest, July/August 2015 “Regimental Effects Operations Center: Enhancing Situational Awareness and Achieving Unity of Effort in Nonkinetics,” The Marine Corps Gazette, Volume 96, Issue 8, 2012 (supporting author) “Ending Al Qaeda,” American Interest, Volume 6, Number 6, July/August 2011 (coauthor) “The Accidental Ideologue,” Jane's Terrorism and Security Monitor, 2010 Twenty-eight classified or official-use-only cross-Intelligence-Community strategic assessments on countering al-Qa`ida for cabinet-level leaders and White House, 2007 – 2009 Three National Economic Council damage assessments for potential biological terrorist attacks, 2001 Six articles on Middle East leadership and Iraqi resistance for Department of State, 1999.
Professor Dowell brings extensive experience in this field. He holds a Master of Arts in Humanitarian Action and Human Rights, from Liberty University; a Master of Arts in International Relations, with a regional focus on Africa and the Middle East, from Troy University; and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management, from Colorado Technical University.