US Special Operations Forces (SOF) must enhance its exploitation of big data by capitalising on commercial technologies and open source intelligence (OSINT), a report published by the US Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) has warned.
JSOU's 'Exploitation of Big Data for SOF' paper, published in November, said big data analytics must be relied upon more to support SOF activities, including unconventional warfare and counter-insurgency operations, although it noted that identifying big data requirements and solutions remains challenging.
Big data exploitation could help SOF personnel "with understanding the social, cultural, physical, informational, and psychological elements" in a complex operating area, the report said.
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