The 9 Best Free and Open Source OSINT Tools
OSINT Tools stands for “Open Source Intelligence,” which refers to the practice of collecting and analyzing information from publicly available sources. These sources may include social media, online forums, news articles, government records, and other publicly accessible data.
The goal of OSINT is to gather relevant and accurate information that can be used to make informed decisions or support various activities such as investigations, threat assessments, and business intelligence.
OSINT is often used by law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, private investigators, journalists, and researchers. But it can be useful for anyone who needs to gather information from publicly available sources.
There are many OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) tools available that can be used for gathering information from publicly available sources. Here are some of the best OSINT tools:
Note: It is important to note that these tools should only be used ethically and with permission from the target organization. The information gathered with the tool should not be used for illegal or malicious purposes.
1. Shodan
Shodan is a search engine that allows users to search for internet-connected devices and systems, such as servers, routers, cameras, and industrial control systems. Unlike traditional search engines that index websites and web pages. Shodan indexes information about devices that are directly connected to the internet. Including information about the device’s operating system, open ports, and other system information.
Shodan is often used by security researchers and hackers to identify vulnerable devices and systems that could be exploited for malicious purposes. However, it can also be used for legitimate purposes. Such as monitoring the security of an organization’s internet-facing systems or conducting research on internet-connected devices and their vulnerabilities.
It’s worth noting that Shodan only indexes devices and systems that are directly connected to the internet. So it does not index devices that are behind firewalls or on private networks. However, even devices that are not directly connected to the internet can still be vulnerable to attacks. If they are connected to a network with vulnerable devices that are indexed by Shodan.
2. Maltego
Maltego is a widely used tool in the cybersecurity industry and has many features and capabilities that make it a valuable asset for those involved in reconnaissance and vulnerability assessment.
Its ability to visualize complex data relationships in a visual way can be useful for identifying patterns and connections that might not be easily seen with traditional data analysis techniques.
Additionally, its integration with third-party APIs and ability to gather data from open-source intelligence sources makes it a powerful tool for threat intelligence gathering.
However, like any tool, Maltego should be used responsibly and ethically, and only for legitimate purposes. It is important to ensure that it is not used for malicious purposes such as cyber espionage or social engineering.
3. Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web and other information on the Internet created by the Internet Archive, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, California. It allows users to browse and search for websites and pages that have been saved over time.
The archive contains billions of web pages, dating back to 1996. Which can be accessed for free by anyone with an Internet connection. The Wayback Machine is a valuable tool for researchers, journalists, historians, and anyone interested in tracking the evolution of the Internet and the World
The Wayback Machine is totally free and very simple to use. You just need to enter the website’s URL and select a date from the timeline, calendar, and time stamps that are offered. There are about 699 billion web pages recorded in this OSINT tool.
4. theHarvester
theHarvester is an open source tool used for gathering intelligence on targets such as email addresses, subdomains, and open ports. It is commonly used by security professionals and penetration testers to gather information about a target organization before launching an attack.
theHarvester can search for email addresses from a specified domain by querying search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. It can also perform DNS and MX record lookups to discover subdomains and email servers associated with the target domain. Additionally, the tool can perform port scans to identify open ports on the target network.
5. Haveibeenpwned
Haveibeenpwned is a free online service that allows users to check if their personal information has been compromised in data breaches. Created by security researcher Troy Hunt, the website contains a database of over 11 billion breached accounts and passwords from various sources such as data breaches and leaked databases.
Users can enter their email address and the website will check if their information has been compromised in any known data breaches. If a user’s email or username appears in the database. The website will display which data breaches their information was exposed in and provide guidance on what steps to take next, such as changing passwords and enabling two-factor authentication.
6. OSINT Framework
OSINT Framework is a free and open-source project that provides a collection of various tools, resources, and techniques for conducting open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations. The framework includes more than 1500 tools and resources for information gathering, data analysis, and visualization.
The tools and resources in the OSINT Framework are organized into different categories such as search engines, social media, people search, email search, domain search, and many more. Each category contains a list of tools and resources that can be used for gathering information on various topics.
The framework also includes tutorials and guides on how to use various OSINT tools and techniques effectively. These tutorials provide step-by-step instructions on how to use different tools and how to conduct OSINT investigations on different topics.
The OSINT Framework is constantly updated with new tools and resources to help investigators stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the field of OSINT. It is a valuable resource for anyone who needs to conduct OSINT investigations for security, research, or other purposes.
7. TinEye
TinEye is a reverse image search engine that allows users to search for images online by using an image as the search query instead of keywords. It was developed by Idée Inc., a company based in Canada, and was launched in 2008.
When a user uploads an image to TinEye, the engine creates a unique digital signature of the image and then compares it to a database of indexed images to find matches. TinEye can identify exact matches as well as similar images. Even if they have been modified or resized. The search results show where the image appears online. As well as any modified versions of the image that have been found.
TinEye is useful for a variety of purposes, including finding the original source of an image, identifying copyright infringement, and tracking the use of an image online. It can also be used for creative purposes, such as finding higher-resolution versions of an image or discovering other works by the same artist.
8. SpiderFoot
SpiderFoot is an open source intelligence (OSINT) automation tool designed to gather information about a specific target. By collecting data from various sources on the internet. It was developed in Python and can run on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
SpiderFoot can perform tasks such as DNS lookups, email address extraction, social media profiling, and search engine scraping. It also has the ability to integrate with other tools and services to perform more advanced analysis. Such as threat intelligence feeds and vulnerability scanners.
One of the main advantages of SpiderFoot is its ability to quickly gather large amounts of data about a target.
9. Sifter
It includes Penetration Testing tools inside several module sets in order to rapidly perform recon activities, evaluate network firewalling, enumerate remote and local hosts, and search for ‘blue’ vulnerabilities within Microsoft and, if unpatched, exploit them. It employs blackwidow and konan for webdir enumeration and quick attack surface mapping with ASM.
https://github.com/whiterabb17/sifter
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