15 OSINT (Open-source Intelligence) Tools for Penetration Testing

 We live in a digital world where everything is online, and that’s where you have to find relevant information about everything. This information can be easily gathered using OSINT tools as the internet world is vast, but it is impossible to find the information you are looking for every time. Does that mean that the information is not available on the internet?

No, maybe your desired result is not there, but still, there is a lot of information, and that’s where OSINT tools come in handy. In this blog, we will learn about the top 15 OSINT tools, but first, we need to understand what is OSINT to get a better understanding of the tools.

There was a time when only materialistic things had value, but times have changed, and a non-materialistic thing, information, has become the most important thing in the world.

Now, even things like diamonds, gold, etc., don’t have any value compared to information. These 15 OSINT tools come in handy to dig up all the information available on all internet resources.

Here is the top 15 OSINT tools list –

1. ExploitDB
2. Censys
3. Shodan
4. Hunter
5. ZoomEye
6. DorkSearch
7. Intelligence X
8. AlienVault
9. Wigle
10. LeakIX
11. Subfinder
12. Amass
13. sublist3r
14. Maltego
15. Sherlock

You can check out detailed information about these OSINT tools below. First, let’s understand OSINT.

What is OSINT?

OSINT means Open-Source Intelligence. It helps a person or entity derive information from public sources like social media, surface, deep web, dark web, etc. The open-source part of the term OSINT indicates that no illegal or goofy tactics are needed to obtain this information.

This information can be about an individual, any business, a business owner, a business network, a nation, or anything relevant. This information is freely available online from resources such as blogs, social media, SERP results, or other digital assets.

Why do you need OSINT?

OSINT is very important nowadays as Cyber Crimes are at their peak, and the information is often leaked publicly. It is not only the Information from breaches but also information mistakenly kept publicly by the site owner that can be found.

OSINT tools help in keeping tabs on the information chaos that can happen. It helps in the following:

1. Penetration Testing
2. Breach Detection
3. Ethical Hacking
4. Chatter Monitoring

With the help of the right OSINT tool, an enterprise can evaluate all the information threats and take appropriate actions to stop any information chaos.

Now that you got an excellent overview of OSINT. It is time to move to learn more about the top 15 OSINT tools in our list.

Top OSINT Tools for Penetration testing

Here are the top 15 OSINT Tools in our list:

ExploitDB

ExploitDB is a tool used to search exploits from exploit databases. It is an excellent tool for finding potential weaknesses in your network and keeping current with assaults taking place on other networks. We can gain more knowledge about hacker techniques and improve our own security as a result, thanks to this archive. 

Censys

Censys.io (www.censys.io) is a web-based search platform used to evaluate the attack surface of Internet-connected devices. Not only can the tool be used to identify Internet-connected assets and Internet of Things/Industrial Internet of Things (IoT/IIoT), but it can also be used to identify Internet-connected industrial control systems and platforms.

Read More: Open-source Intelligence Tools