Introduction
Introduction to OSINT
Before we can delve too far off into the rabbit hole that is OSINT, we must first have an understanding of what comprises OSINT.
Open source information (commonly referred to as OSINT) is information which is publicly available and accessible, or "open". Typically these sources will be free, however in 2020, there are many organizations who collect this data and re-sell it as a product. These organizations are known as "Data Brokers" and we will discuss them later. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) may be comprised of a single or multiple source or type of information:
Media refers to typical, or legacy, media sources such as:
Newspapers
Radio
Television News
Magazines
Internet refers to items found on the internet such as:
Blogs / Vlogs
Websites / Forums / Discussion Boards
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, etc)
Online Media Outlets or other sources
Public Government Data refers to information collected, kept, or generated by government organizations in the course of business such as:
Reports
Budgets
Hearings
Other Public Records (court docs, tax assessments, corporate filings, etc.)
Commercial
Financial filings / reports
Industrial assessments
Databases
Imagery
Technical Reports
Pre-print information
Patents
Working papers/ unpublished works
Business records / papers
What OSINT is /isn't
Difference between Information and Intelligence
Last updated
Was this helpful?