Hidden 15 top open source intelligence tools

Open source Identify critical public information proactively, staying ahead of potential threats.

Table of Contents

• OSINT definition
• Open source
• OSINT history: From spycraft to IT
• Why is OSINT important?
• Top OSINT tools
• OSINT Framework
• Is OSINT illegal?
• Closing down open-source intelligence loopholes

OSINT definition

Open source

intelligence (OSINT) involves gathering information from publicly available sources. Whether conducted by IT security professionals, malicious hackers, or state-sanctioned intelligence operatives, OSINT operations utilize advanced techniques to sift through vast amounts of visible data, pinpointing specific details to achieve their objectives.

OSINT serves as a counterpart to operational security (OPSEC), the process through which organizations safeguard public data that, if scrutinized effectively, could unveil detrimental truths. Internal security teams engage in OSINT operations on their own organizations to bolster operational security, identifying potentially overlooked public information. This proactive approach enables them to safeguard exposed data, anticipate potential attacker knowledge, and assess risk. This information is crucial for prioritizing security resources and enhancing security practices and policies.

It’s important to note that in this context, “open source” does not pertain to the open-source software movement, although many OSINT tools are indeed open source. Instead, it signifies the public nature of the data under analysis.

OSINT history: From spycraft to IT

Open source During the transformative era of the 1980s, a notable shift occurred within military and intelligence services, redirecting their focus from covert operations—such as intercepting communications or deciphering confidential messages—to a strategy centered around sourcing freely available intelligence. This marked a departure from clandestine endeavors, emphasizing the exploration of openly accessible or officially published information.

Amidst this evolving landscape, although the advent of social media had yet to occur, numerous outlets, including newspapers and publicly accessible databases, harbored intriguing and occasionally valuable information. The art of connecting disparate data points became crucial. The term “OSINT” originated to describe this particular form of spycraft.

Fast forward to the present, and these established techniques find a new application in the realm of cybersecurity. Today’s organizations possess extensive, public-facing infrastructures spanning diverse networks, technologies, hosting services, and namespaces. Valuable data may reside on employee desktops, legacy on-prem servers, personal devices, cloud repositories, embedded within devices like webcams, or concealed within the source code of active applications and programs.

Remarkably, even security and IT professionals within large enterprises seldom possess exhaustive knowledge of every asset within their domain, whether public or not. Compounding this challenge is the reality that many organizations indirectly control additional assets, such as social media accounts. Consequently, a wealth of potentially sensitive information lies scattered across various platforms, posing risks if accessed by unauthorized entities.

Why is OSINT important?

In Navigating Information Chaos, OSINT Plays a Pivotal Role. IT’s Responsibilities within OSINT Entail Three Essential Tasks, Accompanied by a Diverse Array of Specialized Tools. While Most Tools Tackle All Three Functions, Some Stand Out in Specific Areas.

1. Uncovering Public-Facing Assets: A primary role of OSINT tools is aiding IT teams in identifying public-facing assets and comprehensively mapping the information held by each, contributing to potential attack surfaces. Their primary focus lies in documenting publicly accessible details about company assets, excluding activities like probing program vulnerabilities or conducting penetration tests.
2. Exploring External Relevance: Certain OSINT tools extend their functionality to scouring external sources beyond organizational boundaries. This includes investigating social media posts, domains, and locations outside tightly defined networks. This capability proves invaluable for organizations involved in multiple acquisitions, assimilating the IT assets of merged entities. Given the widespread use of social media, seeking sensitive information beyond the company perimeter holds relevance for various groups.
3. Aggregating Actionable Intelligence: In a concluding role, specific OSINT tools excel at aggregating and organizing the vast amount of information unearthed into actionable intelligence. Conducting an OSINT scan across a large enterprise may generate hundreds of thousands of results, especially when encompassing both internal and external assets. Effectively piecing together this data and prioritizing the most critical issues can significantly enhance operational efficiency.

Top OSINT tools

Selecting the appropriate OSINT tool tailored to your organization holds the potential to enhance cybersecurity by uncovering critical information related to your company, employees, IT assets, and other confidential or sensitive data susceptible to exploitation by malicious actors. Effectively identifying this information preemptively and subsequently concealing or eliminating it can mitigate a range of threats, spanning from phishing attacks to denial-of-service (DoS) incidents. Professionals engaging in regular OSINT operations often leverage a suite of tools, guided by their environment and preferences.

Outlined below, without any particular sequence, are some of the foremost tools employed in OSINT, each specializing in distinct areas. Their uniqueness sets them apart, offering diverse advantages that can significantly contribute to an organization’s cybersecurity endeavors.

• Maltego
• Mitaka
• SpiderFoot
• Spyse
• BuiltWith
• Intelligence X
• DarkSearch.io
• Grep.app
• Recon-ng
• theHarvester
• Shodan
• Metagoofil
• Searchcode
• SpiderFoot
• Babel X
• Dark Web Agency

OSINT Framework

While the aforementioned tools provide a wealth of OSINT data, there exists a multitude of other tools and techniques designed to comprehensively grasp your organization’s public footprint. A valuable reference for discovering additional tools is the OSINT Framework, featuring a web-based interface that systematically breaks down various areas of interest for OSINT researchers, connecting you with tools to uncover the necessary information.

The tools recommended by the OSINT Framework are all accessible at no cost, although some may require registration or offer more advanced features through paid versions. Certain tools are designed to facilitate the construction of advanced Google searches, revealing a surprising amount of information. Maintained by Justin Nordine, the OSINT Framework has a dedicated project page on GitHub, serving as a reliable repository for a broad spectrum of OSINT resources.

Is OSINT illegal?

While OSINT techniques are often used by malicious hackers as reconnaissance before they launch an illegal attack, for the most part the tools and techniques themselves are perfectly legal–after all, they’re designed to help you home in on data that’s published or otherwise in the public view. Even government agencies are encouraged to use OSINT techniques to ferret out holes in their own cybersecurity defenses.

Following the trail opened by these OSINT queries can get you into legal grey areas, however. Media Sonar has some good advice on how to stay on the right side of the law here. For instance, it’s not illegal to access public areas of the dark web, and it can be important to do so if you’re trying to determine if your organization’s data has been breached or stolen; but you shouldn’t try to buy collections of stolen data as part of your research, or impersonate a law enforcement officer to shake information out of shady characters.

In general, it’s important to develop a code of conduct in advance to guide your employees’ behavior on these expeditions, and to document everything you do to demonstrate that you’re sticking to those guidelines and haven’t broken any laws.

Closing down open-source intelligence loopholes

Not every cyber intrusion entails advanced persistent threats or intricate penetrations. Hackers, much like anyone else, often opt for the path of least resistance to achieve their objectives. Why go through months of strenuous efforts to breach tight cybersecurity when the desired information is readily accessible through a public channel? Utilizing publicly available information can, at the very least, serve as a shortcut to obtaining valid credentials or aid in planning a more efficient intrusion with reduced effort and risk.

OSINT tools play a vital role in helping organizations gain insight into the information circulating about them, their networks, data, and users. Rapid identification of this information is crucial as it enables its prompt removal before potential exploitation. These tools prove to be a substantial advantage in navigating the critical race against time during such circumstances.