MITRE has released the results of its research on the scalable and efficient use of publicly and commercially available information, dubbed P/CAI, in the U.S. government. In a paper published Thursday, MITRE identified the challenges and steps the government can take to more effectively utilize P/CAI.
From Disconnected Efforts to Centralized Acquisitions
P/CAI, also known as open source intelligence, strengthens national security and supports the missions of various agencies. MITRE noted in the report that the assistant secretary of the bureau of intelligence and research at the Department of State sees the “explosion of OSINT” as transformative to how governments process information about global issues and society as a whole.
However, MITRE found that P/CAI efforts in the U.S. government are disconnected, leading to challenges such as duplicate purchases. There is also a lack of privacy and civil liberties frameworks to address sensitive information.
MITRE recommends that the government adopt a centralized approach to P/CAI across the government. According to the not-for-profit organization, agencies must leverage the collective buying power of the government.
Agencies must also use contracting strategies that support efficient procurement through an enterprise model or a modular approach that combines the strengths of different contracting tools.
In addition, to address concerns over sensitive data in P/CAI, MITRE called for a central library of authorities to track and ensure strict compliance with privacy laws.
