___________ is the collection of intelligence through public sources.

• A. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)
• B. Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
• C. Imagery Intelligence (IMINT)
• D. Human Intelligence (HUMINT)

Answer: (A)

Open Source Intelligence is the collection of intelligence from publicly available information. It draws on sources you can access without special clearance—newspapers, press releases, official reports, broadcast media, websites, blogs, social media, and other open data. This makes it distinct from other disciplines that rely on covert or non-public sources: signals intelligence collects intercepted communications and electronic signals, imagery intelligence relies on photos and video from platforms like satellites or aircraft, and human intelligence comes from information provided by people. OSINT is often the starting point for analysis because it uses transparent, accessible material that can be cross-checked and corroborated with other data.