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osint-methodology

Skill35 starsChanged 45 days agoMITView on GitHub

Structured OSINT collection methodology. Planning, collection techniques, search operators, and documentation. Loaded by the osint-researcher agent.

  • Reads credentials

6 other projects use a version of this.

Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

9 rules. 0 are common, 8 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 6 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 8

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 1

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    Keywords: Search terms, aliases, IOCs to look for

    line 16
  2. Distinctive:

    Start with broad searches to understand what's available:

    line 69
  3. Very specific:

    Search for the topic/actor/indicator across major sources

    line 70
  4. Distinctive:

    Read full reports, not just headlines

    line 76
  5. Distinctive:

    Only access publicly available information

    line 99
  6. Distinctive:

    Do not create fake accounts or impersonate anyone

    line 100
  7. Distinctive:

    Do not attempt to access restricted systems

    line 101
  8. Distinctive:

    Do not engage with threat actors or participate in illegal activity

    line 104
  9. Distinctive:

    When OSINT collection surfaces an indicator, route into the appropriate enrichment / pivot:

    line 108

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 6 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

OSINT Collection Methodology

Collection Planning

Before collecting, define:

  1. Objective: What specific intelligence do we need?
  2. Scope: What sources are relevant? What's out of scope?
  3. Keywords: Search terms, aliases, IOCs to look for
  4. Time constraints: How recent must the intelligence be?
  5. Documentation: How will findings be recorded?

Source Categories

CategorySourcesBest For
Government advisoriesCISA, NCSC, CERT-EU, national CERTsAuthoritative threat alerts, vulnerability warnings
Vendor reportsMandiant, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Recorded Future, TalosCampaign analysis, actor profiles, malware analysis
Security researchBlogs, conference talks, academic papersNovel techniques, deep dives, vulnerability research
UndergroundForum mirrors, paste sites, Telegram (public), leak aggregatorsThreat actor communications, credential dumps, tools
Code repositoriesGitHub, GitLabMalware source, PoC exploits, attacker tools, leaked configs
Certificate transparencycrt.sh, CensysDomain enumeration, infrastructure mapping
DNS/WHOISSecurityTrails, DomainTools, RiskIQ (via web search)Infrastructure relationships, historical records
News/mediaTech press, infosec news sitesIncident reports, geopolitical context
Social mediaX/Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit (public)OPSEC failures, community intelligence, actor claims

Search Operator Cheat Sheet

Google Dorks

site:example.com filetype:pdf         # PDFs on a specific site
"threat actor" AND "APT28" -site:reddit.com  # Exclude noise
inurl:"/wp-content/uploads/" filetype:exe    # Exposed uploads
"index of" "/backup"                   # Directory listings
intitle:"login" site:*.example.com     # Login pages on subdomains

GitHub Search

org:target-org password                # Leaked credentials
filename:.env DB_PASSWORD              # Exposed environment files
"api_key" language:python              # Hardcoded API keys
"BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY"                # Exposed private keys

Certificate Transparency (crt.sh)

https://crt.sh/?q=%.example.com        # All certs for subdomains
https://crt.sh/?q=example.com&output=json  # JSON output

Shodan Dorks (via web)

ssl.cert.subject.cn:"example.com"      # Certificates for domain
http.title:"Dashboard" org:"Target"    # Web dashboards
product:"Cobalt Strike"                # C2 servers

Collection Process

1. Broad Sweep

Start with broad searches to understand what's available:

  • Search for the topic/actor/indicator across major sources
  • Note the quantity and quality of available information
  • Identify the most promising sources for deeper collection

2. Targeted Collection

Narrow down to specific sources and extract detailed intelligence:

  • Read full reports, not just headlines
  • Extract specific IOCs, TTPs, dates, and attribution claims
  • Note each source's perspective and potential biases

3. Source Assessment

Apply Admiralty Scale to every finding (per source-assessment skill):

  • Rate source reliability (A-F)
  • Rate information credibility (1-6)
  • Note whether information is corroborated across sources

4. Documentation

Record every finding with full attribution:

#### Finding: [Title]
- **Source**: [URL or description]
- **Source rating**: [Admiralty code, e.g., B2]
- **Date collected**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **Date of information**: YYYY-MM-DD (when was this information produced?)
- **Summary**: [Key intelligence extracted]
- **Relevance**: [How this relates to the collection objective]

Ethical and Legal Boundaries

  • Only access publicly available information
  • Do not create fake accounts or impersonate anyone
  • Do not attempt to access restricted systems
  • Respect robots.txt and terms of service
  • Be aware of data protection regulations (GDPR)
  • Do not engage with threat actors or participate in illegal activity

Related skills

When OSINT collection surfaces an indicator, route into the appropriate enrichment / pivot:

  • Bulk IOC enrichment — /ioc-enrichment-workflow chains /lookup-virustotal, /lookup-otx, /lookup-shodan, /lookup-abuseipdb, /lookup-greynoise, /lookup-urlscan, /lookup-censys, and /lookup-misp
  • Single-indicator first hop — /ip-investigation, /domain-investigation, /hash-investigation, /url-investigation
  • Multi-hop graph walk — /indicator-pivoting
  • Internal correlation against your own catalogue — /lookup-misp search-attributes / search-events
  • Ransomware victim-status sweeps on org names — /lookup-ransomwarelive search --q <orgname>
  • Underground forums and Telegram — /darkweb-collection (read its OPSEC primer before any DIY collection)
  • Apply rigor to the finished product — /score-source, /apply-tlp, /confidence-language, /likelihood-language

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