Currently, it is likely that more than once you have come across the acronyms “OSINT” on the Internet and, of course, you will wonder what it is about. which basically is a term related to research and is widely used among military groups, government intelligence personnel, and law enforcement.
In this sense, it consists of a very useful system for obtain data or carry out some type of inquiry. Therefore, it facilitates the collection and analysis of information publicly exposed on the netto carry out a certain study associated with actionable intelligence.
Then for learn more about this new intelligent research system and know what it is forWe invite you to read this post. In which, in addition, we will highlight its advantages and disadvantages, all its phases, its main uses and the best OSINT tools what’s up.
What is OSINT and what is this intelligent investigation system for?
Although it is true, the OSINT refers to the acronym for “Open Source Intelligence” which, in Spanish, means “Open Source Intelligence” and is defined as a methodology that consists of taking advantage of the large amount of information available to all public with the aim of transforming it into actionable intelligence. Therefore, it is a deep investigation system developed by the main security and intelligence services. Worldwide.
It is because of that, it is a term associated with knowledge collected through publicly accessible sources. In this way, it emerges as a solution that offers the possibility of optimizing the decision-making process through the efficient exploitation of numerous information resources. Thus, while the quality of the information increases, the decisions will be more accurate and will provide better results.
On the other hand, the open sources that are pointed out through the OSINT, are defined as any means by which it is possible to obtain information that is public and accessible, that is, that it is in the public domain and is not encrypted, regardless of whether it is free or at a cost. For what they can be: databases, public libraries on the Internet, traditional search engines, social networks, blogs, forums, newspapers, magazines, etc.
Which are used for the following:
- document yourself about a certain topic.
- Speed up the process of an investigation.
- get answers through any search engine like Google or Yahoo, for example.
- in general terms.
- find a guy specific.
- Follow the trail of operations of a company.
In this way, if the correct information is achieved, it will be possible perform a better investigation and draw more accurate conclusions that will influence any decision-making. Well, the system OSINT It will make it possible to take advantage of the enormous flow of information available in open sources, to select those of greatest interest and thus, process or analyze them in order to obtain truly accurate conclusions.
What is an open or free source?
An open source is information flow that is available and everyone has access. Namely, OSINT works based on online publications, chats, blogs, social networks and streaming platforms.. But this is not all, open source intelligence also considers printed media such as magazines, newspapers, professional research papers, business data, telephone directories, and any other reports that may be useful for extracting data on people or topics of interest.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of researching on the Internet with this system?
Due to the optimal functioning of this system, it is evident that it supposes different advantages for its users. However, apart from its benefits, this research system also reveals certain disadvantages It is important to keep in mind when using this methodology.
In this sense, first of all, we proceed to specify its advantages or pros of greatest interest, so far:
- Is about A very useful system for any type of inquirysince it manages to accelerate the investigation process remarkably, regardless of its objective.
- reveals remarkable comfort and ease of accesssince the information comes from open sources that can be collected from any site.
- It is characterized by being a very profitable methodology, given that it is possible to acquire such information for free, in the vast majority of cases. Which means effective cost savings.
- As long as users choose to employ this research system, They will be able to count on constantly updated data or information. In this way, your conclusions will be more accurate.
- It is a system that involves fewer risks, because it is not necessary for you to carry out field work or travel to another place. Well, it is possible to gather all the data from home, office or office.
- It helps security professionals, notably. Thus allowing them to anticipate conflicts and events in order to design an efficient action plan.
However, as well as guaranteeing benefits of great interest, the OSINT either “Open Source Intelligence” it also manifests some cons or drawbacks that should not be overlooked.
Next, we mention the most substantial of all:
- In view of the fact that amount of information found on the Internet it’s overwhelming, the selection and filtering process may be greatly slowed down. Which will also cause inconveniences to hierarchize the data.
- The fact of gather information on a large scale And power analyze them either visualize them efficiently, may require the use of software licenses or subscriptions that translate into a higher budget. Therefore, the OSINT it will not be completely free in many cases.
- Because it is a methodology based on open sources, this could call into question the reliability of the information collected from there. Since, they are sources that accumulate a large amount of untrue information and thus, it will be decisive to learn to differentiate the true from the falseas well as knowing how to locate the correct sources.
Phases of the OSINT investigation process How does this open system work?
Ultimately, the OSINT refers to a research methodology based on searching for information in open sources that, in general, are hosted on the Internet. But, although it is presumed that all people know how to investigate the network, the truth is that few Internet users manage to do it professionally. That is why, to comply with this open investigation system, it is not enough to carry out an inquiry process.
Since, beyond that, it is essential to comply with a series of steps, stages or phases that simplify this process and allow for quality results. For this reason, the course of investigation OSINT It has been structured by means of a clear and concise procedure that is based on a total of six phases and, once each one of them is applied correctly, the research work will be speeded up to a great extent.
Next, we will explain each of these phases:
Set goals and set requirements
It is the first stage of the research process, which is based on define all the requirements that must be met throughout the exploration. Therefore, you must establish each of the conditions that have to be satisfied to meet the goal or solve the problem in question, as well as Specify what the information to be found will be used for and of what type it will be.
Identify the most important sources of information
Next, you will have to carry out a study based on each and every one of the open sources of information that may provide more data or information for your research. In this way, you must specify the sources of interest that will be collected, through the requirements established at first. This, will help simplify and streamline the procurement process.
Acquisition of the information to be studied
It’s about the third phase of the OSINT investigation process, in which the information will be gathered through the indicated sources. Therefore, it is defined as one of the most important pillars of the entire procedure, since you must collect and study those web pages, newspapers, magazines, books or documents located during the second stage.
Processing of collected data
Once all the raw information is collected, it is time to start the fourth phase of the procedure, which is based on processing each of the collected data. This basically consists of formatting the information collected so that it can later enter the analysis period.
Analysis of the processed information
After processing all the collected data, it is time to start the fifth phase of the process. Which is the one in which intelligence is generated through the information collected and processed. Thus, its main objective is to relate or link information from various sources to look for patterns that allow obtaining some relevant conclusion. Thus, this analysis offers the possibility of rank the levels of importance of the information acquired.
intelligence presentation
Finally, it is opportune to begin the presentation phase that consists of showing the information collected in a potentially useful and understandable way so that it can be exploited in the most optimal way. This means that, it will be decisive to format the information investigated so that it is interpretable and practical to conclude the investigation and obtain timely conclusions.
Uses of OSINT What applications can be given to this technology?
It is no secret to anyone that the new technology OSINT It is ideal for carrying out any investigation in a more efficient, fast and concise way. But, even so, it is still not completely clear what applications can be given to this methodology today and that is why we clarify that refers to a system that has a great relationship with various sectors, such as: security, marketing and journalism, mainly.
However, to point out its applications more specifically, below we mention the main uses of “Open Source Intelligence”:
- Identify, study and prevent the possible threats that exist in the military field or with respect to the national security of any country.
- Perform a search or follow to a certain individual who is responsible for certain irregular actions.
- Assess the level of privacy and security of a company or organization, since it allows audits to be carried out in these environments.
- Do analysis before launching a marketing campaign.
- Study market trends in terms of marketing or trade.
- Know the online reputation of a company, brand or user.
- Make an appropriate journalistic documentation.
- carry out studies psychological,…
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