What is OSINT, and what are common sources?

• A. Private investigative reports
• B. Encrypted datasets
• C. Proprietary internal logs
• D. Open-source intelligence from public data; sources include social media, breach repositories, company websites, public registries, code repos

Answer: (D)

OSINT, or open-source intelligence, is gathering information from sources that are publicly available and accessible without special privileges. It relies on data you can legally obtain from the internet or public records, rather than private or restricted datasets. The most useful sources are open data: social media and public profiles, breach repositories that list publicly disclosed incidents, company websites for official statements and contact details, public registries such as domain or corporate records, and code repositories where software projects and histories are published. These sources can reveal connections, assets, and exposure points, but they also require careful verification across multiple places because public information can be incomplete or misleading. Always consider privacy and legal boundaries when conducting OSINT.