Open Source Intelligence Techniques: Resources for Searching and Analyzing Online Information, 7/e (Paperback)

It is time to look at OSINT in a different way. For many years, and within the previous six editions of this book, we have relied on external resources to supply our search tools, virtual environments, and investigation techniques. We have seen this protocol fail us when services shut down, websites disappear, and custom resources are dismantled due to outside pressures. This book aims to correct our dilemma. We will take control of our investigative resources and become self-reliant. There will be no more need for online search tools; we will make and host our own locally. We will no longer seek pre-built virtual machines; we will create and configure our own. This book puts the power back in your hands. The new OSINT professional must be self-sustaining and possess their own tools and resources. You will become a more proficient subject matter expert who will be armed with the knowledge and readiness to articulate the sources of your findings. Aside from eleven brand new chapters, hundreds of pages have been updated to keep your OSINT investigative methods fresh. Furthermore, an entire new section featuring Methodology, Workflow, Documentation, and Ethics provides a clear game plan for your next active investigation. All-new custom search tools, report templates, and detailed documents are included via download. Today, we start over.

Michael Bazzell investigated computer crimes on behalf of the government for over 20 years. During the majority of that time, he was assigned to the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force where he focused on various online investigations and open source intelligence (OSINT) collection. As an investigator and sworn federal officer through the U.S. Marshals Service, he was involved in numerous major criminal investigations including online child solicitation, child abduction, kidnapping, cold-case homicide, terrorist threats, and advanced computer intrusions. He has trained thousands of individuals in the use of his investigative techniques and privacy control strategies.

After leaving government work, he served as the technical advisor for the first season of the television hacker drama Mr. Robot. His books Open Source Intelligence Techniques and Hiding from the Internet are used by several government agencies as mandatory training manuals for intelligence gathering and privacy hardening. He now hosts the weekly Privacy, Security, and OSINT show, and assists individual clients in achieving ultimate privacy, both proactively and as a response to an undesired situation.