OSINT Fundamentals
This term refers to intelligence derived from publicly available information.
What is Open Source Intelligence?
This social media platform is widely used for rapid incident reporting due to its real‑time posting style.
What is X (formerly Twitter)?
The process of confirming a piece of information through multiple independent credible sources.
What is corroboration?
OSINT must always be collected in accordance with this law protecting US persons.
What is the Privacy Act?
Analysts use social media analytics tools to assess this broad measure of how a population feels about a topic or event.
What is sentiment analysis?
The 2017 US Intelligence Community directive that provides guidance on using publicly available information.
What is ICD 301?
The dark web is most commonly accessed using this privacy‑focused browser.
What is Tor?
Analysts use this method to determine whether a photo has been previously posted or altered.
What is a reverse image search?
This principle describes the difference between the use of publicly available information with and without misleading identities.
What is overt/covert collection?
An OSINT legend who authored the book, "Open Source Techniques," which is now on its 10th edition.
Who is Michael Bazzell?
The first step in any OSINT effort, ensuring collection aligns with a defined purpose.
What is defining the intelligence requirement?
This type of search allows analysts to find content that is not indexed by standard search engines.
What is searching the deep web?
The process of determining the precise location where an image or video was captured.
What is geolocation?
Analysts never log into dark web sites with personal information because doing so compromises this fundamental OSINT protection.
What is operational security (OPSEC)?
This investigative organization is globally recognized for OSINT analysis of chemical weapons and conflict verification.
What is Bellingcat?
OSINT is considered one of these five primary intelligence disciplines recognized across the U.S. intelligence community.
What is an INT (specifically, one of the five core INTs)?
This international messaging platform is a major source of OSINT collection but requires caution due to encryption and unverified channels.
What is Telegram?
These two cross‑checks—time and shadow—help analysts validate timestamps of visual media.
What are sun/shadow analysis and timestamp verification?
OSINT analysts must safeguard this type of sensitive personal detail—such as addresses or phone numbers—when handling publicly available data.
What is personally identifiable information (PII)?
OSINT played a key role in identifying military movements during this 2022 conflict through imagery and social media.
What is the Russia–Ukraine conflict?
OSINT is often contrasted with these two disciplines that rely on clandestine or technical means.
What are HUMINT and SIGINT?
OSINT analysts use these tools to view historical snapshots of websites.
What is the Wayback Machine (or other web archive tools)?
OSINT often contributes to attribution assessments in cyber incidents by analyzing these digital breadcrumbs.
What are indicators of compromise (IOCs)?
This federal directive outlines intelligence oversight to ensure lawful, proportionate collection.
What is Executive Order 12333?
The STAC and Cal-CSIC continue to help support a statewide investigation related to fraudulent remote Information Technology (IT) workers from this country.
What is North Korea?