Following up on our previous post about OSINT, we wanted to do an “ultimate” guide.
The term “Open Source Intelligence” (OSINT) describes gathering data and information by using resources that are freely accessible to the public. It is a method that employs cyber tools to locate strategic information in open sources that is gained in a legal and ethical manner. It is utilized for digital intelligence and investigation.
No one knows exactly when OSINT first came into being because it has been around since what seems like the beginning of time. According to the findings of several studies, “OSINT was first implemented during World War II as an intelligence instrument that was primarily used by nations’ security services.”
Since its inception on January 1, 1983, the Internet has brought about revolutionary change and transformed the globe into a global village that is bursting at the seams with knowledge. Because of the exponential growth of the Internet and the enormous volume of valuable digital data that is produced at a constant rate for organizations to use, such as government departments, non-government departments, and business corporations, the importance of gathering OSINT has become a necessity.
This is because the importance gathering OSINT has become a necessity. Anyone is able to undertake information gathering utilizing the tools and methods that are available since OSINT refers to sources of information that are open to the public and can be found offline or online.
OSINT’s Contributions to the Improvement of Physical Security
The majority of companies employ a security strategy known as “guard at the gate.” To put it another way, they sit back and wait for anything to go wrong before deciding how to react.
However, this kind of reactive approach is ineffective. To begin, businesses that do not proactively examine their vulnerabilities have a greater chance of being affected by a security incident in the future. This is because such businesses are more likely to miss potential threats. In addition, the cost of responding to an incident after it has already occurred may be more than the cost of preventing the issue altogether.
But taking a more proactive attitude, which involves leveraging information acquired from open sources, has a number of advantages for the teams that are responsible for physical security, including the following:
Enhance the distribution of available resources.
OSINT gives those in charge of security the ability to assess threats in monetary terms. When it comes to the allocation of limited resources or the justification of investment in security programs to executives and board members, this is the knowledge that is valuable to have.
Mitigate danger.
OSINT provides security leaders with the ability to assess their organizations’ vulnerabilities and establish plans to mitigate those weaknesses. Warnings issued in advance by open-source intelligence can frequently allow security teams to avoid issues before they even occur.
Reduce response times.
OSINT can notify security teams of issues practically immediately after they occur. Not only does this mean that priceless minutes or hours might be saved when it matters the most, but it also means that. The use of intelligence gleaned from publicly available sources can also lead to improved decision-making in high-pressure situations.
Cut expenses.
In the end, the benefits of operating system intelligence (OSINT) flow down to the bottom line. When an incident is mitigated and responded to in a more timely manner, it results in less downtime for businesses, fewer fines from regulators, and smaller losses as a result of theft or fraud. Even though some security teams may have difficulty quantifying other benefits, they are still significant.
Cheaper capital.
If you can manage risks more effectively than your competitors, then your company’s earnings will be more predictable. In the long run, shareholders and lenders will reward this predictability with a lower risk premium on capital because of the reduced level of risk.
OSINT Methods, Instruments, and Tools
A vast selection of open-source intelligence (OSINT) products is available, both free and for a fee. The most widely used tools in the OSINT process will be the primary area of attention in this discussion. The most crucial thing to understand about the OSINT process is that it involves using snippets and pieces of information and putting them through a specific tool to learn more about a person or entity.
Doing some research on Google and dorking it up.
You are probably already aware that Google Searching, also known simply as Google, is a web search engine whose primary function is to search for text within documents that are made publicly accessible by web servers. The search operators are the primary instrument of investigation, while the following locations house other sophisticated operators: Operators for Searches.
Google Dorking, also known as Google hacking, refers to using more advanced search phrases while conducting online searches on a web browser. Check out this link to view the Google hacking database: Google Hacking Database.
The following are common operators:
- Return documents that have words that were mentioned in the page title in title.
- Inurl: restricts the search to documents that contain that word somewhere in the URL.
- Filetype is a search term used to locate filetypes.
- Ext is an abbreviation utilized to recognize files with particular extensions, such as log.
- In-text: look for a certain passage or phrase on the page.
WHOIS
WHOIS is a query response protocol which is widely used for querying databases that store the registered users or the assignees of an internet resource such as DNS, an IP address block, or an autonomous system. According to Wikipedia, WHOIS is a query response protocol. WHOIS is widely used for querying databases.
Spokeo
Spokeo is a search engine that allows users to search for information about people privately by using a person’s name, phone number, address, or email address. The search results include all types of publicly available information, including public records, criminal records, school records, and so on.
Shodan
Shodan is a well-known open-source intelligence-gathering program developed especially for Internet-connected devices such as ICS, IoT, video game systems, and other similar products. Shodan GUI has additional features and may be used to examine live camera feeds. Additionally, it can graphically illustrate geographically where vulnerabilities are situated worldwide. It provides a massive footprint of devices linked to the Internet and is a veritable treasure trove for researchers looking to examine vulnerable assets. Testing to see if the system uses the default password is one example of a use case.
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