Rae Baker
IAFIE Intelligence Education Interview Series - Rae Baker
Interviewer: Andrea Bardazzi
Table of Contents:
Question 1.) Rae Baker, let’s start from the basics. How would you like to present yourself to the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE)?
Question 2.) Your book “Deep Dive” is a valuable resource for those who want to approach the world of OSINT. Can you tell us something about this book? And as an expert, can you tell us why a widespread OSINT education is so important? What do you think OSINT education should prioritize?
Question 3.) You are an expert analyst in the maritime domain. What are the main challenges faced by OSINT in the maritime and naval context specifically? What are the peculiar challenges OSINT analysts face in this realm of inquiry?
Question 4.) What would you recommend to someone planning to specialize in OSINT in general and specifically in the maritime and naval context? What are the main tools and books they should be aware of?
Question 5.) How do you see the future of intelligence analysis and how should educators orient themselves?
Question 6.) What is the work you believe is most representative of your professional life, and what can future analysts, researchers, and intelligence practitioners learn from it?
Question 7.) What suggestions would you give to the new analysts and younger generation?
Question 8.) How can our readers follow you?
Question 9.) Five keywords that represent you?
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Interview Introduction: Rae Baker is a leading figure in the maritime intelligence community. As a senior open-source intelligence (OSINT) analyst, Rae Baker excels in human targeting and corporate reconnaissance, using skills to uncover and dismantle illicit organizations. Analytical abilities and strategic insight make Rae Baker a key guest for our interviews. With a commitment that goes beyond the mere professional role, Rae volunteers with OSINT-focused non-profits, working on challenging cases such as cold cases, missing persons, and child exploitation. This volunteer work underscores the commitment to using expertise for the greater good and reflects a broad and noble conception of the analyst's work. Beyond practice, Rae is passionate about education and mentorship as co-creator of KASE Scenarios, an immersive OSINT training platform designed to equip the next generation of analysts with the skills they need. Rae's approach to education emphasizes accessibility and promotes the development of intelligence studies concerning the increasingly important world of OSINT. This influence is also felt globally, where Rae is a sought-after speaker at major conferences such as DEFCON, Shmoocon, and the SANS OSINT Summit. The International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) is honored to present this interview. These insights into the challenges and opportunities of maritime intelligence, as well as a vision for the future of OSINT education, are invaluable to our mission of advancing intelligence education and research. Rae Baker’s work exemplifies the critical role that comprehensive OSINT education and ethical intelligence practices play in today's world. Dedication, expertise, and innovative approach make Rae a key figure in the ongoing evolution of intelligence education. On behalf of IAFIE and our team, thank you, Rae!
Question 1). Rae Baker, let’s start from the basics. How would you like to present yourself to the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE)?
I am a Senior Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Analyst with a large consulting firm primarily performing adversarial hunt and maritime work for U.S. government clients. I am an author, a licensed Private Investigator in my state, and co-owner of Kase Scenarios, an immersive OSINT training company. Additionally, I do OSINT volunteer work on cold cases, missing persons, and child exploitation cases. I have a B.S. in Security and Risk Analysis from Penn State, CISSP, and am pursuing a master's degree in Intelligence Analysis at Johns Hopkins.
Question 2). Your book “Deep Dive” is a valuable resource for those who want to approach the world of OSINT. Can you tell us something about this book? And as an expert, can you tell us why a widespread OSINT education is so important? What do you think OSINT education should prioritize?
I wrote Deep Dive as a book I wish I had when I first started in the field. The few books that exist on OSINT, while valuable, can be highly technical which I found to be a barrier to entry into the community, especially for women who undervalue the skills they hold and often feel like they aren’t ‘technical.’ I set out to develop a book that covered key OSINT areas and to present ‘what it is, why it matters, and how we find it’ in a tone that was accessible to everyone. I purposefully only used women for all of the examples in the book, and a few people actually caught it and sent me thank you notes. It’s valuable for OSINT practitioners to have a widespread OSINT education because much of the analysis we will do on the job crosses many areas of OSINT. Take maritime, for example. Tracking ships is only one aspect because there are also people on board. (subject intelligence), people who own the ship (corporate intelligence), satellite and imagery of the ship moving (GEOINT/IMINT), social media posts that detail where the ship makes port (social media intelligence), and so on. If I were only good at one of those areas, I would be less valuable (and more frustrated) as an analyst.
OSINT is a strange space that has grown mainstream, even if non-intelligence people don’t know that what they are doing is OSINT. Because of this, I think OSINT education should focus on the Intelligence cycle and ethics to demonstrate that there is more responsibility attached than just searching Google. It also falls on us as educators to teach methodology over tools so analysts understand the ‘why,’ which ultimately will help them to focus on higher value data. Finally, soft skills, critical thinking, and organization are key to developing a great analyst. Techniques for thinking about problems in different ways should be developed alongside people skills and how to organize the data they find so it can be shared with their team.
Question 3). You are an expert analyst in the maritime domain. What are the main challenges faced by OSINT in the maritime and naval context specifically? What are the peculiar challenges OSINT analysts face in this realm of inquiry?
One of the main challenges when working in the maritime domain is understanding the complex geopolitical issues in the past and present in whatever region you are investigating. I am not a history expert, so it often takes a few weeks to understand the activity in a region to baseline an area and determine what is normal vs what is anomalous. Another challenge is falsified location data. It is well known in the maritime space that analysts can track ship movements through AIS pings; to combat AIS tracking, ships illegally share their MMSI and IMO numbers and spoof AIS to obfuscate their true locations. Trying to detect false data patterns and determine what actually took place in that time frame can be exceptionally challenging. Finally, the cost of satellite imagery is a challenge because it is prohibitively expensive for individual analysts to afford. When AIS data is falsified, the best way to verify a ship’s location is often through satellite imagery; however, with the high cost, it is impossible for people outside of government or commercial entities to afford.
Question 4). What would you recommend to someone planning to specialize in OSINT in general and specifically in the maritime and naval context? What are the main tools and books they should be aware of?
First, I think it's important to note that this field is doable for people without a degree in Intelligence. I was self-taught and proved my skills by doing my own investigations and writing about them in blogs. Don’t get caught in having to keep up with the latest and greatest tools or learn coding; you can absolutely succeed without those things. Understand the Intelligence Cycle, how OSINT is collected ethically, and how it is stored legally. Learn a broad set of skills so that you can find what you are passionate about and then SHOW how you can use those skills. Finding a career in OSINT (or any field) is 50% having the skills and 50% how well you market yourself to get hired.
If you are interested in maritime/naval work, there is a distinct lack of sources available to learn from. It is important that you take time to understand the politics, anomalous activity, and tactics surrounding the vessels that you are looking at. Investigating Russian vessels will be much different in many aspects than investigating Chinese vessels. Use free tools like MarineTraffic and VesselFinder to practice finding vessels and then investigate the corporate structure that supports them.
My OSINT go-to resources come from the online community of researchers. I follow many analysts because they each have a specialty, and it keeps me alert to what is happening across all areas of OSINT. Here are just a few, and I know I have forgotten some, and I hope they won’t hold it against me. Nico Dekens, Ritu Gill, Micah Hoffman, Steven Harris, Matt Edmonson, Cynthia Hetherington, Andrew Erickson (Chinese maritime), Maritime Executive, HI Sutton, RUSI, C4ADS.
Question 5). How do you see the future of intelligence analysis and how should educators orient themselves?
I believe that OSINT will continue to mesh with the non-intelligence community, and the amount of people who learn what OSINT is will rise, leading to an increased interest in formal training and education. As it stands, there are no real standardized certificates for OSINT (but many people are working towards it), and so it falls on the analyst to be able to prove their skills in other ways. The Intelligence community does appear to be shifting towards understanding the true value of OSINT as public data leaks increase. Educators should include more OSINT training in their curriculum to ensure that students use OSINT ethically and legally and because OSINT techniques can be used for college work, such as gathering and analyzing the quality of source material for reports. Additionally, there is a distinct lack of report writing skills in the field of OSINT. Educators should push to develop intelligence report-writing skills so that analysts can accurately convey all of the great data they find. Finally, I think there should be an emphasis on AI and how analysts can use it to speed up their processes and aid in collection in creative ways.
Question 6). What is the work you believe is most representative of your professional life, and what can future analysts, researchers, and intelligence practitioners learn from it?
As I am sure anyone who works in Intelligence knows, it's hard to discuss a professional life you are not allowed to discuss. However, I would say that my work in tracking vessel movements and corporate analysis has been highly relevant across much of my professional life. Much of the work I do involves determining who owns a thing and what risk does that present. For instance, a company providing critical electronics for U.S. satellites may be based in the U.S., but through analysis it may be tied to a sanctioned Chinese entity, which then creates a national security risk. So, understanding the landscape and how corporations are set up can be exceptionally useful, l as well as how government contracting works.
Question 7). What suggestions would you give to the new analysts and younger generation?
If you have not begun to capture your skills in a way that is easily marketable, now is the time! Write blogs, give conference talks, and network with other analysts because that is what proves you have the skills you claim to have. Understand that even if you and ten other people write about the same topic, your view will differ based on your own life experiences, so don’t think you have nothing valuable to contribute. There is enough space in the field for everyone. Be humble, reach out for help, and make connections. Be hungry for knowledge, and keep up to date with technology and world news, but also understand your limits and give yourself time to recharge. Find an expert who does what you want to do and emulate it until you find your niche. Specifically for the women looking to enter the field: You belong here, and your thoughts and views are valuable to the community.
Question 8). How can our readers follow you?
Raebaker.net and my blog there
Twitter: @wondersmithrae
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raebakerosint/
Kase Scenarios Discord: https://discord.gg/cwkc4eM53v
Question 9). Five keywords that represent you?
Creative, Meticulous, Driven, Passionate, Inquisitive