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I'm coming to the realization that I don't really understand what OSINT is or is not. ("Open Source Intelligence", obviously, but beyond that) The first time I
by LordDragonfang 2y ago
I'm coming to the realization that I don't really understand what OSINT is or is not. ("Open Source Intelligence", obviously, but beyond that)
The first time I encountered it was in the context of civilians collecting actionable military intel in the Russia-Ukraine conflict by trolling social media. But now I see people talking about it like it's a career, and see what I would have standard IT security posted under it.
Do people just use it to refer to any sort of civilian information gathering these days? Has IT security just rebranded as OSINT?
- nine_k 2y agoI'd say it's collecting intelligence-worthy data from publicly available sources. That is, connecting the dots that everyone could connect, were they able to notice them. It does not involve anything but sifting peacefully through public sources. This is opposed to acquiring data by other means, like breaking into protected systems, stealing classified materials, planting moles, extortion and blackmailing, etc.