February - 20209GOVERNMENT CIO OUTLOOKnow part of the defensive/offensive cyber protection strategy both at government level and in companies that are part of critical infrastructures, for the latter, we limit the activities to the defensive one. The intelligence activity is divided into strategic and operational. The first provides information necessary for decision-makers to make choices or make long-term decisions, normally this information must, then, be integrated with information relating to politics, economics, social interactions, and technological developments. Operational intelligence, on the other hand, regards current events or short-term events and does not involve long-term projections.Information gathering techniquesThere are several disciplines used for collecting information. These disciplines include human intelligence (HUMINT), intelligence derived from signals (SIGINT), that deriving from images (IMINT), that deriving from radiofrequency and radioactive emission (MASINT) surveys, and open-source intelligence deriving from open sources (OSINT). About open-source intelligence, it should be noted that the more an organization/state is open, the more successful this type of activity is. Magazines, sites, online databases, social media are often profitable sources of information regarding governmental and commercial activities.Human intelligence activities, HUMINT, are synonymous with espionage and clandestine activities such as those described in the aforementioned book of Fabrizio Gatti, but the activity carried out by diplomats, and military personnel should not be overlooked either.This discipline represents the oldest method for collecting information and remains, until the end of the twentieth century, the main source of intelligence for governments/organizations. The activity of HUMINT includes manifest, sensitive and clandestine activities with the use of people who control, supervise and support the necessary sources. Explicit activities are openly managed, in this case, the persons collecting the information can be diplomatic, military personnel, members of official delegations who participate or manage unclassified publications or conferences. The clandestine activity requires, on the other hand, agents who are infiltrated in the country/organization by performing undercover roles. The management of this discipline requires a significant number of staff, both among those who collect information and between those who support and coordinate the various activitiesHUMINT in the digital domainToday both threats actors and professionals working in the field of information security have access to increasingly efficient and lethal technologies. Together with these tools, we have the tools that can be considered the most useful of all, knowledge and human experience. For these reasons, it is easy to understand how the use of HUMINT is fundamental both for those who work to identify cybercriminals and for those who deal with the management and prevention of threats. Understanding motivations, trends, and reasons behind the opponents is key to any type of war, including cyber warfare. As the literature on the subject confirms, one must know one's enemy by becoming their enemy; it must always be kept in mind that the enemy in this cyber war can be virtual, anonymous, but never invisible. The technique Today, both threats actors and professionals working in the field of information security have access to increasingly efficient and lethal technologies," Nicola Sotira, Head Of CERT, Italian post
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