Welcome back, aspiring cyberwarriors!
As you know, people leave digital footprints across the internet that can be discovered through careful searching. While someone might think their online presence is minimal, a skilled investigator can often compile surprising amounts of information using nothing but open-source intelligence techniques (OSINT) and a standard web browser.
Let’s dive into the process of gathering information about someone quickly and effectively!
Step #1 Primary Identification
The first and most crucial step when collecting information about a person from open sources is accurate identification. We need to ensure that the information we find actually belongs to our target subject and not someone with a similar name or profile.
This identification process isn’t a one-time task—we need to continuously evaluate all discovered information to confirm it belongs to our subject. There are two main approaches to ensuring accurate identification:
First, we can use unique identifiers that cannot be identical for two different people. For example, tax identification numbers or passport details serve as excellent unique identifiers. Generally speaking, government-issued identifiers work best for this purpose.
Alternatively, we can use combinations of identifiers that, when taken together, eliminate the chance of coincidental matches. While a name alone might be insufficient (due to potential namesakes), a combination of full name, date of birth, and place of birth provides much stronger identification.
Step #2 Exploring Aggregators
Where can we find this primary information? The most convenient option is to use data leak aggregators. These can be either Telegram bots or websites with similar functionality. Which specific ones to use is largely a matter of preference—use whatever works best for you.
For this article, I’m going to use https://osintkit.net – it has access to many databases, offers free queries (which is increasingly rare), and has a subscription that’s quite affordable.
On the main page of OsintKit, you’ll find the message: “Here you can search for and identify Russian residents.” If you’re looking for information on individuals from other countries, be sure to explore similar tools and alternatives.
OsintKit is developed by a Ukrainian team and offers the following features:
- Verified and validated data
- Access to original sources
- Structured, efficient search capabilities
- Regular updates
- A free plan for beginners
Getting started is simple—just create an account, and you’re ready to go.
Step #3: Finding a Target
To demonstrate how this tool works, I’ll use the names of Russian soldiers uncovered by the intelligence firm Molfar.
In the report, we find mention of a man named Vasyl Dudka.
Let’s take his name and enter it into OsintKit.
The first three results require a premium subscription, but even without one, we can access a phone number registered with AlfaBank and an email address. By clicking on the entry from the “Database of Russian Citizens,” we can view additional details such as date of birth, email, insurance number, and social security number.
If we scroll down, we’ll find a record from the Federal Court Bailiff Service database. This entry also provides access to the individual’s passport number, tax identification number, and residential address.
These are quite solid results for the starting point of an OSINT investigation.
Summary
I hope this sends a clear message to the Russian military: those who commit atrocities will be identified and held accountable.
To learn more about OSINT, be sure to explore our OSINT Investigator bundle.
