(CITA) Certified Intelligence Analyst (E-learning)

(ITA) Course Overview

This course is in partnership with CCTP which grants the CITA certification and maintains it as the recognized standard of excellence for competent counter terrorism and intelligence. It uses critical thinking skills, analytic techniques, and subject matter expertise to identify, understand, and evaluate threats to provide judgement and recommendations to decision makers in a timely manner who is familiar and involved in the entire intelligence cycle from understanding customers’ needs and requirements, through collection management, production and analysis, to drafting and disseminating a wide range of intelligence products. These analysts communicate effectively with all stakeholders, have deep insight into the languages and cultures of specific regions, are proficient in intelligence tools and techniques, and are aware of the legal and ethical frameworks within which they operate.

This CITA course is meant for intelligence and security professionals. Earning a CITA Credential demonstrates your competency in 5 main domains: Intelligence Process, Subject Matter Expertise, Program Management and Communication, Technical, and Compliance.

Benefits:

• As the risks facing companies and organizations keep evolving, the CITA certification keeps you updated with methodology, tools, and techniques to detect threats, mitigate risks, and act on emerging business opportunities.
• Competencies in the principles and best practices in the intelligence field. Participation in a recognized professional group.
• Recognition of professional competence by peers in the intelligence field as well as by management.
• Advancement of your career potential and growth.
• Certification can improve overall performance, remove uncertainty and widen your market opportunities.
• The process of achieving and maintaining certification helps ensure that you are continually improving and refining your activities within the intelligence field.
• Potentially higher income for being formally recognized as an experienced CITA.

(ITA) Course Domains

Domain 1: Intelligence Process (40%) Skills, Abilities, Knowledge Terminology – Knowledge of common intelligence terms Intelligence Requirements – Understand investigation requirements, build out requirements into priorities to suit the scope of the investigation on immediate, short-term, and longer-term timelines and identifying collection requirements and gaps Collection – Build out collection plan, source exploration, mapping and maintenance, and source exploitation (data collection) Information Processing/Exploitation – Data management/collation and information processing of translation and interpretation Analysis & Production – Source assessment including website and social media assessment, drafting source descriptors, and image and video verification. Critical dissection of data Analytic skills and techniques, including PESTLE/PEST, SWOT, and Structured Analytic Techniques. Drafting and reviewing analytic products, demonstrating sound knowledge of analytic tradecraft. Fluency in the full range of intelligence product types and formats such as Situation Reports, Reaction Reports and Event Reports Dissemination – Written and verbal communication, presenting and briefing, and gathering of feedback Knowledge Management – Keeping and maintaining accurate records, and database of intelligence products

Domain 2: Subject Matter Expertise (40%) Skills, Abilities, Knowledge Expert knowing of a geographical area and/or topic – LATAM, North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, MENA, Africa, Central Asia, East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania. Errorism, crime, geopolitics, cyber security and insider threats Understanding the local intelligence environment & available sources – Media and other open source landscape (OSINT, SMAINT), Geospatial intelligence and other intelligence disciplines’ landscapes (GEOINT), Internally derived intelligence, Digitally derived intelligence such as IOT, ANPR, CDR and SIGINT, Human intelligence (HUMINT), 3rd Party intelligence sources and watchlists & criminal data bases Professional Development – Has received training that demonstrates SME or carries out ongoing training that contributes to SME Networking – Developing and maintaining professional relationships with colleagues, customers, and contacts.

Domain 3: Program Management & Communication (10%) Skills, Abilities, Knowledge Supervision of Intelligence Cycle Intelligence Requirements – Effectively communicate with customers, understand customers’ needs and build out requirements into Key Intelligence Questions and priorities Collection Management – Work with and manage collectors, linguists, and SMEs. Establish which intelligence sources are to be used and what methods will be used to qualify, grade, and score the sources such as NIS 5x5x5 or US FBI Risk Matrix, and identify collection gaps Processing – Work with translators, linguists and vendors as necessary. Define the support and best practice processes for this type of intelligence analysis Analysis – Establish the most appropriate analysis techniques to be used Dissemination – Draft, review and disseminate intelligence products. Brief and present to stakeholders, and seek feedback Project Management & Leadership – Prioritization, Workload Management, Decision Making, Problem Solving, Guidance and Mentoring Colleagues, and Team Culture

Domain 4: Technical (5%) Skills, Abilities, Knowledge Online Safety & Anonymity – Virus and malware protection, VPN Tools – Spreadsheets, Advanced data analytical models, predictive analytics, image analysis and Artificial Intelligence, Social Media management, Data visualization, Investigation case management, Business intelligence, Project management, and identifying new tools as needed Multimedia – Incorporate images and videos into products

Domain 5: Compliance (5%) Skills, Abilities, Knowledge Legislation, Regulation & Ethics – Privacy law, access to official records, social media platforms’ terms and policies and code of conduct/ethical behaviour

(ITA) Eligibility

This is just for the course alone. Anyone who is interested in this course may register. You will receive a Certificate of Completion, upon successful completion for this course. 

To obtain the additional certification (Exam Fee of USD700 applies) for this course, please note the following eligibility criteria:

• Intelligence collectors and analysts across public and private sectors Investigators, researchers and other professionals whose work involves collecting, processing, analyzing and/or disseminating information
• Corporate security managers, Executive Protection Planning Officers in charge of Reputation Monitoring and Risk Mitigation Security professionals who want to gain a better understanding of the intelligence landscape

Eligibility Includes

• Bachelor’s degree in regional or security-related field, geopolitics, political science, or media-preferred
• Over 2 years of experience in an intelligence capacity, preferably in an analytic role, in the public or private sector
• Over 1 year of experience managing projects and teams
• No criminal record
• Three (3) professional references
• One (1) writing sample, demonstrating sound knowledge of analytic tradecraft

Module 1: What is intelligence?

• What is the meaning of intelligence
• A closer look at regulatory intelligence
• A closer look at criminal intelligence
• Understanding analysis VS Data VS Intelligence
• Enabling information systems architecture 
• Contemporary intelligence thinking
• Contemporary intelligence continued
• Conclusion and quiz – review of the introduction to intelligence

Module 2: Requirements and collection management

• 2.1 The art of understanding: Introduction, the intelligence cycle, core themes of this module
• 2.2 Intelligence requirements
• 2.3 Bias and risk: Bias, risk, confusing concepts and competing language
• 2.4 Direction quiz
• 2.5 Intelligence planning: Intelligence operations planning, collection planning
• 2.6 Quiz: Source or agency?
• 2.7 Intelligence operations
• 2.8 Quiz introduction
• 2.9 Video collection planning

Module 3: Collection

• 3.1 Collection: The art of exploitation
• 3.2 Collection terms: Overt, covert, or clandestine?
• 3.3 Quiz: Overt, covert, or clandestine?
• 3.4 Sources and agencies
• 3.5 Specialist collection tradecraft
• 3.6 Human intelligence
• 3.7 Interviewing and debriefing skills
• 3.8 Meeting sources: Preparation and meeting
• 3.9 Video – Interviewing: The good, the bad, and the ugly
• 3.10 Meeting sources: Reporting
• 3.11 Quiz – Human intelligence
• 3.12 Surveillance: Surveillance terms, surveillance pros and cons, examples of surveillance
• 3.13 Signals intelligence and communications intelligence: Signals intelligence, communications intelligence, COMINT techniques
• 3.14 The deep web and the dark web
• 3.15 GEOINT and IMINT
• 3.16 Open source intel
• 3.17 Electronic intelligence, measurement, and signature intelligence
• 3.18 Counterintelligence
• 3.19 Module conclusion: Implications of the collection phase for intelligence officers
• 3.20 Quiz

Module 4: Processing, evaluation, collation, analysis, and interpretation

• 4.1 Analysis: The art of exploitation
• 4.2 Evaluation
• 4.3 Evaluation quiz
• 4.4 Collation: What is collation?
• 4.5 Collation tools
• 4.6 Clustering examples
• 4.7 More about collation tools: Association charting and link analysis, strategic link/flow of strategic geospatial analysis, geospatial collation (general), timelines, indicators (including profile flags), scaling, typologies and classification morphology, big data tools
• 4.8 Reasoning, logic and arguments: Definition of a premise, the beginning point of an argument
• 4.9 Deductive reasoning
• 4.10 Analysis: How do you analyse?
• 4.11 Important words: Examples of problem logic
• 4.12 Deductive reasoning exercise
• 4.13 Inductive reasoning – The analytical leap!
• 4.14 Inductive reasoning exercises 
• 4.15 Abductive reasoning: What is abductive reasoning, and their examples?
• 4.16 Abductive reasoning exercises
• 4.17 How did it go?
• 4.18 Deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning quiz
• 4.19 Challenges in analysis
• 4.20 Introduction to Bias 
• 4.21 Types of bias and intelligence failure: (Failure) The bay of pigs incident in 1961, the ability for many decision-makers to discount the signs leading up to the 2008 global financial crisis, the cuban missile crisis
• 4.22 Levels of analysis
• 4.23 How is analysis applied at various levels?
• 4.24 Structured analytical techniques
• 4.25 Conclusion and processing quiz

Module 5: Production and dissemination

• 5.1 Production: The art of communicating
• 5.2 Type of intelligence products
• 5.3 Decision-making
• 5.4 Audiences: Intended / Actioning / Intermediary / Collateral audiences
• 5.5 Quality standards in production: Towards quality assuring production, principles of production and codes of practice – Product quality, US analytic tradecraft standards
• 5.6 Production tips
• 5.7 Executive assessment or executive summary?
• 5.8 Executive assessment examples
• 5.9 What, so what, now what… Shaping your BLUF
• 5.10 The verbal brief – Tips
• 5.11 Verbal briefs – Introduction to videos
• 5.12 Video – The elevator pitch
• 5.13 Introduction to situation brief video
• 5.14 Video verbal briefings
• 5.15 Conclusion, production, and dissemination quiz 

Module 6: Leadership and capability building in intelligence

• 6.1 Introduction and tips for leaders
• 6.2 The intelligence policy: Components of an intelligence policy, the rationale for intelligence organizations, the rationale for non-intelligence organizations, there’s good and bad news
• 6.3 The approach
• 6.4 Program logic and examples
• 6.5 Principles
• 6.6 Maturity
• 6.7 Leading people and culture
• 6.8 Culture and organizational design
• 6.9 The task for leaders
• 6.10 Leadership and intelligence failure: MacArthur and the Korean war
• 6.11 Understanding intelligence officers
• 6.12 Are you an analyst or an intelo?
• 6.13 Understanding analysts
• 6.14 Observation
• 6.15 Communication
• 6.16 Creativity
• 6.17 Managerial problems in dealing with analysts
• 6.18 Intelligence procedures
• 6.19 IT systems supporting intelligence
• 6.20 Designing the IT system
• 6.21 Intelligence structures continued
• 6.22 Evaluating intelligence performance
• 6.23 Intelligence structures
• 6.24 Compliance and legal issues for managers
• 6.25 Conclusion, leadership, management, and compliance quiz