Resources to Get Started in OSINT
How should you get started with Open Source Intelligence? Where should you go to learn more about it? There are so many places to learn that it can be difficult to even think about where to go or what you should do.
⚔️ Core Concepts
- Search smarter, not harder
- Follow digital breadcrumbs
- Never underestimate what someone posts publicly
- OSINT is legal… but not always ethical — know your boundaries
🛠️ Tools to Learn First
Google Dorking – Search like a beast
https://www.exploit-db.com/google-hacking-databaseWayback Machine – See deleted websites
https://archive.org/web/Shodan – Scan the internet for exposed devices
https://www.shodan.io/DNSDumpster – Free domain recon
https://dnsdumpster.com/ExifTool – Metadata from photos
https://exiftool.org/Maltego (Community Edition) – Visualize connections
https://www.maltego.com/downloads/Spiderfoot (Free) – Automated recon framework
https://www.spiderfoot.net/OSINT Framework – Massive index of tools
https://osintframework.com/
📚 Must-Read OSINT Resources
Bellingcat’s OSINT Guides – Real-world, journalist-grade techniques
https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/Bellingcat’s Online Investigations Toolkit – Bellingcat Made a Toolkit for doing OSINT Investigations https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2024/09/24/bellingcat-online-investigations-toolkit/
Trace Labs CTFs – Help find missing people while practicing OSINT
https://www.tracelabs.org/Hunchly’s Blog – Killer write-ups, especially on investigations
https://www.hunch.ly/blog/Sector035’s Week in OSINT – Weekly roundup of cool tools and techniques
https://sector035.nl/Michael Bazzell’s Intel Techniques – Deep OSINT methodology
https://inteltechniques.com/blog/Open Source Intelligence Training (YouTube playlist)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBf0hzazHTGMocnln6r7GxNg1nz3JrD07
👣 Where to Practice
Investigate usernames on sites like
https://whatsmyname.app/Awesome-OSINT has an awesome link repo on GitHub for Open Source Intelligence - https://github.com/jivoi/awesome-osint
Dig into email leaks:
https://haveibeenpwned.com/Try OSINT quizzes or CTFs:
https://quiztime.org/
https://osintdojo.com/Practice investigations:
https://start.me/p/DPYpmQ/the-osint-startme (bookmark this beast)