What are the new qualitative requirements for Defence and Security applications?

The Internet and the World Wide Web have introduced a new frontier for Defence and Security, necessitating qualitative approaches to analyse online behaviours, narratives, and emerging threats effectively. Key requirements include:

1. Digital Ethnography: Analysts must immerse themselves in online communities, forums, and social media platforms to understand extremist networks, misinformation campaigns, and subcultures that influence radicalisation.

2. Discourse and Sentiment Analysis: Qualitative research is essential to interpret the meaning behind online discussions, propaganda, and influence operations, identifying shifts in public perception and adversary strategies.

3. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT): Gathering intelligence from publicly available sources requires qualitative methods to contextualise data, discern credibility, and detect deception in online content.

4. Cyber Threat Intelligence: Understanding hacker motivations, tactics, and social engineering techniques involves qualitative analysis of dark web discussions, hacker manifestos, and cybercriminal behaviours.

5. Influence and Narrative Warfare: Qualitative methods help Defence and Security agencies analyse adversarial disinformation efforts and counter them with targeted messaging and strategic communication campaigns.

6. Human-Machine Teaming in Intelligence Analysis: Analysts must interpret AI-generated insights qualitatively to assess bias, reliability, and applicability within operational contexts.