(DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational and awareness purposes ONLY.)

What type of information about yourself is floating around in the world? It’s no secret that the majority of the world has turned to becoming a technology-reliant world. With that being said, information that used to take time and effort to accumulate, is now readily available at your fingertips.

OSINT stands for Open-Source Intelligence. OSINT is the process of obtaining information about a person or group through social media, search engines, and public records.

In this article, I’ll go over the types of individuals that use Open-Source Intelligence, why they use this, types of information that can be found, and how to mitigate risks.

WHO USES OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE?

There are many reasons to conduct Open-Source Intelligence searches, unfortunately, I would estimate that only 30% of those searches are ethical or in good faith.

Social Engineers/Hackers – Prior to 90% of cyber-attacks, hackers obtain identifiable information through search engines, social media, and public records. The more information they have, the easier it comes to perfecting a direct attack on an individual.

Future Employers – It should be no surprise that almost all mid-to-large size companies perform basic OSINT searches on their applicants. It’s an easy method to understand a background or personality of their potential employee (per se).

Investigators – Whether you’re currently in a civil suit, under criminal investigation, or simply a party to either, you should be expecting a Private Investigator or government agency to pull as many of your details as possible. This includes; whereabouts, family members, friends, frequent hangouts, photos, vehicles, and so on, and so forth.

Competitors – Competitive Intelligence research is conducted by Investigators or third parties on behalf of a competing business to understand the ins-and-outs of their competition. Something as simple as a Google Review can provide great information to a competing business.

EX Spouse/Significant Other – Everyone knows at least ONE person that has dealt with an unhinged and unhappy ex. Whether it’s part of a divorce/custody trial, or simply a previous significant other than can’t seem to move on, the amount of information a person throws around on the internet can seriously affect a their future.

TYPES OF INFORMATION THAT CAN BE FOUND

Unfortunately, most people believe that just because they can open up a Google search page, they’re automatically an “Investigator”. Aside from how valuable search engines may be, this is far from the truth. Furthermore, the basic internet that we use from day-to-day if roughly only about 5-10% of the ACTUAL internet. The Deep Web consists of over 90% of online information. However, this information isn’t “indexed” like Google and other search platforms. With that being said, there are far easier ways that individuals can locate information about you;

Social Media

• Relationship status

• Children

• Workplace

• College/School

• Friends/Acquaintances

• Location Tags

• Hashtags

• Photos of your home address

• Online Questionnaires that provide sensitive information

• Date of Birth

• Most Visited shopping places

Online Databases

(Used by Investigators, Law Enforcement, and Attorneys)

• SSN

• Date of Birth

• Phone numbers

• Email addresses

• Current and previous home addresses

• Family tree

• Vehicle tag information

• Criminal cases

• Civil cases

• Much, much more

Search Engines

• Reverse image searches

• Google reviews

• Links to previous accounts/photos

Business License Search

• Business name

• Company addresses

• Company Officers/Owners

• Contact information

Tax Assessors

• Home address

• Owner name

• Contact information

• Blueprint of home

Courts

• Criminal cases

• Civil cases

• Traffic citations

• DOB

• SSN

• Associated parties

• Attorney office name

• Vehicle description

• Phone number

• Home addresses

• Names of children

• Financial affidavits

• Much, much more

ARE OSINT SEARCHES LEGAL?

Are Open-Source Intelligence searches legal? Well, yes and no. The legalities surrounding OSINT are a bit vague. OSINT searches are legal if a person, with no malicious intent or breach of privacy, obtains information that a “reasonable person” could locate. In other words, if it seems wrong, it is wrong.

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

Unfortunately, there is no full-proof way of protecting yourself on the internet. As most Investigators know, “if there’s a will, there’s a way”. However, there are a few steps you can take to reduce potential risks.

1. Keep all of your social media pages private.

2. If you are public with your significant other or spouse, ensure that their pages are also private. This is sometimes used as a backdoor.

3. Remove online reviews. Many, many times this has been used to identify the location of a person, their friends, and places they frequently visit.

4. Treat the information you give online or to others as a “need to know basis”. This means absolutely DO NO fill out an online questionnaire asking for your birthplace, pet’s name, school mascot, etc.

5. The best method to understand and prevent OSINT searches is to research yourself from the sources that were previously listed. You will discover how much of your personal information is readily accessible to the average stranger.