What is OSINT?

Open source intelligence is intelligence produced from information anyone can lawfully access: websites, social media, public records, domain and certificate data, internet scan results, news, forums and leak sites.

The raw material is open, but OSINT is not just searching. It is collection against a specific question, followed by verification and analysis, with the sources recorded so another analyst can check the work. Good OSINT also protects the analyst, because looking at a target can tip it off.