Open Source Intelligence
Public information becomes intelligence when you collect it carefully, check it, and use it to answer a question.
What you’ll learn
- Separate an observation from a guess.
- Recognize how public clues can make a scam convincing.
- Investigate only within the boundaries your teacher gives you.
What counts as OSINT?
Open source intelligence (OSINT) uses publicly available information: websites, public posts, maps, news, and public records. “Open source” here means publicly available information; it does not mean open-source software. A clue is useful only when you know where it came from and whether it is reliable.
Follow a question, not a rabbit hole
Define your question → collect relevant clues → record the source and date → compare independent sources → explain your conclusion. Search engines index some pages, not the entire internet. A search such as site:example.org robotics limits results to indexed pages from that site. Missing results do not prove something does not exist.
Social engineering: the human side
Social engineering manipulates people into sharing information or taking an unsafe action. It is related to OSINT, but it is not the same thing. A scammer might use a public club name to sound like a teammate, claim to be a teacher, offer a prize, or create urgency. Familiar details are not proof of identity.
Pause, verify, protect
Do not share passwords or verification codes. Verify a surprising request through a contact method you already trust, rather than replying or using a number in the message. Report suspicious messages to a trusted adult or the organization involved. Review what your own posts reveal about your location, schedule, and accounts.
Visit Ann’s TikTok Page
Use the Owl Sector activity below. Record three visible clues and their sources. Label each conclusion observed, inferred, or unknown. Explain how one clue could make an impersonation message seem believable, and how Ann could reduce that risk.
Ann’s TikTok Page (opens a new tab)Stay within the assigned activity. Do not contact people or investigate classmates.
Example: observation versus inference
“The post mentions a robotics club” is an observation. “Ann attends that club every Tuesday” is an inference unless the page supports it. “Ann’s home address” may remain unknown. Do not turn a guess into a fact.
Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question, then check your answers. You can retry as often as you like.