Abstract
This chapter aims at discussing how social media intelligence (SOCMINT) can be and has been applied to the field of criminal justice. SOCMINT is composed of a set of computer forensic techniques used for intelligence gathering on social media platforms. Through this chapter, readers will be able to better understand what SOCMINT is and how it may be helpful for criminal investigation and national security. Different aspects of SOCMINT are addressed, including application in criminal justice, intelligence gathering, monitoring, metadata, cyber profiling, social network analysis, tools, and privacy concerns. Further, the challenges and future research directions are discussed as well. This chapter is not meant to serve as a technical tutorial as the focus is on the concepts rather than the techniques.
TopIntroduction
Traditionally, common forms of intelligence include imagery intelligence (IMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT), and human intelligence (HUMINT). These forms of intelligence rely on collection of imagery (e.g. satellite images), interception of signals, or interpersonal contact. There are also measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) and financial intelligence gathered from the analysis of monetary transactions (FININT), among others. In modern days, the intelligence community started to value social media as an important and reliable source of intelligence because of so much human activity on these platforms that generates abundant information in every second and so much interrelation between people’s everyday life and their online presence. Therefore, social media intelligence (SOCMINT) has been gradually accepted as a form of intelligence during the past decade (Omand, et al., 2012).
SOCMINT typically involves two types of sources, open source (i.e., public information) and private data that requires privileged access (Dover, 2020; Lombardi et al., 2015). In terms of purposes, SOCMINT can be intended for data collection (i.e., after the fact) or monitoring (i.e., as it happens). As for analysis, it may focus on data points, including user-generated content and metadata, but it may also focus on cyber profiling in an attempt to extract implicit information that is not directly revealed in the data collected. SOCMINT can also be aimed at performing one or more subjects’ social network analysis in order to uncover any connections among several subjects of interest or the connections among seemingly unrelated events. All these SOCMINT applications can conceivably play a helpful role in criminal investigation and national security, two of the most important domains in the field of criminal justice. This chapter introduces and explains how SOCMINT has been and can be utilized in the field of criminal justice. However, as helpful as it may be, SOCMINT is not without controversy. In particular, privacy issues have been the center of scrutiny both in social media and in criminal justice. Accordingly, this chapter discusses such issues from different perspectives to offer a comprehensive understanding.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Privacy: The reasonable expectation of being free from being observed and disturbed.
SOCMINT: Social media intelligence as a practice about analyzing data gathered from social media platforms, typically with the purpose to gain understanding on specific persons or social trends among a group of people.
Criminal Investigation: The process and methods that are aimed at solving crime and determine culpability.
OSINT: Open source intelligence as a practice about analyzing data legally gathered from free, public sources without violating copyrights, patents, and privacy laws.
National Security: A broad domain that includes all studies, precautions, and investigations regarding any security threats to a sovereign state or nation.
Cyber Profiling: An investigative method that relies predominantly on electronic data to predict the unknown based on the known information about a subject whose identity may or may not have been recognized.
Social media: Digital platforms that allow users to create self-expressive content and interact with other users.