Intelligence matters more than ever – are you prepared?

Having collected, produced, and consumed law enforcement intelligence throughout my career, I operated on both sides of the intelligence and enforcement paradigm.?

I was either deploying collection capabilities to gather intelligence, for collation, fusion, and assessment alongside other information, or leading enforcement operations, requiring me to make critical decisions based on the intelligence picture provided to me, often in high-risk circumstances, including threat-to-life operations.??

It was a great privilege, therefore,?to attend the National Intelligence Conference hosted by the UK National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) on the 5th and 6th?of June 2023, on behalf of Clue Software .??

The theme of my conference speech, explored below, was intelligence matters:?

The ‘good old days’?

Law enforcement intelligence has certainly evolved over time. When I joined ‘the job,’ every Police Station had a powerful, accurate and high-speed computer. But it was a computer in human form, known as the Collator. Their understanding of the identities, MOs and connections of local criminals could give today’s algorithms a run for their money.??

Instead of data archives, there were floor-to-ceiling filing cabinets, stuffed full of handwritten information reports. As for facial recognition, I only had to show the Collator a fuzzy CCTV image and they could identify the nominal in seconds.?

Clearly, the intelligence challenges faced by law enforcement intelligence professionals today are simply unrecognisable when compared to those simpler analogue times.??

The digital age???

Criminal communications are routinely protected by end-to-end encryption, frustrating intelligence and evidential collection, to varying degrees, by law enforcement.??

This includes complex digital tradecraft and counter-forensics techniques, used by paedophiles to communicate and share child sexual abuse material. Similarly, organised crime networks involved in the transnational trafficking of drugs and firearms have frequently adopted hardened secure communications devices and platforms, intended to protect their communications, with varying degrees of success.?

In financial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and virtual assets are frequently encountered in fraud offences, either as part of an investment scheme or for laundering the proceeds. Likewise, cryptocurrencies are used in cyber ransom payments, as well as broader money laundering operations, for example, in transferring funds that underpin major trafficking at an industrial scale across borders.?

The dark web, meanwhile, is still exploited by those seeking out hidden spaces to share child abuse material, offer illicit services, or sell illegal commodities such as drugs or firearms.?

Global reach?

Criminals now operate seamlessly across the ‘local to global’ continuum, with expansive and sophisticated networks operating across borders and continents. They frequently target our jurisdictions with serious criminality, while operating from bases in permissive, judicially non-cooperative, or even outright hostile states.??

This includes drug trafficking cartels building the logistical capability and infrastructure needed to underpin their global trade. It extends to the serious violence connected to such organised crime, with increasing examples of ‘hits’ being ‘called on’ by organised crime bosses based overseas, in jurisdictions around the world.?

Cyber and state threats?

Global factors also play out in the borderless domain of cyberspace, from malware used to encrypt victim data, or threats to leak compromised data for ransom. It also encompasses theft of intellectual property; sextortion and online grooming; or frauds against the public, businesses, and the public sector. In every example, networks spanning the globe connect with their associates or gain access to victims through the cyber domain.??

Cyber also increasingly entwines the malign activities of hostile states with serious and organised crime, money laundering and kleptocracy, bringing unique challenges.??

Emerging tech?

The democratisation of technology and the ease of sharing design templates are driving unregulated 3D firearms manufacturing growth, enabling lethal capabilities to be acquired with relative ease across the world. The cross-over from ‘enthusiast’ to organised crime is already well evidenced.?

Despite the hype and hyperbole, Generative AI will no doubt have a multitude of positive legitimate uses. But we are already seeing fledgling signs of exploiting such tools and capabilities for criminal purposes, such as fraud. Other potential game-changers on the horizon include quantum computing, which could rewrite the ‘laws of gravity’ when it comes to encryption and the protection of our personal information.?

Unstructured vs encrypted data?

The complex challenges facing law enforcement intelligence teams are exacerbated by the volume, diversity and fragmentation of data needed to make sense of the threats. Data may be inaccessible, due to encryption or jurisdictional issues. Alternatively, the vast quantity may make the identification of key entities, trends, or patterns difficult.??

Whether dealing with a tsunami of unstructured data, which needs to be structured, analysed, and interpreted, or a paucity of data due to encryption or fragmentation, giving only a glimpse of meta-data rather than content - both are equally challenging.??

So what??

In my law enforcement career, I was privileged to have a seat in the room when the lights were ‘switched on’ and game-changing?intelligence was made accessible to law enforcement, including the penetration of global criminally dedicated communications systems or cyber-crime platforms.?

But such?breakthroughs at scale are rare. Instead, ongoing success in law enforcement intelligence will in my view require teams to make the best use of the available information, data, and intelligence, which rarely ‘tells the whole story’ in isolation.??

The big questions?

So, the first question I want to pose to the law enforcement intelligence community is a simple ask – do you have the intelligence capabilities needed for your vital mission??

Are your technology providers actively developing capabilities such as automated entity recognition and linking; proactive alerting of key intelligence or investigative events; and deep data insights from your intelligence holdings and case material???

If they are not able to demonstrate a roadmap to deliver these and similar capabilities, in my view, they are failing you.?

But these new capabilities are not the only issue. Due to the complexity of the mission organisations will require a broad suite of complimentary tools, seamlessly integrated into an ‘ecosystem.’??

So, my second question is - are your intelligence technology providers designing ‘from the ground up’ with the intention of interoperability and seamless integration with other tools in your ecosystem??

If they cannot demonstrate to you an ethos of responsible development, then you should, in my view, demand better from them.?

Based on my experience within the law enforcement intelligence community and within the technology sector I recommend that you choose to work with intelligence technology providers that have a deep understanding of your mission and share your vision.?

Intelligence matters?

I will finish by returning to my theme, intelligence matters, with an unattributed quote that sums up why the work of law enforcement and government intelligence professionals is so important for all of us across the globe.?

"Intelligence is the backbone of effective law enforcement. Without it, we stumble in the dark, while criminals thrive in the shadows."?

Did you join us at the National Intelligence Conference? It would be great to talk about your experience and tell you more about how Clue is helping organisations gather intelligence to drive preventative strategies.??