OSINT AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC SECURITY ANALYSIS: FROM ENTERPRISES TO THE STATE

Анотація

In the context of the digitalization of economic processes, the growing volume of publicly available information, and the intensification of hybrid, financial, information, and reputational threats, the search for new tools to promptly identify and assess risks to economic security has taken on particular importance. Traditional approaches to economic security analysis, which focus primarily on the internal performance indicators of economic entities and official statistical data, do not always make it possible to identify hidden interconnections, potential conflicts of interest, signs of counterparty misconduct, or financial and reputational risks. In this context, a promising direction is the application of OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) as a system for collecting, verifying, structuring, and analytically processing information from open sources.

The purpose of this article is to justify the role of OSINT as an information and analytical tool for assessing economic security and to identify the specific features of its application at the enterprise, institutional, and state levels. The study systematizes the main sources of open-source information that can be used to assess economic risks, including government registries, financial and statistical information, public procurement data, court decisions, sanctions lists, corporate ties, and media and digital resources. It is proposed to view OSINT not merely as a set of technical methods for searching for information, but as a comprehensive analytical methodology that facilitates the transition from individual information signals to the identification of risks and threats to economic security.

The report justifies the need to differentiate OSINT research areas according to the level of economic security. At the micro level, OSINT can be used to vet counterparties, owners, and beneficiaries, and to assess financial, legal, reputational, and compliance risks. At the level of institutions and organizations, open data creates opportunities to analyze partnerships, financial ties, personnel relationships, and procurement links, as well as to identify potential conflicts of interest and opaque interdependencies. At the state level, OSINT facilitates the monitoring of strategic economic processes, sanctions risks, critical dependencies, foreign economic ties, and systemic threats. A conceptual sequence for integrating OSINT into the economic security management system is proposed: information collection – verification – structuring – establishing interconnections – identifying risks and threats – assessing the level of economic security – formulating a management decision – preventive response. It is concluded that the systematic use of OSINT can enhance the soundness of management decisions, expand the information base for assessing economic security, and strengthen the preventive nature of its assurance.

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