Exploring OSINT for Modern Day Reconnaissance

The Internet's growth has connected users globally, forming a vast network of data. As new social media platforms with diverse features emerge, individuals are drawn to sharing their personal data online. This inclination stems from a desire to display social status. However, this openness poses risks, as personal data uploaded to the internet can easily unveil one's online identity. Extracting such data is a straightforward process, as a simple correlation of evidence with an online profile can summarize a user's identity. By combining various sources of information linked to a specific individual, a comprehensive profile can be created. As the digital landscape expands, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) has become an invaluable tool for gathering information. OSINT involves searching and accessing publicly available data to extract relevant information, analyze patterns, and draw conclusions. It encompasses activities like web scraping, data mining, social media monitoring, and online research. OSINT is crucial for understanding public sentiment, identifying potential threats, conducting background checks, investigating crimes, and performing competitive analysis. This paper investigates the impact of OSINT as a modern day reconnaissance tool. Through case studies and real-world examples, the research demonstrates the effectiveness of OSINT in enhancing situational awareness, supporting decision-making for law enforcement agencies, and using OSINT as a modern-day reconnaissance tool.