A primer on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) leveraging existing tools

Abstract

The acquisition of intelligence from public open sources, known as Open Source INTelligence (OSINT), is a common practice in many investigations. Data analysis skills are a priority, as well as the knowledge of OSINT tools to relieve the burden of data gathering and analysis. Though data analysis has received a lot of attention, OSINT tools are much less explored. In this regard, and with the intent to be especially useful for newcomers in this discipline, this paper presents a classification of OSINT tools from the professional and academic point of view,. Afterwards, a set of open challenges are highlighted.