Open Source Internet Investigations

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is information that is collected from publicly available sources. According to the UK National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC), OSINT is

“publicly available information (ie, any member of the public could lawfully obtain the information by request or observation). It includes books, newspapers, journals, TV and radio broadcasts, newswires, internet www and newsgroups, mapping, imagery, photographs, commercial subscription databases and grey literature (conference proceedings and institute reports).”

For both the US Department of Defense and Director of National Intelligence, OSINT is intelligence

“produced from publicly available information that is collected, exploited, and disseminated in a timely manner to an appropriate audience for the purpose of addressing a specific intelligence requirement.”

 

OSINT has been in use in one form or another for centuries. Usage cuts across both the military and civilians as well as the private and public sectors.

According to the American author and intelligence expert, Jeffrey Talbot Richelson, OSINT sources can be grouped into up to six distinct information categories:

  • Media, print newspapers, magazines, radio, and television from across and between countries.
  • Internet, online publications, blogs, discussion groups, citizen media (i.e. – cell phone videos, and user-created content), YouTube, and other social media websites (i.e. – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). This source also outpaces a variety of other sources due to its timeliness and ease of access.Public government data, public government reports, budgets, hearings, telephone directories, press conferences, websites, and speeches. Although this source comes from an official source they are publicly accessible and may be used openly and freely.
  • Public government data, public government reports, budgets, hearings, telephone directories, press conferences, websites, and speeches. Although this source comes from an official source they are publicly accessible and may be used openly and freely.
  • Professional and academic publications, information acquired from journals, conferences, symposia, academic papers, dissertations, and theses
  • Commercial data, commercial imagery, financial and industrial assessments, and databases.
  • Grey literature, technical reports, preprints, patents, working papers, business documents, unpublished works, and newsletters.

OSINT is just one of the several ways through which we offer you quality investigation services. One good thing about it is that it offers investigators near-infinite sources of valuable information and data. However, it takes highly trained investigators such as those we offer you to effectively leverage the sources and tools provided by OSINT for solving cyber and other crimes. Some of the tools include Whois, Censys, FOCA, Nslookup, Shodan, Spectrum, Social Links, and others

FAQs About OSINT

OSINT and all the information/data sources we use are stringently cross-checked for accuracy, validity, and reliability.

Our primary concern is to use all the sources at our disposal to solve problems for our clients and the society at large. We do not hesitate to use grey literature if we find them to be useful in any way.

No. Cybercrimes vary in context and complexity and thus may require extensive research using diverse sources in OSINT and others. Hence, we do not concentrate on any particular aspect of OSINT but rather search broadly and meticulously.