Pardee Works: RAND’s Parachini on Intelligence
Here’s a question for you; what is SOCMINT?
If you guessed it freshens your breath, you’d be wrong. It refers to the American intelligence community’s acronym for social media intelligence, and it’s one of the fields of growth that will help keep the world safe in the future.
At least, that’s according to John Parachini, Director of the RAND Corporation’s Intelligence Policy Center. Parachini came to the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University on Nov. 12 and 13 to discuss the topics of “National Security and the Future of Intelligence.”
“The Internet of Things is going to fundamentally change the intelligence business,” Parachini said. “There will be a surplus if data. The true test of successful intelligence will be finding insight in the flood.”
Parachini’s events were part of the Pardee Works Career Development Series, a fall 2015 event series designed to give Pardee School students the tools to succeed in the global work force.
Parachini was introduced by John Woodward, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Pardee School, for his first event, which took place Nov. 12. At the Thursday event, Parachini was feted in a gala reception and presented his insights on the future of the intelligence community.
On Friday, Nov. 13, Parachini presented on the topic of “The Structure and Functions of the US Intelligence Community: Challenges and Opportunities” at a breakfast event.
Earlier events in the Pardee Works Career series have focused on obtaining employment at the State Department and Peace Corps.
Woodward is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. During his twenty-year CIA career, John served as an operations officer in the Clandestine Service and as a technical intelligence officer in the Directorate of Science and Technology, with assignments in Washington, DC, East Asia, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. Learn more about him here.