No More Secrets

by Hamilton Bean

Published 18 May 2011

This in-depth analysis shows how the high stakes contest surrounding open source information is forcing significant reform within the U.S. intelligence community, the homeland security sector, and among citizen activists.

Since 9/11, U.S. intelligence organizations have grappled with the use of "open source" information derived from unclassified material, including international newspapers, television, radio, and websites. They have struggled as well with the idea of sharing information with international and domestic law enforcement partners. The apparent conflict between this openness and the secrecy inherent in intelligence provides an opportunity to reconsider what intelligence is, how it is used, and how citizens and their government interact in the interests of national security. That is the goal of No More Secrets: Open Source Information and the Reshaping of U.S. Intelligence.

To write this thought-provoking book, the author drew on his own direct participation in the institutionalization of open source within the U.S. government from 2001 to 2005, seeking to explain how these developments influence the nature of intelligence and relate to the deliberative principles of a democratic society. By analyzing how open source policies and practices are developed, maintained, and transformed, this study enhances public understanding of both intelligence and national security affairs.


  • Critique and commentary from intelligence officials and analysts regarding open source reforms within the intelligence community and homeland security sector
  • Three interrelated case studies through which post-9/11 U.S. intelligence reform is analyzed and critiqued
  • Examples of collateral, including official and unofficial photos, from the 2007 and 2008 Open Source Conferences sponsored by the Director of National Intelligence
  • A timeline of key open source developments, including the establishment of associated commissions and changes in organizational structures, policies, and cultures
  • Appendices containing excerpts of key open source legislation and policy documents
  • A bibliography of open source-related scholarship and commentary


This timely book provides the inside story of the development of mobile public alert and warning technology in the United States and addresses similar systems being used in Australia, Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands.

This book provides a comprehensive account of how mobile-smartphone systems are transforming the practice of public alert and warning in the United States. Recent events have vaulted mobile alert and warning technology to the forefront of public debates concerning the hazards of the digital age. False alarms of ballistic missile attacks on Hawaii and Japan, the non-use of mobile alerts during the Northern California wildfires, and the role this technology plays in supporting police manhunts and counterterrorism efforts have prompted reconsideration of how these systems are used.

Drawing upon interviews with officials, executives, experts, and citizens, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the events and contexts influencing the trajectory of mobile public alert and warning and charts a course for its improvement. The book first introduces readers to the high stakes involved in the transformation of public alert and warning, explaining how new research is revealing the benefits, limitations, and risks of mobile technology in the disaster communication context. Three case studies then illustrate issues of risk, trust, and appropriateness in mobile public alert and warning.


Offers a critical assessment of the development, use, and consequences of mobile public alert and warning technologies in the United States from 2006 to the present

Provides a comparative discussion of the development, use, and consequences of mobile public alert and warning technologies in Australia, Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands

Offers a reader-friendly, state-of-the-art assessment of empirical research concerning mobile public alert and warning messages

Includes three case studies that show the relevance of research with respect to the efficacy of mobile alert and warning technology in response to danger