Links for OSINT (Open Source Intelligence)
Internet Training
Presented by

Randolph Hock, Ph.D.  
Online Strategies
 

Updated 7 Jul 2022
   

Internet Tools and Resources
for Open Source Intelligence - OSINT

Online Strategies designs and presents workshops on using the Internet effectively.  We have designed courses for a variety of US and other governments' agencies and ministries, and for companies, associations, NGO's, libraries, and schools.  Online Strategies courses have been presented to thousands of attendees, representing over forty nationalities, in thirteen countries. Further information

 




Some Key Intelligence "Starting Points"


Global Security.org

Mario's Cyberspace Station
Air War College Gateway to the Internet
Federation of American Scientists
 

OSINT Tools & Software for Passive & Active Recon & Security
OSINT Framework

Site Investigation Tools

Domain Dossier
InterNIC
Convert Host/Domain Name to IP Address and vice versa
Using Traceroute
Wayback Machine




  Web Searching Tools

Search Engines

Google
     GoogleTranslate
     Google's Translators Toolkit
     Google Trends
     Google Correlate
     Google Public Alerts
     Google Custom Search Engine    Example
Yahoo
Bing

x`

Country-Specific Search Engines - Directory
Search Engine Colossus


Meta-Search Engines
Use with caution!
Dogpile 

 

Visualization Tools

Examples:
SiloBreaker (subscription required)
Recorded Future   Demos
TouchGraph GoogleBrowser
Yippy
iSeek

Examples of Fee-Based Visualization/Clustering Software

Palantir 
IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook
SiloBreaker (subscription required)
Recorded Future
IBM Watson Explorer


Visualization  Software (with free version)

Maltego


Language Tools for Search Assistance
Rosette [Commercial software]
Google Language Tools



Resource Guides and Portals

Example

 

General Portals
My Yahoo

Specialized Portals
Examples:
Defence IQ
Mario's Cyberspace Station
Southern Fire Portal

Selected Examples of Resource Guides

Intelligence
Global Security.org
Mario's Cyberspace Station

Air War College Gateway to Information Operations & Intel
Defence IQ
Strategic Intelligence

Government Resource Guides & Official Government Portals
Governments on the WWW
Key International Resources - Northwestern University
Directgov
Hungarian Government Portal
 
General Reference
Internet Public Library Reference 
refdesk.com
 
Business
globalEdge
 
Legal
ASIL  Electronic Resources Guide (International Law) 

Law Enforcement
Cyber Crime Links

Economics
RFE

Countries/Travel
The Traveler's Web

Fire Investigation
interFIRE
Forensic Resources

Deep (Invisible, Hidden) Web

Examples of Deep Web finding aids

RFE
Legal Research on International Law Issues

Examples of high value Deep Web sites

Global Terrorism Database
Ingentaconnect  
Amazon
Social Science Research Network
PubMed
SEC Filings
Hoovers 
FDsys - Federal Digital System
FedBizOpps
ThomasNet
Corporate Information
Europages
Wer Liefert Was- European business directory
Central And Eastern European Directory

 

 

 


Back to the Top

News


Resource Guides

OnlineNewspapers.com
ABYZ News Links
Newslink


Media Bias Assessment
Media Bias/Fact Check
Media Bias Chart
AllSides

Networks/Services

BBC
MSNBC
Reuters
CNN


Aljazeera
Aljazeera (Arabic)
ITAR-TASS News Agency

Multi-Source Searching

EIN News
Google News

Yahoo! News
NewsNow
NewsExplorer
Silobreaker (Subscription required)

Speciality

Global Security.org
Mario's Cyberspace Station
Homeland Security
Homeland Security News Wire
Businesswire
Stratfor (Subscription required)

Alerting Services

Google Alerts
Talkwalker.com
Google Public Alerts  
BBC Daily E-Mail Alerts

Weblogs (Blogs)

Examples
Public Intelligence Blog
Naval Open Source Intelligence
Sources and Methods
Defence IQ
Intelligence Online


RSS Feeds

Feedly (reader)
My Yahoo (reader)

Examples of Sites with RSS Feeds

BBC
EMM NewsBrief
National Terror Alert Response Center –    Homeland Security News
UN News Centre

Podcasts

iTunes
Audible - Podcasts

 

Fact-Checking Sites

Snopes
FactCheck.org
Politifact

Evaluating Bias

Media Bias Chart
Media Bias / Fact Check
AllSides

Regarding Fake News

List of Fake News Wewbsites (Wikipedia)
("a list of fake news sites, which intentionally, but not necessarily solely, publish hoaxes and disinformation for purposes other than news satire.

-The Quick Guide to Spotting Fake News
-PolitiFact's guide to fake news websites and what they peddle.
- How to Spot Fake News (FactCeck.org)


Being Alerted to Changes in a Page

Google Alerts       WebSite-Watcher      Infominder    WatchThatPage.com    Update Scanner - Firefox (download)     Monitoring Web Page Changes


 
Discussion Groups (Forums, Newsgroups, etc.), Mailing Lists, and Chat Rooms

Newsgroups
Google Groups
Yahoo Groups
Delphi Forums 

Mailing Lists
 

L-Soft CataList, the Official Catalog of LISTSERV® lists
The Mail Archive

Chat Rooms
mibbit

Forums Search
BoardReader
Omgili

Back to the Top


People and Social Networking


Social Networking Sites

Facebook
    Search is Back  (Facebook Graph Search Emulatore)
    IntelTechniques – Custom Facebook Tools
    Facebook  Password Recovery (For finding phone numbers)
Twitter
   Twitter Alerts
LinkedIn
Google +
Instagram
MySpace

Talkwalker (social media alerts)
Verifying Social Media Content | Goundswell

Wikipedia "List of Social Networking Websites"

People Search Engines

pipl Search
Spokeo

Addresses / Phone Numbers
Infobel
Wayp International White & Yellow Pages
411.com
White Pages
Peekyou
Nuwber
People Lookup
USA People Search
YP.com

Professional Directories
Lawyers.com  (Martindale-Hubbell) 

Company Directories
LeadFerret

Real Estate
Zillow
Realtor.com

Birthdays
BirthDatabase.com

U.S. Illegal Aliens
Online Detainee Locator System

Personal Records (US)

PORTICO:Web Resources for Advancement Professionals
BRB Publications – Free Public Records Sites

Open Public Records – City of Detroit, Wayne County, MI Public Records

Intelius
PeopleFinders
searchsystems.net




PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)

 

In the News 

ABYZ News Links
Newslink
OnlineNewspapers.com

Google News
Google (News tab -more search options)
Silobreaker (Subscription required)
NewsNow

BBC
MSNBC
GlobalSecurity.org
Homeland Security
Homeland Security Newswire

By Areas of Expertise

IngentaConnect   
Amazon
Google Patent Search
Google Scholar


Biographies
Lawyers.com  (Martindale-Hubbell)
Biography.com
LinkedIn


Real Estate Values
Property Assessment Directory
Zillow

 

Executive Compensation
Executive Paywatch
SEC Filings

     

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Images, Maps, Audio, and Video

Imagery - Images, Maps and Other GEOINT Resources 

Images
Google Image Search
Bing Image Search

Twitter
Flickr

Instagram
Twitter
 Facebook

Yahoo Images

TinEye

Maps & Related
The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection

Google Maps
Google Earth - download site
   Examples of Google mashups, see:
     googlemapsmania

Le Monde Diplomatique - Cartographie
ViaMichelin

Bing Maps
UN Cartographic Section


Google Earth Community
Global Gazetteer
GEOnet Names Server (GNS)
GeoNames (mashup)

MarineTraffic.com - Live Ships Map
GPS Visualizer -coordinate calculators & distance tools

Volunteer Geographic Information (VGI)
Wikimapia
OpenStreetMap

VGI - Specialized Projects

Examples:
tubePakReport.org

Video
YouTube
Yahoo Video
Facebook
Bing Video

How to Print a YouTube Video Storyboard

PwnYouTube (Downloading a YouTube video)

TV
Internet Archive TV News Search
TVEyes
Blinkx TV

 

Radio
Resource Guides
radio-locator
Live-radio.net

Podcasts
iTunes
podcast.com
Podcastdirectory.com



Countries

Country Profiles

CIA World Factbook 
BBC Country Profiles
Governments on the WWW


National Portals - Examples:
Service-Public.fr          deutschland.de


Country Leaders
World Leaders  and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
BBC Country Profiles    
Wikipedia

Political Parties
Political Resources on the Net

Countries - Statistics
Wikipedia - List of National and International Statistical Services
EUROSTAT
UNdata
Nationmaster.com
Data.World

Statista

Companies

Europages
Wer Liefert Was- European business directory

For a larger collection of sites related to countries, see:
Countries on the Internet

BACK TO TOP

Scholarly/Technical Literature      

Scholarly and Technical Literature - Journal Articles
Ingentaconnect
DOAJ- Directory of Open Access Journals
Open Access Journals (Resource Guide from Catholic University of America Libraries)
Google Scholar

Fee-Based Access (or through AcademicLibraries)
JSTOR

Scholarly and Technical Literature - Books
Google Scholar
Library of Congress Online Catalog
Library of Congress Gateway to Library Catalogs
Amazon
Barnes & Noble


Think Tank Resources

Global Go To Think Tank Index Report

Open Think Tank Directory
Think Tank Search

Technical Reports

DTIC Online

Languages and Anonymity

Translations
GoogleTranslate
Google's Translators Toolkit

Yahoo! Language Tools
YourDictionary.com
MyLanguages.org
Foreignword.com
PROMT-Reverso Online 
FreeTranslation.com
Dictionarist

Language Acquisition
DLI - Field Support Modules
Also see: The Traveler's Web - Chap. 9


Anonymity Software

Anonymizer PrivacyManager

TOR

 

The Basics Of Using A Proxy Server For Privacy And Security


Back to the Top

Selected Topical/Geographic Resources

Reminder: These are "selected" sites, identifying some major and/or representative sites for each topic. 
This collection is not meant to be exhaustive in any way.



Topics
Multi-Topic Tools and Sources  General Sites for Intelligence
Terrorism, Information Warfare, and Transnational Crime Military Resources, International Security , Conflicts,  and Politics
Public Health and Human Conditions Water and Energy
Country and Region-Specific Resources
Russia and Asia The Balkans and The Caucasus
Middle East and Africa  Latin America

 

Multi-Topic Tools and Sources

For  any/all of the topics below, also see the following sections presented in detail elsewhere on this page:

Some Key Intelligence "Starting Points"
Web Search Engines
Resource Guides
Mailing Lists & Newsgroups
People
 


 

News
Visualization Tools
Being Alerted to Changes in a Page
Languages
 

                                                                                                         BACK TO TOP

Some General Sites for Intelligence

Federation of American Scientists
Global Security.org
Mario's Cyberspace Station
Air War College Gateway to Info. Operations & Intel

                                                                                                        BACK TO TOP

 

 

Topical Resources
Reminder: These are "selected" sites, identifying some major and/or representative sites for each topic. 
This collection is not meant to be exhaustive in any way.

Military Resources

Resource Guides
AUL - Air Univ. Library  Index to Military Periodicals
Global Security.org
Combined Arms Research Library - Links

Armaments, Orders of Battle, etc.
Global Security.org
MilAvia Press
Federation of American Scientists

Military News
Janes
Defence IQ
 

International Security Policy


International Relations and Security Network
Air War College Gateway to the Internet
Air War College Cyberspace & Information Operations Study Center
The National Security Archive – George Washington University

Conflicts

INCORE 
FLASHPOINTS: Guide to World Conflicts
Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology, and Policy
International Crisis Group
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Proliferation
Conflicts Forum
SIPRI -Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project)

Politics and Policy

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Political Resources on the Net

Foreign Policy
Politics and International Relations
Governments on the WWW
World Leaders

 

BACK TO TOP

Terrorism

Terrrorism - General

National Counterrorism Center
Global Terrorism Database
SITE Intelligence Group
Federation of American Scientists - Intelligence Resource Program -         Terrorism - Background and Threat Assessments
TerrorismFiles.org
Southeast Asia Terrorism Portal
Global Incident Map

Terrrorism - Studies, Research, and Analysis on Terrorism
U.S. Department of State – Country Reports on Terrorism
US Dept. of State -
Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism

Terrorism Research Center
International Institute for Counter-Terrorism
START - Nat'l Consortium for the Study of Terrorism & Responses to Terrorism
Threats Open Source Intelligence Gateway

Terrrorism - Sites About Specific Terrorist Organizations
Islamist Websites Monitor Project - MEMRI
U.S. Department of State - Country Reports on Terrorism -
Chapter 6: Terrorist Organizations

International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism 
Federation of American Scientists - Liberation Movements, Terrorist Organizations, Substance Cartels, and Other Para-State Entities


Hate Groups - US
Southern Poverty Law Center - Hate Map

 

 

Information Warfare

IWS - The Information Warfare Site

 

Transnational Crime


General
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
International Court of Justice
Interpol

Studies, Research, and Analysis
Nathanson Center for the Study of Organized Crime and Corruption

Drugs
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Drug Enforcement Administration
National Drug Control Policy, Office of

Cybercrime
Also see “Information Warfare” above.
Cybercrime
infosyssec: The Security Portal for Information System Security Professionals

Money Laundering
International Money Laundering Information Network

Corruption
Transparency International: The Global Coalition Against Corruption
WikiLeaks

Search Just the Terrorism and International Crime Resources Listed in This Section:

Public Health & Human Conditions


 

Public Health
World Health Organization
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention– Travelers’ Health
World Wide Web Virtual Library for Epidemiology
GlobalHealth – Office of International and Refugee Health
World Health News

Human Conditions - Human Rights
Amnesty International
United Nations  - Human Rights
Human Rights Watch
Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflicts

Disaster Warning Sites

 

Human Conditions - Hunger, Famine, Poverty
Oxfam International
Poverty Reduction & Equity
Famine Early Warnings Network
Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN
USAID Food for Peace Program
ReliefWeb
Reuters AlertNet

Human Conditions - Disaster Relief
The Disaster Center

Human Conditions - Population
Population Resource Center
                  

                                                                    BACK TO TOP


Water  and Energy

Water

The Water Page (Incorporating the African Water Page)
WaterWeb
UNESCO Water Portal (International Hydrological Programme)
Waternet
International Water Law Policy
 

 

Energy

Resource Guides and Portals
Energy Central

Energy- News
Energy Review.com

Energy -  Agencies / Organizations
International Atomic Energy Agency
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
European Environment Agency
Energy Information Administration - US Department of Energy




Reminder: These are "selected" sites, identifying some major and/or representative sites for each topic. 
This collection is not meant to be exhaustive in any way.


Russia and Asia 

Russia

Russia - General
Russian and East European Network Information Center - Russia
World Wide Web Virtual Library-Russia and East Europe
Embassy of the Russian Federation (Washington, DC)

Russia – News
Washington Post - Russia
ITAR-TASS
Russian American Nuclear Security Advisory Council
PIR - Center for Policy Studies in Russia
Integrum World Wide

Asia
Asia – General
http://vlib.org/AsianStudieshttp://vlib.org/AsianStudies
Asian Sources - ... Asian Sources [GA Tech]
Pacific Studies WWW Virtual Library
EurasiaNet
Asian Development Bank

Asia – News
Asia Times Online
Times of Central Asia

Asia - Research, Studies, and Issues
National Bureau of Asian Research
U.N. Economic & Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Asian Development Bank
South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation

China
Background and General
World Wide Web Virtual Library-Internet Guide for China Studies
ChinaSite.com

China - News

xinhuanet
  (English version – China View )
South China Morning Post
CHINAdaily.com
CHINAGATE.com
Washington Post - China

China - Research, Studies, and Issues
Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development
Human Rights In China
China’s Human Rights
Federation of American Scientists: China Nuclear Forces Guide

Japan
JGUIDE
Japan Times Online

Indonesia
WWW Virtual Library – Indonesia
Indonesian Internet Sites (National Library of Australia)

North Korea
General
World Wide Web Virtual Library-North Korea
DPRK – North Korea
MOU - Ministry of Unification

North Korea – News
Korean News

North Korea – Research, Studies, Issues, Etc.
The Center for Korean Studies
North Korea International Documentation Project (NKIDP)

(Continued in the column to the right)

 

For research on these countries and regions, also see:

General:
Countries on the Internet

Search Engines:
Google      Yahoo    

Countries and Country Studies
Library of Congress - Country Studies
CIA World  Factbook     BBC Country Profiles

Discussion Groups, etc.
Google Groups   BoardReader   


 


Southeast Asia
General
Southeast Asia Terrorism Portal

India -General
Government of India Directory of Official Websites

India - News
Times of India
Kashmir News
Washington Post - World - South Asia - India

India - Research, Studies, and Issues
South Asia Analysis Group
Nuclear Issues in India & Pakistan: Selected Internet Resources


    BACK TO TOP

The Balkans and the Caucasus

Balkans & Caucasus - General

Balkananalysis.com
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Center for Peace in the Balkans
EINnews – Balkans Breaking News
Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library – Caucasus

Central Asia - Caucasus Institute – Analyst

Georgia
Georgia - Selected Internet Resources


Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania

See the individual country sections of: 
Russia and East European Network Information Center (REENIC)
and 
EIN News

For research on The Balkans and the Caucasus, also see:

 


Middle East, Africa, and Latin America

Middle East
Middle East Studies Internet Resources
SURF-AS
MEMRI - Middle East Media Research Institute

Middle East – News
Middle East Times
Middle East Daily
Middle East Intelligence Bulletin

Statistics
Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC)

Country-Specific Sites

Iraq
Iraq -General
Middle East and Islamic Studies -Iraq
Iraq.net

Iraq - Political Parties.
Kurdistan Democratic Party – Iraq

Iran
Iran Watch
Iran Virtual Library: Social, Political and Economic Studies
Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran - News
Iran Press Service
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (English)
Islamic Republic News Agency

Iran - Research, Studies, Issues, Etc.
Human Rights in Iran

Afghanistan
Afghanistan News Center
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)

Pakistan
General
World Wide Web Virtual Library - Pakistan
Pakistan.gov - The Official Web Gateway to the Government of Pakistan

Pakistan - News
Dawn Daily Newspaper
Washington Post - World - Asia - SouthAsia - Pakistan

Pakistan - Research, Studies, and Issues
India-Pakistan Nuclear Central
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan

Israel
Jewish Virtual Library – Israel
Center for Special Studies – Intelligence & Terrorism Information Center
International Institute for Counterterrorism

Palestine
Palestinian Refugee Research Net
 

Egypt
The Country and People of Egypt

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia Information Resource

Syria
Syria Daily
The Country and People of Syria

Turkey
Hurriyet Daily News Online

 

Africa

General
African Studies Internet Resources
Africa Daily
Africa Intelligence
Afrika.no
allAfrica.com
Mbendi

Africa --  Country-Specific or Region-Specific Sites
Libya: Our Home
Sudan.Net  
(Also see individual sections of Africa Intelligence)
  .

Latin America

Latin America - General

Latin American Network Information Center
The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources - Latin America
Crowder's Black Book - Spanish Glossary (fee-based)

Latin America - News
Latin America: Current Events & News
Agencia Informativa Púlsar
Mario's Cyberstation - SOUTHCOM News

Latin America - Research
Handbook of Latin American Studies

Latin America - Drugs
The Narco News Bulletin


For research on these countries and regions, also see:

General:
Countries on the Internet

Search Engines:
Google      Yahoo   

Countries and Country Studies
Library of Congress - Country Studies
CIA World   Factbook    BBC Country Profiles

Discussion Groups, etc.
Google Groups   BoardReader    Omgili

 

    BACK TO TOP

The collection of links on this page is certainly not meant to be "exhaustive".
The links are selected resources covered in OSINT-related seminars and workshops presented by Online Strategies.

 

COURSES

Online Strategies designs and presents workshops on using the Internet effectively.  We have designed courses for a variety of US and other governments' agencies and ministries, and for companies, associations, NGO's, libraries, and schools.  Online Strategies courses have been presented to thousands of attendees, representing over forty nationalities, in thirteen countries. For further information, please contact Ran Hock at the contact points below.

Online Strategies
"Training for Effective Web Research"
1070 Foxcroft Run
Annapolis, MD 21401 USA
If calling from within the U.S -   855-244-0400
If calling from outside the U.S. - 001.410.224.0400
email:ran@onstrat.com

Consider:
The 4th Edition of Ran's Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook (2013). 
Order Now