Social Media OSINT: Find Information about ANYONE!

Summary

This video introduces Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT), a subset of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), for gathering and analyzing data from social media platforms. It covers various types of data, including user-posted content, metadata, and interactions. The video provides strategies for extracting intelligence from popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, offering tools and tips for searching usernames, photos, and even analyzing deleted posts. Viewers will learn how to leverage advanced search methods, Python tools, and specific platforms to uncover valuable data for digital investigations.

Takeaways

• 😀 SOCMINT (Social Media Intelligence) is a subset of OSINT (Open Source Intelligence), focused on gathering and analyzing data from social media platforms.
• 😀 Social media data can be divided into three categories: user-posted content, metadata, and interactions (e.g., likes, comments).
• 😀 To find information across multiple platforms, you can use a target's username to search and identify accounts on various social media platforms.
• 😀 Tools like Maigret and Instantusername.com help locate accounts across platforms by searching for usernames or variations of them.
• 😀 Reverse image search can reveal other accounts using the same or similar images, helping identify targets across different platforms.
• 😀 Facebook’s Graph Search was shut down in 2019, but workarounds like Google Dorks and OSINT tools still allow you to gather information from the platform.
• 😀 Google Dorks can help you search for Facebook profiles, videos, and posts with specific keywords or parameters.
• 😀 Facebook OSINT tools like Lookup-id.com, Facebook Recover, and Whopostedwhat.com help identify and analyze Facebook profiles and posts.
• 😀 Instagram is another valuable source for OSINT, where users share personal and professional details, sometimes revealing sensitive information.
• 😀 Advanced search queries on Instagram and tools like Instahunter and Osintgram help gather data on users, posts, hashtags, and locations for more specific intelligence.
• 😀 Twitter has a large volume of data, but advanced search operators, tools like Birdhunt, and archive services like the Wayback Machine can help refine your searches for relevant information.

Q & A

What is SOCMINT and how does it relate to OSINT?

SOCMINT, or Social Media Intelligence, is a subset of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). OSINT involves collecting and analyzing publicly available data, while SOCMINT specifically focuses on gathering and analyzing data from social media platforms.

What types of data can be collected from social media for SOCMINT?

Social media data can be divided into three categories: user-posted content (text, images, videos), metadata (date, time, and location), and interactions (comments, likes, shares, etc.).

How can a username help in gathering social media intelligence?

A username can reveal valuable information about a target, such as their real name, nickname, or interests. It can also help identify other accounts on different platforms that use the same or similar usernames.

What tools can be used to search for a target's accounts across different platforms?

Tools like Instantusername.com can scan multiple websites for usernames, while Maigret is a Python script that allows users to customize search parameters. Additionally, reverse image search tools like Google and TinEye can help find accounts based on profile pictures.

How can you gather information from Facebook, despite recent privacy changes?

Even though Facebook's Graph Search was shut down in 2019, information can still be gathered using Google dorks and online OSINT tools. For example, you can search for Facebook content indexed by Google using advanced search operators.

What are some recommended tools for gathering data from Facebook?

Tools like Lookup-id.com, Whopostedwhat.com, and Apify.com can help gather Facebook data. These tools allow for searching, scraping, and downloading content from profiles or pages for analysis.

How can Instagram be used for SOCMINT?

Instagram provides valuable data through posts, stories, and geotags. Google dorks can be used to find specific Instagram content, and tools like Instahunter and Osintgram allow users to collect data about accounts, hashtags, and locations.

What are some advanced search operators for Twitter OSINT?

Twitter offers advanced search options like 'to:@target_username' to see interactions with a specific account. Using the Wayback Machine or Tweet Archivist, you can access deleted or private tweets that were previously public.

How can LinkedIn be used in a digital investigation?

LinkedIn is a great resource for business intelligence, as it contains professional information about individuals and companies. Google search operators can be used to find LinkedIn profiles based on specific criteria like job titles or companies.

What tools are recommended for finding and verifying email addresses in social media investigations?

Hunter.io is a great tool for email search and validation. Additionally, tools like Metric Sparrow can be used to generate permutations of email addresses to explore different possibilities, while Dehashed.com can check if emails have been involved in data breaches.