Author(s)

Matthew Duffy, Xueying Pan, Samuel Wilson

School of Engineering and Computer Science, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA.

In the Internet age, the most valuable pieces of data when investigating an individual are phone numbers, email addresses, and usernames. These data points, which are typically freely shared by their owners, can act as a primary key to link research on a person to other data sources dispersed throughout the web. The Internet has made obtaining a wealth of data an accessible activity requiring only creativity and persistence. An investigator with the motivation to identify information on a certain person or organization can use these data points to build links and present useful information on a target. Our paper aims to study connecting disparate data from publicly accessible sources to provide detail into someone or something is called Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). In this paper, we introduce the subject of OSINT both in a broad sense as well as through documenting hands-on experience in scraping information on one of the members of this research group as well as generic internet targets. The first focus is on presenting the overall concept including norms and techniques that may be used to investigate an individual. The second focus is on deep-diving a specific tool along with a method for adding data sources to present the broad scope of available information. Several useful tools that are common in the OSINT space are presented. Finally, we found the challenge in narrowing the focus to the intended target and in relating it to useful information.

Open Source Intelligence, Maltego, Tor, Google Dorks, Metagoofil, theHarvester

Duffy, M. , Pan, X. and Wilson, S. (2024) Information Reconnaissance by Accumulating Public Information Data Sources. Open Access Library Journal, 11, 1-25. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1111463.