Open Source Intelligence Methods and Tools

Open Source Intelligence Methods and Tools focuses on building a deep understanding of how to exploit open source intelligence (OSINT) techniques, methods, and tools to acquire information from publicly available online sources to support intelligence analysis. The harvested data can be used in different scenarios such as financial, crime, and terrorism investigations as well as in more regular tasks such as analyzing business competitors, running background checks, and acquiring intelligence about individuals and other entities. This book will also improve your skills in acquiring information online from the surface web, the deep web, and the darknet. Many estimates show that 90 percent of useful information acquired by intelligence services comes from public sources (in other words, OSINT sources). Social media sites open up numerous opportunities for investigations because of the vast amount of useful information located in one place. For example, you can get a great deal of personal information about any person worldwide by just checking their Facebook page. This book will show you how to conduct advanced social media investigations to access content believed to be private, use advanced search engines queries to return accurate results, search historical deleted versions of websites, track individuals online using public record databases and people-searching tools, locate information buried in the deep web, access and navigate the dark web, collect intelligence from the dark web, view multiple historic satellite images and street views of any location, search geolocation information within popular social media sites, and more. In short, you will learn how to use a plethora of techniques, tools, and free online services to gather intelligence about any target online. OSINT-gathering activities should be conducted secretly to avoid revealing the searcher’s identity. Therefore, this book will teach you how to conceal your digital identity and become anonymous online. You will learn how to exchange data secretly across hostile environments like the Internet and how to communicate with your peers privately and anonymously. You will also learn how to check your digital footprint and discover what kind of digital traces you are leaving behind and how to delete them.