KB2GOM
Active Member
Most of us, I think, are aware of the rise of "citizen journalism," in which ordinary citizens undertake the (usually) video documenting of some occurrence, event or activity that would be of interest to others. Sometimes it is as simple as making a video recording of a real-time event with a smart phone. Countless examples exist on the internet. Others take the time to put together a more formalized news report or documentary. Here is an example of a citizen doing a thoughtful job of covering the after effects of the collapse of the Edenville dam:
Recently I got curious about the possibility of Citizen SIGINT. An internet search turned up a white paper, entitled "SIGINT for Anyone," published by the Rand Corporation. I recommend reading it. It's a bit dry, but stick with it, because IMHO there is some interesting stuff, although it is light on monitoring the radio spectrum. Just visit here -- Signals Intelligence for Anyone -- and click on the PDF file or click here: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PE200/PE273/RAND_PE273.pdf Some of the references at the end of the white paper are pretty interesting as well.
For the record, I have absolutely no connection with Rand Corporation, commercial or otherwise.
So, a question: does anyone here have an interest in trying to pursue Citizen SIGINT, either separately or as a coordinated effort?
My interest was piqued by the suggestion that there might be radio frequencies used by outside agitators or coordinators at recent riots, see this -- "Anomalous frequencies" in riot zones? --
That's just one example. There might be interesting projects that could be pursued; certainly there are a lot of people here who have sophisticated monitoring equipment that could be brought to bear.
NOTE WELL: I am not suggesting that anyone here should do anything that is illegal or morally questionable, such as jamming satellites or legitimate signals, etc.
So, what do you think? Citizen SIGINT: Good idea? Possibly fun? Goofy idea? Got a suggestion for a project?
Recently I got curious about the possibility of Citizen SIGINT. An internet search turned up a white paper, entitled "SIGINT for Anyone," published by the Rand Corporation. I recommend reading it. It's a bit dry, but stick with it, because IMHO there is some interesting stuff, although it is light on monitoring the radio spectrum. Just visit here -- Signals Intelligence for Anyone -- and click on the PDF file or click here: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PE200/PE273/RAND_PE273.pdf Some of the references at the end of the white paper are pretty interesting as well.
For the record, I have absolutely no connection with Rand Corporation, commercial or otherwise.
So, a question: does anyone here have an interest in trying to pursue Citizen SIGINT, either separately or as a coordinated effort?
My interest was piqued by the suggestion that there might be radio frequencies used by outside agitators or coordinators at recent riots, see this -- "Anomalous frequencies" in riot zones? --
That's just one example. There might be interesting projects that could be pursued; certainly there are a lot of people here who have sophisticated monitoring equipment that could be brought to bear.
NOTE WELL: I am not suggesting that anyone here should do anything that is illegal or morally questionable, such as jamming satellites or legitimate signals, etc.
So, what do you think? Citizen SIGINT: Good idea? Possibly fun? Goofy idea? Got a suggestion for a project?
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