Open Source Intelligence 101

Social media can be a great tool to document our daily lives, and when it comes to solving crimes, law enforcement officials and digital investigators view it as a valuable tool, too. *What is SmInt? Social Media Intelligence is the use of information stored within social media platforms to further the knowledge of a person, group or incident. Often this information is available unbeknownst to the user. While the information is not accessible at the click of a button it can be uncovered with queries and structured data calls.* A survey showed that majority use social media for several reasons: 1. Identifying people 2. Gathering evidence 3. Discovering criminal activity and locations 4. Community outreach 5. Soliciting crime tips 6. Notifying the public 7. Recruitment People put a great amount of personal, detailed information online. Targets even brag and post illicit valuable information in reference to travel, hobbies, places visited, functions, appointments, cir...

What is OsInt? Open Source Intelligence refers to the use of publicly accessible information as well as databases to collect information in a structured manner. Information is gained from Public and Private Databases, the surface web, the deep web and the dark web Who uses OsInt? OsInt is used by private and forensic investigators, attorneys, law enforcement, intelligence organisations, fraud investigators, human resources professionals, tracing agents and commercial enterprises. It is a key component of performing due diligence studies on persons and businesses. What is SmInt? Social Media Intelligence is the use of information stored within social media platforms to further the knowledge of a person, group or incident. Often this information is available unbeknownst to the user. While the information is not accessible at the click of a button it can be uncovered with queries and structured data calls. Is OsInt software? No, OsInt and SmInt are processes. These processes...