Digital Detective:
Mastering Open Source Intelligence
Course Overview
🔍 Digital Detective – Mastering OSINT (Open Source Intelligence)
In today's data-driven world, the ability to gather and analyze publicly available information is a critical skill in cybersecurity, journalism, investigations, and more. The Digital Detective course is a hands-on, real-world program that teaches you the art and science of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) the practice of collecting and analyzing data from publicly accessible sources. You'll learn how to think like an investigator, navigate the deep web, use advanced tools, and build digital profiles with precision all while adhering to ethical and legal frameworks.
🎯 Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand the core concepts and ethical considerations of OSINT.
- Use OSINT tools and platforms for data collection and analysis.
- Track digital footprints and map connections between individuals and organizations.
- Conduct online investigations across social media, domains, IP addresses, and public records.
- Build structured OSINT reports for clients or employers.
- Practice operational security (OPSEC) while investigating targets.
Who Is This Course For?
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This course is ideal for:
- Aspiring cybersecurity professionals and analysts
- Law enforcement or legal support staff
- Journalists and digital investigators
- Intelligence professionals and private investigators
- Ethical hackers or penetration testers looking to broaden their toolkit
- Anyone curious about uncovering hidden information online
Course Outline
OSINT Foundations & Operational Security (OPSEC)
covers secure investigation setups, ethical practices, and OSINT applications in journalism, fraud, and crime. Learn to use VPNs, VMs, and burner accounts, follow the Intelligence Cycle (Direction → Collection → Processing → Analysis), and apply OPSEC to avoid detection. Key tools: Tails OS, Brave Browser, Google Dorks. Hands-on: secure workspace setup and search operator practice.
People Search & Digital Footprint Tracing
Learn how to find individuals and analyze their online activity. Learn username/email searches, phone tracing, and extracting clues from images, bios, and locations. Covers alias tracking, breach investigations, and tools like WhatsMyName, Sherlock, and IntelX for verifying digital identities.
SOCMINT - Social Media Intelligence & Disinformation Tracking
Learn to analyze social media behavior, detect influence campaigns, and identify digital threats. Covers platform analysis (X, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok), spotting fake profiles and disinformation, verifying videos/images (deepfakes, timestamps), and detecting bots. Tools include InVID, Botometer, and Maltego. Hands-on: Investigate fake profiles and verify viral content.
Company Investigations & Due Diligence
Learn to vet businesses, directors, and shell companies. Trace corporate ownership (NGOs, foreign firms), check sanctions lists, and analyze public company data. Covers KYC/AML basics for OSINT. Tools: OpenCorporates, Orbis, OCCRP Aleph. Hands-on: Investigate a suspicious company and build a due diligence profile.
Geolocation & Media Verification (GeoOSINT)
Master techniques to verify image/video locations and spot manipulation. Learn satellite mapping, terrain analysis, shadow/weather clues, and reverse image searches. Tools: SunCalc, Google Earth, EXIFTool, TinEye. Hands-on: Geolocate real protest/crime images and analyze metadata.
Crime & Threat Intelligence (OSINT for LEAs & Journalists)
Learn to track criminal networks, threats, and fraud. Covers tracing crypto wallets, dark web basics, and monitoring threat indicators. Tools: Wayback Machine, Chainabuse, Flashpoint. Hands-on: Profile threat actors and investigate digital crime cases.
AI-Powered OSINT & Capstone Project
Learn to supercharge investigations using AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) for data collection, analysis, and reporting. Master automated scraping, intelligence visualization (Maltego, Obsidian), and case documentation.
Facilitator
Abdulrahman Huzaifa
Cyber Security Analyst
a.huzaifa@fortresspath.com