Pentagon Wants to Use Social Media On the Battlefield

Artificial intelligence will weave open-source and satellite data into useful intelligence in real time, the Pentagon says.

It still takes the US military too long to turn social media and other open-source information into something that operators in the field can use. Artificial intelligence is going to change that, and give U.S. troops a distinct battlefield edge, says US Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work.(pictured)

Take the 2014 downing of Malaysian flight MH17 over Ukraine. (A conventional investigation by a European Union Joint Investigation Team took more than a year to affix blame to pro-Russian separatists operating a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile.)

To test the current state of machine learning applied to open source intelligence, the Pentagon hired a data integration and geospatial intelligence company called Orbital Insight, a big-data analytics company with a focus on satellite imagery and geospatial data. Most of their business is commercial, for example, they, analyze pictures of parking lots from space to predict holiday sales trends.

The company quickly scanned all available open-source media and assembled a picture of evidence, and did it instantly. He used slides to tell the story to an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies: “On the lower left is a Twitter shot of MH17 taking off…The next one comes from ParisMatch.com. It is the picture of the Russian SA-11 launcher with a serial number on it, date and time stamped near the village where the shoot-down occurred; then on Bellingcat.com, the exact same SA-11, at the exact same location. Then there’s a Twitter shot of a contrail of a missile rising at the time of the shoot-down.

Then a rebel leader takes credit for the shoot down on VK.com. That was immediately taken down, by the way. Finally, on YouTube, there’s a picture of the exact same SA-11 with a missile rail that is now mysteriously empty going back into Russia. Learning machines did this without any human interaction.”

That sort of rapid insight will be key to winning future conflicts where not all the players wear uniforms, like the masked “little green men” who invaded the Crimean peninsula in 2014. The United States and other international observers believed that Russian military officers were working with the separatists, a charge Russia at first denied. The ambiguity surrounding the identity of the invaders inhibited a coordinated international response.

“This type of stuff will allow us new indications and warning in gray-zone operations, the little green men,” said Work. “Learning machines can say, ‘There is an influence operation going on. We don’t know who is doing it but here are the key themes of the influence operation.’ There will be new means of going after terrorists. There will be new means of operating against regional powers. There will be new ways of operating against great state powers. This is totally transferable across the range of operations.”  

It’s an example of why next-generation machine learning and artificial intelligence are key to the Pentagon’s push for technologies that will secure military dominance over competing nations, sometimes referred to as the Third Offset.

The military, of course, already uses social media for operations. In 2015, Air Combat Command’s Gen. Hawk Carlisle described how it helped the Air Force pull off a precision strike against ISIS. The airmen were “combing through social media and they see some moron standing at this command,” Carlisle said. “So they do some work, long story short, about 22 hours later through that very building, three JDAMs take that entire building out.”

The goal now is to shorten the time from data collection to actionable intelligence from a day to immediately.

Some observers pointed out that each of those data sources, particularly Bellingcat, the international open source news collective, provided a good indication of an influence operation afoot, and were doing so in real time.

DefenseOne

« Facebook’s Drone Ambitions Are Getting Bigger
Education Is The Key To Minimise Cyber Risk For Business »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO is the market leader in HPE Non-Stop Security, Risk Management and Compliance.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

NordLayer

NordLayer

NordLayer is an adaptive network access security solution for modern businesses — from the world’s most trusted cybersecurity brand, Nord Security. 

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

This year, Infosecurity Europe marks 30 years of bringing the global cybersecurity community together to further our joint mission of Building a Safer Cyber World.

Menlo Security

Menlo Security

Menlo Security protects organizations from cyberattacks by eliminating the threat of malware from the web, documents, and email.

OPSWAT

OPSWAT

OPSWAT is a software company that provides solutions to secure and manage IT infrastructure.

Digital Arts

Digital Arts

Digital Arts provides internet security software and appliance products for companies and individuals.

Valtori

Valtori

Government ICT Centre Valtori provides sector-independent ICT services for the central government, while taking into account the special requirements related to security and preparedness.

CipherTrace

CipherTrace

CipherTrace develops cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering, cryptocurrency forensics, and blockchain threat intelligence solutions.

Micro Strategies Inc.

Micro Strategies Inc.

Micro Strategies provides IT solutions that help businesses tackle digital transformation in style.

CyberCareers.gov

CyberCareers.gov

CyberCareers.gov is a platform for Cybersecurity Job Seekers, Federal Hiring Managers and Supervisors, Current Federal Cybersecurity Employees, Students and Universities.

Cyber Struggle

Cyber Struggle

At Cyber Struggle, our aim is training and certifying the special forces of the cyber world.

Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF)

Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF)

OCF is dedicated to ensuring secure interoperability ensuring secure interoperability of IoT for consumers, businesses and industries.

Perch Security

Perch Security

Perch is a co-managed threat detection and response platform backed by an in-house Security Operations Center (SOC).

SEMNet

SEMNet

SEMNet is an IT solutions provider and an infrastructure and security consulting firm.

Venustech

Venustech

Venustech is a leading provider of network security products, trusted security management platforms, specialized security services and solutions.

Yotta Infrastructure Solutions

Yotta Infrastructure Solutions

Yotta Infrastructure, a Hiranandani group company, provide Datacenter Colocation and Tech Services such as Cloud services, Network & Connectivity, IT Security and IT Management services.

Ermes

Ermes

Ermes – Intelligent Web Protection provides companies with a solution that effectively secures them against web threats.

Defimoon

Defimoon

DeFimoon is the International Blockchain Development & Security Agency. We provide professional services and solutions at the highest quality on world-leading chains.

Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN)

Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN)

The Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace.