Ask Cynthia: What are my favorite links for OSINT?

Our series, Ask Cynthia, dives into pressing OSINT-related questions from professionals in the field.

The Problem: An OSINT professional thinks that if they find a list of country-specific links and know a few “dorks”, they can run off to the Internet and start conducting OSINT. 

Question: What are my favorite links for open-source research and intelligence gathering? 

Cynthia’s Response: 

There can be no ‘favorite’ resource or link in OSINT, since the resource needs to fit the question asked, and that changes too often to start playing favorites.  If you asked me which book was my favorite as a reference librarian, I would ask you, “what’s the question you need the book to answer?”. Then I would start leaning towards the collection of resources I know to be good in that field.  

The same research process holds true for OSINT tools.  Select the resources you know to be of value to your research, that consistently and reliably give you answers or steer you towards the facts.  

This is not to say that new websites, tools and resources shouldn’t be explored.  Certainly, new and valuable information paths open every day, and give us more access than we previously had to answer the question.  Yet, you will still need to vet and verify it for veracity!  

Here are some steps to help vet and verify new links and resources: 

Avoid the shopping list. I cringe when I see analysts promoting the shopping-list style of resources organized by country or topic.  No one list is complete nor comprehensive, yet more concerning is the lack of integrity of the lists promoted. Just because you figured out a start.me page doesn’t mean the content is valuable or good.  

Frameworks count on dependability: An analyst toolbox will usually contain consistently dependable sites and services, all with their own caveats about the data or information. 

Accuracy and accountability: If the site is free, if the sources are free, you are probably the product. A little give and take are ok, but we want to make sure that you can return a week later and run the same searches you did a month ago.  Repeatable processes mean the database is being cared for, and that you can talk about your results with some confidence. 

Test against the known: When I see a new source, I run searches I know the answers to already. This way I can determine the results against a known topic, and if there are deficits, I will most likely understand why and where they come from. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a GitHub or start.me hater. But I get concerned when I see OSINT professionals saying things like “complete Canadian open-source list’. Perhaps a more honest and easier to digest statement would be, “Canadian open-source portal, use at your own risk”. 

Interested in learning more about Cynthia's take on OSINT links? Watch her video to get her full review of how to vet and verify new sources.