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Directory of open source intelligence (OSINT) tools for online investigations, research, due diligence and background checks

When researching investigative subjects, the first stop for an investigator is usually the internet. And while this is a great place to start, the sheer volume of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools on the internet is staggering.

It’s important to have a plan and know where you are going to look before you begin mining for OSINT. And depending on what kind of information you are seeking, there are many online avenues, both free and paid-for, that you can take to get it.

What Are You Looking For?

First, you need to know what you are looking for. This can be as simple as an address, email address, phone number, IP address, location or marital status. Or it can be as complicated as company ownership, social activities and friends, political and/or spiritual leanings, financial status, places they go, or other personal details.

Knowing what information you are trying to find makes it easier to determine which websites, forums, directories, public information sources and other OSINT tools and resources to use.

Capture What You Find Through OSINT

The internet is fluid and what you find one day could be gone the next, so it’s a good idea to capture anything important immediately upon discovering it. Use your computer’s screen grab function or a program, such as Snagit or Camtasia to capture a still screen shot or a video of the information and store it in a folder with your digital evidence files (or in your case file if you are using case management software).

Browse through the extensive list of links below to see 101+ OSINT resources and tools for investigators. If you can think of any good ones we’ve missed, please let us know and we will add them.

Download our OSINT Links for Investigators cheat sheet to get an interactive PDF of all the links in this article.

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General Open Source Intelligence Search

Many investigators like to start with a general search using a variety of search engines.

Google is always a great place to start, but you’ll be surprised by the different results you get when you use different open source intelligence tools.

Ask

Bing

Cluuz

Deeperweb

Dogpile

DuckDuckGo (doesn't track users)

Exalead

Google

Gigablast

Ixquick

Mozbot

Oscobo (doesn't track users)

Peeplo

Qwant (doesn't track users)

Soovle

Sputtr

StartPage (doesn't track users)

Yahoo

Yandex

Yippy

Reaching Interview Subjects

Watch an excerpt from Cynthia Hetherington’s webinar on using OSINT to research investigation interview subjects.

Joe Gerard
Joe Gerard

CEO, i-Sight (now Case IQ)

Spend my days showing off the i-Sight (now Case IQ) investigative case management software and finding ways to help clients improve their investigations. Usually working with corporate security, HR & employee relations, compliance and legal teams.

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