OSINT
Open Source Intelligence
OSINT stands for open source intelligence, which refers to legally gathered information about an individual or organization from free, public sources. In practice, that tends to mean information found on the internet. Still, any public information falls into the category of OSINT, whether it’s books or reports in a public library, articles in a newspaper, or statements in a press release.
OSINT is different from other forms of intelligence gathering in several ways, including the following:
- OSINT is focused on publicly available and legally obtainable information, whereas other forms of intelligence gathering may involve confidential or classified sources.
- OSINT uses various sources, including social media, news articles, public records, and government reports. In contrast, other forms of intelligence gathering may focus on a specific source type.
- OSINT often involves using advanced analytical techniques, such as natural language processing and machine learning, to extract insights and intelligence from large volumes of data. In contrast, other forms of intelligence gathering may rely more on human analysis and interpretation.