OSINT and You

What is OSINT?

OSINT, or Open-source intelligence, is the process of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information that is obtained from publicly available sources, rather than on confidential or proprietary sources. OSINT is often used by governments, businesses, and other organizations to gather intelligence on a variety of topics, such as politics, economics, military affairs, and security. OSINT can include a wide range of information sources, including social media, websites, newspapers, blogs, and other publicly available documents and databases. It is important to note that OSINT does not include information that is obtained through covert or illegal means.

How does one start with OSINT?

There are a few steps that can be followed to get started with OSINT:

1. Define your objectives: What information are you trying to find? Defining your objective will help you focus your efforts and determine the most relevant sources to consult.
2. Identify your sources: Where are you going to find this information? There are many different sources of OSINT, including social media, news articles, public records, websites, and more. Consider which OSINT resource will get likely you the most relevant information for your objective, and be open to using multiple sources to get a well-rounded view.
3. Gather and organize your information: Start collecting information from your identified sources, and organize it in a way that makes it easy to analyze and understand. My preferred way to organize for OSINT is either with CherryTree or Maltego.
4. Analyze and verify the information: Once you have gathered the needed information, be sure to verify the accuracy of the information you have gathered, as not all publicly available information is necessarily accurate or reliable.