Guide to SEC and Business Open Source Corporate Intelligence

Authors

Lawrence J. Trautman, Prairie View A&M UniversityFollow
Brian Elzweig, University of West FloridaFollow
Neal F. Newman, Texas A&M University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2025

Journal Title

UC Davis Business Law Journal

ISSN

2476-1729

Abstract

An agency of the U.S. intelligence community observes, "The explosion of open source intelligence (OSINT) in recent years has transformed how governments and people around the world consume and process information about society and global issues." It is likely that "We all use open-source and probably don't even realize it, but we also use it for different reasons. You might use open-source information to do a credibility check and to find out more about the person selling you something on Facebook marketplace." Others "may research someone… met on a dating app or before hiring someone for a job." Every use of a search engine such as Google or Bing constitutes a use of open source intelligence. Other examples of open source competitive intelligence includes: blogs; social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube; newspapers; Internet sources containing videos and images; The Dark web; and other websites. In a business context, prior to the past few decades, most databases containing detailed corporate information have been behind rather expensive pay walls. Disclosures required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-such as annual, quarterly, and notice of materially significant events-are a particularly valuable source of information for those engaged in business strategy. Other U.S. government agencies provide valuable information about various topics. This is the focus of our guide.

First Page

54

Last Page

86

Num Pages

33

Volume Number

25

Issue Number

2

Publisher

University of California - Davis

Recommended Citation

Lawrence J. Trautman, Brian Elzweig & Neal F. Newman, Guide to SEC and Business Open Source Corporate Intelligence, 25 U.C. Davis Bus. L.J 54 (2025).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/2314

File Type

PDF