The Role of Private Sector in Intelligence

Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!

In episode 5 of Risky Business, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Bill Priest chat with the co-founders of private intelligence firm Strider Technologies, Greg and Eric Levesque, on open source intelligence and the private sector intelligence community. Greg and Eric talk about what information their company gathers on behalf of clients, how they define 'open source intelligence', and how they analyze their data. We get their view on what the private sector intelligence community is and what it can be, as companies and other organizations continue to  desire information that has traditionally been collected and assessed by governments. Greg and Eric discuss how Strider fills some of these needs,  how their work is both similar and dissimilar from what the government's intelligence community does, and what national security issues their clients are most concerned about. They also discuss their partnerships with some government entities, and how they view future trends.