In this post, CYRENZH’s Leyla Ciragan writes about the seminar “Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)“, which she, Melanie Knieps and Markus Christen developed and held for the first time in the Fall Semester 2024. The course was well received by students and was designed to provide a strong foundation in open source intelligence methods, tools and best practices. The fully booked course showed participants that from cyber security to politics, OSINT is an essential digital skill, that enables people to make informed decisions, support investigations and stay ahead of emerging trends and threats.
In today’s digital landscape, the ability to gather reliable information from publicly available sources is more essential than ever. Open-Source Intelligence, or OSINT, is not just a skill set—it’s a mindset.
Throughout our recent OSINT course, we had an incredible time working alongside a group of students who brought diverse perspectives and expertise. Participants came from various disciplines and heterogeneous backgrounds, which enriched our learning environment and led to a truly collaborative experience. The diversity in experience sparked spontaneous peer-learning sessions and unique insights from the students’ domains. One highlight was when a peer guided the class through a “darknet stroll” with a secure setup, providing a fascinating look into hidden areas of the internet—all while practicing safe digital hygiene and operational security measures.
OSINT is a powerful tool for a range of fields, providing insights accessible without specialized clearance:
- Political and Social Analysis: Analysts rely on OSINT to track political developments, monitor public sentiment, and analyze emerging socio-political trends. This data aids in understanding complex political landscapes and forecasting public opinion shifts.
- Corporate Intelligence: Companies utilize OSINT to gather competitive intelligence, monitor brand perception, and manage global risks. Insights into market trends and consumer behavior provide a strategic advantage, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions.
- Law Enforcement and Investigations: Law enforcement agencies use OSINT to gather evidence, locate persons of interest, and understand criminal networks. Scouring social media, public databases, and online communities helps investigators uncover leads while minimizing intrusiveness.
- Journalists and Activists: For journalists and activists, OSINT enables them to investigate stories, expose wrongdoing, and bring hidden information to light. Journalists often rely on OSINT to verify facts, track developments, and gather evidence on complex issues ranging from corporate malpractice to political corruption. With the help of OSINT techniques, they can analyze satellite imagery to monitor environmental destruction, use social media activity to track public sentiment, or investigate corporate and government records to uncover hidden connections. Activists, on the other hand, use OSINT to amplify issues that need attention, gather data to support advocacy campaigns, and expose human rights violations. For instance, activists have used OSINT to document conflict zones, track military movements, or expose disinformation campaigns, often at great personal risk. Through OSINT, journalists and activists alike gain access to a wealth of open-source data, enabling them to report on critical issues with accuracy and depth while holding powerful entities accountable.
Highlights from the OSINT Course
Our OSINT course was designed to build a strong foundation in open-source intelligence methods, tools, and best practices. Here’s an overview of what our students explored and accomplished:
1. Gathering Information
Through hands-on exercises, students explored a variety of OSINT techniques to locate and extract valuable data from different kind of sources. Each session included discussions and practical applications, with students bringing fresh insights based on their disciplines and backgrounds.
2. Implementing Operational Security Measures
Operational Security (OpSec) is crucial for any investigator working in OSINT. Students learned best practices for managing their digital footprints, including anonymizing search activities, avoiding digital fingerprints, and securely handling sensitive data. In practice, these measures allowed them to handle real-world data with caution and integrity.
3. Best Practices for Documenting, Assessing, and Reporting Findings
Collecting data is only part of the OSINT process; analyzing and presenting it effectively is equally important. Our course covered systematic approaches for documenting findings, evaluating source credibility, and structuring reports to deliver results convincingly. Students mastered the art of building concise reports that communicate complex information in a clear and appealing format.
4. Legal and Ethical Considerations in OSINT
OSINT relies on publicly available information, and it operates within specific legal and ethical frameworks. We emphasized the importance of respecting privacy, adhering to regulations, and recognizing the boundaries of ethical OSINT practices. Students learned to navigate jurisdictional laws and to recognize when data collection could infringe on privacy rights.
A big shout out to our students: It was great!
