# Osint Methodology

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

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-liberty91ltd-cti-skills-osint-methodology`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [Liberty91LTD](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/liberty91ltd)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Search](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/search)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [Liberty91LTD](https://github.com/Liberty91LTD)
- **Source:** https://github.com/Liberty91LTD/cti-skills/tree/main/skills/osint-methodology
- **Website:** https://liberty91.com/cti-skills

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-liberty91ltd-cti-skills-osint-methodology
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# 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

| Category | Sources | Best For |
|----------|---------|----------|
| **Government advisories** | CISA, NCSC, CERT-EU, national CERTs | Authoritative threat alerts, vulnerability warnings |
| **Vendor reports** | Mandiant, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Recorded Future, Talos | Campaign analysis, actor profiles, malware analysis |
| **Security research** | Blogs, conference talks, academic papers | Novel techniques, deep dives, vulnerability research |
| **Underground** | Forum mirrors, paste sites, Telegram (public), leak aggregators | Threat actor communications, credential dumps, tools |
| **Code repositories** | GitHub, GitLab | Malware source, PoC exploits, attacker tools, leaked configs |
| **Certificate transparency** | crt.sh, Censys | Domain enumeration, infrastructure mapping |
| **DNS/WHOIS** | SecurityTrails, DomainTools, RiskIQ (via web search) | Infrastructure relationships, historical records |
| **News/media** | Tech press, infosec news sites | Incident reports, geopolitical context |
| **Social media** | X/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:
```markdown
#### 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 `
- **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`

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [Liberty91LTD](https://github.com/Liberty91LTD)
- **Source:** [Liberty91LTD/cti-skills](https://github.com/Liberty91LTD/cti-skills)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://liberty91.com/cti-skills

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** yes
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-liberty91ltd-cti-skills-osint-methodology
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/liberty91ltd
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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