# OSINT

> Open source intelligence platform covering target profiling, identity tracing, corporate and domain mapping, SOCMINT, dark web monitoring, threat actor attribution, and analysis using only publicly available sources

- **URL:** https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint
- **Type:** Platform
- **Tags:** osint, reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering, web, passive-recon
- **Published:** 2026-04-03
- **Updated:** 2026-07-13

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is the practice of collecting and analyzing publicly available information to support pentesting, red teaming, and social engineering engagements. OSINT is typically the first phase of any external assessment, building a target profile before any direct interaction with the target's infrastructure.

OSINT techniques cover a broad range of sources: domain and DNS records, certificate transparency logs, WHOIS data, social media profiles, employee directories, job postings (which reveal technology stacks), code repositories, leaked credentials in breach databases, document metadata, and geolocation from images. Passive reconnaissance through these sources reveals organizational structure, email formats, technology choices, and potential entry points without generating any traffic to the target.

This section covers OSINT methodologies: people and identity intelligence (email discovery, social media correlation, organizational mapping), infrastructure reconnaissance (subdomain enumeration, IP range identification, cloud asset discovery), technical intelligence (technology fingerprinting, exposed credentials, code leaks), and physical intelligence (geolocation, facility identification, badge and access system reconnaissance). Core tooling includes theHarvester, Amass, Maltego, SpiderFoot, and Shodan.

## Phases

- [Identity & People Intelligence](https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/identity-and-people-intelligence.md): Trace individuals through usernames, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and relationship networks. (29 guides)
- [Geolocation & Imagery Intelligence](https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/geolocation-and-imagery-intelligence.md): Guides for locating images via EXIF, satellites, shadows, and maps (15 guides)