A new survey of open-source intelligence (OSINT) users across financial services, multinational corporates, public sector, and professional services has revealed both the promise and pressure of working with publicly available data in investigations.
The research, conducted by Blackdot Solutions, forms the basis of the inaugural State of OSINT Report, which explores the challenges, opportunities, and investment shaping the OSINT landscape across the UK and Europe.
This comes as crime across the board continues to rise, with data released in April 2025 finding ‘headline crime’ was 14% higher than last year’s survey. For economic crime in particular, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that between EUR 715 billion and 1.87 trillion is laundered each year.
Data: the biggest barrier to effective investigation
Across all sectors surveyed, investigators identified data as their greatest barrier to effective open-source intelligence work. In the public sector, limited access to relevant data continues to hinder investigations, while corporate teams face similar challenges related to data access and permissions. In financial services and professional services, the issue is not scarcity but abundance. Investigators are struggling to manage the overwhelming volume and complexity of available information.
These data-related obstacles are slowing investigations and increasing pressure on teams to adopt smarter, more automated methods for managing and interpreting information. The findings highlight a central paradox of OSINT: data is both its greatest advantage and its most significant limitation.
Jonathan Groom, Jersey FIU’s Director, commented: “OSINT isn’t just an internet search. The requirement to employ a suitable intelligence process is critical when doing OSINT if you are to deliver a structured, consistent, defendable and understood approach that supports case movement and assists in recognising where gaps and limitations may exist.”
AI seen as the key to unlocking OSINT’s potential
When asked about artificial intelligence, around three quarters said AI’s greatest impact would be in data collection, processing and analysis. Over half directly referenced speed and efficiency gains, highlighting AI’s potential to cut down research time and automate manual work.
The outlook on AI was positive, with respondents showing broad optimism about the role of AI in future investigations. The results show a strong leaning towards positive sentiment, with the majority expecting AI to enhance, rather than replace, human expertise in OSINT work.
“Investigators are telling us that data remains both their biggest challenge and their greatest opportunity, and that’s exactly where AI can make the biggest difference,” said Stuart Clarke, CEO at Blackdot Solutions. “Our survey shows a clear optimism about AI’s role in OSINT, not as a replacement for human judgment, but as a force multiplier. With solutions like Videris Automate, we’re helping teams overcome data barriers, reduce manual effort, and accelerate the path from information to insight.”
Investment outlook: more focus on OSINT in the years ahead
To realise AI’s potential and tackle today’s data challenges, respondents agree on one clear need: continued investment in OSINT. When asked whether their organisation would invest more or less in OSINT over the next five years, the majority expected the same or increased investment.
The data suggests most organisations expect to increase their OSINT investment, signalling growing recognition of its strategic importance.
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