U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo. 2nd District, says the U.S. needs to up its game in using smart technology to guard against both terrorists and hostile governments.
During a recent hearing by the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, she said there’s been a sharp rise in the use of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), which is publicly available data online that can be used for intelligence operations.
“For example, there are now commercial platforms that can map global shipping patterns in real time (and) detect anomalies across millions of data points within seconds,” Wagner told the committee. “They can provide insights that would have taken weeks or months just a few years ago.”
OSINT data can be used by rogue governments, terrorists, or even corporations, she said.
“With an ocean of raw data growing exponentially each day, the intelligence community’s ability to analyze this abundance of information with speed and accuracy is vital to our national security,” Wagner said.
Smart devices can also pose a threat. Bruce Hoffman with the Council on Foreign Relations testified at the hearing that the attacker in the New Orleans terrorist attack was wearing smart glasses before his rampage to record video as he rode through the French Quarter.
He also backed up Wagner’s assertions that publicly available data online can be used to plot attacks.
“Certainly (there is) the availability of open source material to carry out intelligence and reconnaissance in a detailed fashion from one’s desktop (computer),” Hoffman said.
Fourteen people were killed and more than 30 injured in the 2025 New Year’s Day attack in the New Orleans’ French Quarter.
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