2021 trends in intelligence: Intellexa provides a holistic approach to data and cyber defense

• Published date: 23 September 2021
• Author: SARAH GOLDMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

This trend has been a cause for growing concern amongst national security and law enforcement agencies around the world, who traditionally relied on telecom carriers to help in effectuating permitted electronic surveillance.

Encryption and modern technological hurdles

A relatively recent example of how this data encryption can affect law enforcement is the terror attacks that took place in San Bernardino in December 2015.

Following the attacks, the FBI came into possession of a mobile phone belonging to one of the suspected shooters. Due to Apple's privacy policies, the request to unlock the device was denied and as a result, it took the FBI almost four months to access the data evidence on the phone, requiring legal action and a private third party's assistance in the matter.

While access to the potential information found on the device may not always be fruitful in instances of lone-wolf attacks, it could be crucial in identifying criminal or terrorist networks and preventing the next attack.

This encryption race extends also to the apps downloaded on people's devices. Activity on encrypted apps such as Telegram has proven that the pursuit of data encryption, while noble, is being leveraged by criminals who wish to engage in illicit activities.

Thanks to these privacy features, criminals can operate under encrypted multi-technology "eco-systems" unseen by law enforcement and run many criminal network activities ranging from drug trafficking, pedophilia, human trafficking to terrorism, money laundering, and ransomware.

From these policies comes a necessity for renewed response in order to maintain civilian safety. Innovative cyber defense solutions have emerged as additions to open-source and geo-spatial intelligence, ensuring that a more holistic approach can be taken towards security by gathering crucial data and analyzing it to provide actionable insights to law enforcement agencies.

The Era of Data-Driven Intelligence

Acquiring this data, however, is only the first part of a comprehensive security equation. The process of transforming intelligence into insightful data has become a painful one due to the sheer volumes of data generated thanks to the expansion of information technology. Additionally, the intelligence collected is often broken...