About

Intelligence Tradecraft is a Norwegian company based in Oslo, Norway and was established in 2023. The company is dedicated to empowering intelligence and cyber threat intelligence (CTI) analysts with the skills they need to excel.

Our mission is encapsulated our slogan: “Sharpen Your Analytic Edge: Critical Thinking and Structured Analysis Training by Intelligence Tradecraft.” Since our founding, we’ve been committed to closing the gap in the market for effective and practical intelligence analysis training. As put by Ritu Gill over at Forensic OSINT, “it doesn’t matter how advanced our tools become, the skill and insight of the analyst remain the core and is our most valuable asset. Effective analysis relies on critical thinking, the ability to challenge assumptions, and the expertise of the analyst behind the scenes“.

At Intelligence Tradecraft, we specialize in delivering high-quality training programs through courses, workshops and consultancy services. Our experienced and certified intelligence analysts tailor our offerings to meet the specific needs and goals of our clients in both the public and private sectors.

The team of instructors are all seasoned intelligence professionals with many years of experience from various roles within the intelligence community.

Intelligence Tradecraft collaborate with Pherson & Associates LLC to deliver the Intelligence Analyst Professional (IAP) for Cyber certification training across Europe.

About me

Our mission is encapsulated our slogan: “Sharpen Your Analytic Edge: Critical Thinking and Structured Analysis Training by Intelligence Tradecraft.” Since our founding, we’ve been committed to closing the gap in the market for effective and practical intelligence analysis training. As put by Ritu Gill over at Forensic OSINT, “it doesn’t matter how advanced our tools become, the skill and insight of the analyst remain the core and is our most valuable asset. Effective analysis relies on critical thinking, the ability to challenge assumptions, and the expertise of the analyst behind the scenes“.

Source – Forsvaret: Flowers and candles outside Oslo Cathedral after the bombing in Oslo and the massacre at Utøya 22th of July 2011.
Source – Forsvaret: Homeguard secure Oslo after terror bombing 22th of July 2011

Our mission is encapsulated our slogan: “Sharpen Your Analytic Edge: Critical Thinking and Structured Analysis Training by Intelligence Tradecraft.” Since our founding, we’ve been committed to closing the gap in the market for effective and practical intelligence analysis training. As put by Ritu Gill over at Forensic OSINT, “it doesn’t matter how advanced our tools become, the skill and insight of the analyst remain the core and is our most valuable asset. Effective analysis relies on critical thinking, the ability to challenge assumptions, and the expertise of the analyst behind the scenes“.

I have worked with intelligence for nearly a decade, mostly as an intelligence officer with all-source and single source analysis in the Norwegian army. I began working in the private sector in 2018 as an intelligence analyst in cybersecurity and spent most of my time generating strategic and operational intelligence for decision-makers. I have also taught courses in traditional intelligence and held intelligence workshops for the cybersecurity community across Europe. I have held seats in the FS-ISAC European Threat Intelligence Committee (ETIC) and in the FIRST CTI Special Interest Group (FIRST CTI SIG), and chaired the NFCERT Threat Intelligence Community (NFCERT TIC).

In early 2023 I began my PhD journey at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Gjøvik, Norway where I am researching the intersection of intelligence methodology and how it can be applied to cyber threat intelligence (CTI). I share my ongoing research, articles and PhD process with the community through my newsletter.

In late 2019, a government entity in Norway invited Mr Randy Pherson to come to Norway and teach his “Intelligence Analysis Professional” (IAP) course for a range of participants, from both the private and public sector. Although I already had training in his material from my previous work, it was at this time I really began to understand how to use the SATs in my work in the cybersecurity sector and was eager to make sure more professionals from the community would join any future courses. Sadly, COVID-19 put a stop to that process, until winter of 2022.

I originally started my company, Intelligence Tradecraft, as a way to host intelligence certification training for the cybersecurity community in Norway. The goal was to teach cybersecurity specialists critical thinking and how to apply structured analytic techniques (SATs) to reduce bias in their reporting. The first certification training was hosted by me in Oslo during winter of 2022 and I have offered this training to the Norwegian cybersecurity community every year since. I slowly expanded the training into northern Europe and hosted certification training in Copenhagen, Denmark and Helsinki, Finland in spring 2024 and fall 2024 respectively.

Image: Randy and Freddy working with Cluster Brainstorming in Oslo, 2023

“The best analytical tool remains a really good analyst”

— Mark Lowenthal

Moore, David. Critical Thinking and Intelligence Analysis, 2010

The goal going forward is to continue my PhD research into how we can apply intelligence tradecraft in the private sector. I also want to reiterate the value of SATs in intelligence analysis to the European intelligence community (IC) and introduce critical thinking and SATs to the wider cybersecurity community in Europe.

If you want to learn more about what I do, sign up for my newsletter and follow me on LinkedIn.

Vision statement

I have worked with intelligence for nearly a decade, mostly as an intelligence officer with all-source and single source analysis in the Norwegian army. I began working in the private sector in 2018 as an intelligence analyst in cybersecurity and spent most of my time generating strategic and operational intelligence for decision-makers. I have also taught courses in traditional intelligence and held intelligence workshops for the cybersecurity community across Europe. I have held seats in the FS-ISAC European Threat Intelligence Committee (ETIC) and in the FIRST CTI Special Interest Group (FIRST CTI SIG), and chaired the NFCERT Threat Intelligence Community (NFCERT TIC).

In early 2023 I began my PhD journey at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Gjøvik, Norway where I am researching the intersection of intelligence methodology and how it can be applied to cyber threat intelligence (CTI). I share my ongoing research, articles and PhD process with the community through my newsletter.

   In late 2019, a government entity in Norway invited Mr Randy Pherson to come to Norway and teach his “Intelligence Analysis Professional” (IAP) course for a range of participants, from both the private and public sector. Although I already had training in his material from my previous work, it was at this time I really began to understand how to use the SATs in my work in the cybersecurity sector and was eager to make sure more professionals from the community would join any future courses. Sadly, COVID-19 put a stop to that process, until winter of 2022.

I originally started my company, Intelligence Tradecraft, as a way to host intelligence certification training for the cybersecurity community in Norway. The goal was to teach cybersecurity specialists critical thinking and how to apply structured analytic techniques (SATs) to reduce bias in their reporting. The first certification training was hosted by me in Oslo during winter of 2022 and I have offered this training to the Norwegian cybersecurity community every year since. I slowly expanded the training into northern Europe and hosted certification training in Copenhagen, Denmark and Helsinki, Finland in spring 2024 and fall 2024 respectively.

Mission statement

Our mission at Intelligence Tradecraft is to empower public and private organisations to gain a competitive edge, make informed decisions, mitigate risks, and achieve their strategic objectives through enhanced analytical capabilities. We achieve this by delivering training and workshops on critical thinking to sharpen analytical acumen, intelligence tradecraft to foster intelligence standards, and Structured Analytical Techniques (SATs) to reduce bias and enforce analytical rigour. Our primary audiences are intelligence and Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) analysts.
Our training and workshops address the specific challenges analysts face to tackle real-world intelligence requirements (IRs) successfully, use appropriate analytical tradecraft and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, and communicate the finished intelligence to the rest of the organisation.

By learning intelligence tradecraft adapted to modern intelligence analysis standards, analysts will become invaluable assets, driving more effective decision-making, enabling proactive analysis, and enhancing organisational resilience. This will, in turn, lead to improved organisational intelligence foresight, strategically optimised resource allocation, faster response times to rapidly changing threats, and a proactive stance against the organisation’s relevant threats. Our commitment lies in fostering a culture of continuous learning and practical application of analytical capabilities, ensuring our trainees are at the forefront of intelligence excellence, safeguarding organisations and global security in an increasingly dynamic world.