Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) for Research Security
Overview | What & Why?
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) plays an important role in research security, by assessing the risks associated with international partnerships, funding flows, and affiliations. As institutions and organizations navigate increasingly complex global environments, the ability to identify and evaluate risk using publicly available information has become a necessary institutional capacity. Entities and individuals can intentionally obfuscate their ownership, affiliations, history, and their names. Leveraging publicly available (open) data and information to compose intelligence and dispel the fog on prospective partners helps institutions build effective risk mitigation procedures to preserve open science in a secure manner.
OSINT, or open-source investigations, are more about tradecraft and collaboration than being a “tool” or resource; effective OSINT relies more on analytical skill and effective OSINT searches than on technology. While paid tools can increase efficiency, they are not a substitute for sound methodology, critical judgment, and operational security. Analysts must be able to assess the credibility of sources, understand the given context, manually identify key pieces of information, and be aware of the possible manipulation and censorship of data sources.
The reality is, that while paid tools and resources can act as force multipliers, there is no substitute for good OSINT skills. Understanding the context of the given file or agreement, safely and efficiently conducting searches, and making use of the numerous free resources to uncover the needed information will often outperform a paid tool when done well. When using paid services, institutions should evaluate not just their outputs, but also analytic methods, their source data, and long-term sustainability. Available industry leading OSINT tools can speed up the investigative process. However, tools can be fallible, and they may be too expensive for operational budgets, or they may be taken offline. The value of OSINT also depends on intelligent resource selection; many high-quality sources are publicly accessible and underutilized. Efficient keyword selection, foreign language searches, global databases, website intelligence, and more can often be more reliable than commercial aggregators and tools.
Finally, OSINT is inherently collaborative. There are a myriad of resources and past work that can inform research and best practices. More than that, knowledge-sharing across institutions on resources, best practices, and general OSINT learning can reduce duplication, reveal new data environments, and support collective understanding of emerging risks. In this sense, OSINT is both a capability and a connective measure, a means of linking risk awareness, institutional capabilities, and fostering a collective research security environment.
Below are several tools and resources that can support research security efforts. They represent a mix of methodological resources, practical utilities, and operational guidance. These can support everything from reputational risk assessments to background research on entities or individuals.
A curated and regularly updated list of open-source tools verified by the Bellingcat team these tools can be considered safe and reputable. Categories include social media monitoring, domain lookups, image verification, and more.
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine allows users to view historical versions of websites. A tool when affiliation pages, grant acknowledgments, or lab websites are deleted or altered. Included here is a thorough YouTube tutorial.
Open Corporates and Regional Business Registries
Open Corporates offers broad access to company data globally; it acts as an aggregator that connects to regional databases. Users should be sure to check domestic registries as well for inconsistencies.
What is Operational Security (OPSEC)
Operational security is often overlooked. Practitioners should avoid conducting sensitive queries from institutional accounts or traceable IP addresses and use instanced browsers to separate investigation from personal browsing. This not only helps protect your institution from bad actors, but also protects the integrity of your investigation.
What is Opsec – Ritu Gill (SANS Institute)
Advanced Search Operators
Using advanced search operators (e.g., site:, filetype:, intitle:) allows researchers to uncover hidden documents and pieces of information that are publicly available but not easily found through standard searches.
