Lesson 3: What is OSINT?
Now let's talk about OSINT. What is OSINT or open source
intelligence? OSINT is basically using publicly available sources to
collect information about an individual or an organization. And
these publicly available sources could be books, newspapers,
magazines, TV, radio, or the internet.
Now OSINT is mostly used by journalists to uncover information or
verify facts, etc. And it's also used by ethical hackers to identify
and mitigate cyber threats and gather information about potential
vulnerabilities. And it's used by law enforcement or police to
gather information on potential threats and criminal activities.
And is also used by businesses for competitive intelligence, market
trends, and to monitor their brand reputation. The course will equip
you with the skills needed to work in these fields and prepare you
for the certified OSINT professional exam. Earning this
certification goes beyond just completing a course.
It validates your abilities and shows employers that you can apply
OSINT skills in real-life scenarios, enhancing your CV and your
chances of getting hired. And for more info on how to sign up, check
the link in the resources and the bonus lecture that you'll find at
the end of the course. OSINT is not only used by these people, it's
also used by recruiters, private investigators, and more.
Now there are multiple reasons why people use OSINT. For example,
employers use OSINT to find information about job applicants. And
police or law enforcement or a family member might try and use OSINT
to find a missing person or a missing family member.
It's also used to conduct criminal investigations and it's also used
by ethical hackers to gather information on their pen testing
target. Now OSINT is a skill and the only way to learn OSINT is by
practicing gathering information about people. And when you go
through this course, I highly recommend that you gather information
about yourself first and then see what information you can find
about yourself.
This is the first thing that I've done when I've learned OSINT and I
was able to find many information that are not supposed to be
online. So when you go through this course, I highly recommend that
you apply everything that you have learned just so that you can get
experience. And the more you use OSINT, the better it is to sharpen
your OSINT skills.
In addition to that, when you are conducting an OSINT investigation
or you are trying to find someone's information on the internet,
then you might be able to find surprising information. For example,
you might be able to find their home address, passwords, social
security numbers and more. And you might start questioning whether
finding this information is legal or not.