Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) in Cybersecurity

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 In today’s digital landscape, a vast amount of information is freely available online. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) refers to the process of gathering and analyzing publicly accessible data to gain insights about an organization, its operations, and individuals associated with it. While cybersecurity professionals use OSINT to strengthen security, attackers leverage the same information to identify vulnerabilities and plan targeted attacks.

Understanding Locations and Security Measures

One of the first things an attacker or security professional looks at is an organization’s physical footprint. Publicly available details about office locations, building security, and work schedules can reveal potential entry points for a cyber or physical security breach.

💡 How this information is found:

  • Google Maps & Street View: Provides visuals of office locations, entry points, and security features.
  • Company Websites & Job Listings: Mention office addresses, facility details, and sometimes security policies.
  • Social Media Posts: Employees often share workplace images, revealing badge systems or access controls.

📌 Example: An attacker notices that a company’s front desk has RFID-based access control from an employee’s LinkedIn post. They could attempt to clone an RFID badge to gain unauthorized access.

Mapping Relationships Within an Organization

Understanding how employees, departments, and business partners are connected helps attackers craft sophisticated social engineering attacks, such as spear phishing.

💡 Where this information is found:

  • LinkedIn & Corporate Websites: Provide employee names, job roles, and team structures.
  • Press Releases & Conference Records: Reveal partnerships, leadership changes, and strategic plans.
  • Social Media Interactions: Show relationships between employees, giving insight into internal communication.

📌 Example: A cybercriminal sees that a company’s finance team frequently collaborates with a third-party vendor. They could impersonate the vendor and send a fraudulent invoice for payment.

Uncovering Organizational Structures

A well-structured organization chart provides insights into who makes decisions, who manages IT security, and who can be targeted in a phishing attack.

💡 Common sources of this information:

  • Company Websites: Many businesses publish leadership structures and department overviews.
  • SEC Filings & Annual Reports: Contain executive names, departments, and internal changes.
  • Employee Resumes & Job Listings: Indicate key responsibilities and IT security roles.

📌 Example: If an attacker knows the CIO is responsible for IT infrastructure, they could impersonate a high-level executive and request urgent access credentials for a "critical business task."

Extracting Hidden Information from Documents

Documents, PDFs, images, and emails often contain metadata—hidden details that reveal valuable insights about an organization’s internal workings.

💡 How metadata is collected:

  • FOCA (Fingerprinting Organizations with Collected Archives): Extracts metadata from publicly available documents.
  • ExifTool: Analyzes images to extract GPS locations, timestamps, and device details.
  • Google Dorking (filetype:pdf site:example.com): Finds publicly available documents with sensitive information.

📌 Example: A company’s marketing brochure contains metadata that lists internal email addresses, making it easier for attackers to craft targeted phishing emails.

Analyzing Financial and Business Data

Publicly available financial records help attackers assess a company’s stability, revenue sources, and potential vulnerabilities. Organizations experiencing financial strain may have weaker cybersecurity defenses due to budget cuts.

💡 Where financial data is found:

  • SEC Filings & Stock Reports: Provide revenue, profit margins, and corporate spending details.
  • Business Credit Reports: Indicate financial stability and vendor relationships.
  • Legal & Bankruptcy Filings: Highlight financial struggles and possible operational weaknesses.

📌 Example: If an attacker learns a company recently downsized its IT security team, they might assume the company is now more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Collecting Personal Data on Employees

Employees unknowingly share valuable information that attackers can use for impersonation, phishing, or brute-force attacks.

💡 Common sources of personal data:

  • Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter): Reveals personal habits, locations, and workplace culture.
  • Leaked Credential Databases (Have I Been Pwned, DeHashed): Exposes employee passwords from past breaches.
  • Developer Forums & GitHub: Sometimes contain accidentally leaked API keys, credentials, or system configurations.

📌 Example: A hacker sees an employee posted a picture from their work laptop showing an open terminal window. Zooming in, they spot server IP addresses and login credentials in the background.

By monitoring and managing publicly available information, organizations can stay ahead of potential security threats and minimize their exposure to cyber risks.

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