Mastering Open Source Intelligence Reports: A Comprehensive Guide by Rosie (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hi there. Welcome to MCSI. My name is Rosie. In this video, I will tell you about writing open source intelligence reports. Performing open source intelligence is usually one part of a large engagement. The engagement could be a criminal investigation, a red teaming engagement, a background check on a job applicant, or even a journalist's research on a subject. The results of open source intelligence typically determine the next steps in an engagement. It is important that the results of OSINT are documented in a crisp, concise manner to help establish the next course of action. An open source intelligence report typically contains the following sections. The Executive Summary section provides a synopsis of the entire OSINT activity. Depending on the duration allotted to OSINT, the Scope of Work section defines the objectives. The Methodology section outlines the sequence of OSINT activities taken. The Target Face sheet contains the most important intelligence that has been gathered about a target. Then a detailed account of all the OSINT findings is presented. One important section in an OSINT report is the Target Face sheet. I will tell you more about this section. The Target Face sheet typically runs for about two to three pages. It contains any significant headshots of the target, if they have been identified. Personal Identifiable Information or PII is presented first, followed by critical information sections like, social media account information, travel history, etc. If any significant photographs have been identified during open source intelligence gathering that could influence the entire engagement, those images are included in the face sheet as well. I recommend that you create a template of an OSINT face sheet that you can utilize for all engagements. Here is an example of the Personal Information section. You can have fields like name, date of birth, contact numbers, email address, residential and work address. During the course of performing OSINT, as you identify information, you can include the findings in the face sheet. Information that is not available can be marked as unknown. You can create such templates for social media findings, news report findings, travel history, friend circle, etc. I hope you have a good idea now about writing open source intelligence reports. Why don't you try creating your own OSINT face sheet template now? If you liked this video, please hit like and share this video on social media. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive more videos like this one. Join our online community of students learning useful cybersecurity skills if you haven't already. To register for a free account right away, go to our website. Happy learning and see you soon.