OSINT analyst: what they actually do and when you really need one
In the article on intelligence disciplines I explained what OSINT, HUMINT, SIGINT and the other acronyms mean. Here I want to go one step further and answer the question I am asked most often: what does an OSINT analyst actually do, and when can one be useful to me, my family or my business?
I will do it with examples drawn from the situations I encounter most often in my work in Ticino, without unrealistic promises, and with a section devoted to what an analyst cannot and must not do.
What OSINT is, in one sentence
OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) is the collection and analysis of information from open sources: everything that can be accessed lawfully. Public registers, official publications, archives, the press, websites, social networks, images, maps and searchable databases.
The key word is not "internet", nor "free", but "lawfully accessible". A paid extract from the land register is an open source. A private email obtained by breaking into an account is not, ever.
What an OSINT analyst really does
Anyone can type a name into a search engine. An analyst's work is something else, and you can recognise it by four features:
- It starts from a precise question. "Where does my debtor live today?", "Who really controls this company?", "Does this person I met online exist?". Without a question, research produces only noise.
- The analyst knows where to look. Swiss and foreign registers, official publications, archives, advanced search techniques, image geolocation, reverse photo search.
- Everything is verified and cross-checked. A piece of information found only once is a clue, not a fact. Two independent sources that agree start to become evidence.
- The path is documented. Each item is captured with the date, time and source address, preserved as a copy and described in the method. That way the result can be checked by third parties: a lawyer, the opposing party, a judge.
The final product is not a list of links but a report that answers the initial question, distinguishes what is established from what is hypothesis, and indicates how reliable each item is.
Where it helps in practice
1. Asset tracing and debt recovery
The situation. You have a claim, perhaps a judgment in hand, but the debtor says they own nothing. Enforcement proceedings against someone with no assets produce nothing.
What OSINT does. It lawfully reconstructs the visible picture of the debtor's assets: real estate in the registers, shareholdings and company directorships, business activities, official publications, assets abroad where registers can be consulted, and a lifestyle that does not match the claimed poverty.
The result. Knowing in advance whether and where there are assets that can be seized, so you can plan enforcement with your lawyer. I described how debt enforcement works in Switzerland in the guide for creditors.
2. Tracing people who cannot be found
The situation. A debtor who has moved, a former partner who no longer answers, an heir nobody has heard from, a witness needed in a case, an old friend or relative you have lost touch with.
What OSINT does. It reconstructs the traces a person leaves behind: registers, publications, professional activities, online presence, links to other people and places.
An important limit. If you fear for someone's safety, especially a child or a vulnerable person, the first call must go to the police, not to an investigator. And if an adult has freely chosen to break off contact with someone, their privacy must be respected: a serious professional handles these cases with great caution.
3. Inheritance matters
The situation. A parent transferred the house to only one child, the accounts were drained in the last years of their life, a will looks suspicious, or there are heirs whose address nobody knows.
What OSINT does. It reconstructs transfers of assets through the registers, analyses documents lawfully obtained by the heirs, traces heirs and witnesses, and gathers the data needed for property valuations, including historical images and building permits.
The result. A file of documented facts for the lawyer. I covered this in detail in the article on forced heirship and lifetime gifts in Switzerland.
4. Due diligence on companies and business partners
The situation. You are about to sign a major contract, grant credit, go into partnership or buy a business, with a counterparty you know little about.
What OSINT does. It checks who is really behind a company, which positions they have held, which companies they have closed or taken into bankruptcy, which public proceedings concern them, whether the address is real or merely a domicile at a fiduciary, and what their reputation is.
The result. A decision made with the facts in hand. This is often the work with the best ratio between cost and risk avoided.
5. Fighting fraud
This is one of the areas where OSINT is most useful, both before you fall for a scam and after, to reconstruct it.
| Type of fraud | What OSINT can check |
|---|---|
| Romance scam | Whether the person met online really exists, whether their photos belong to someone else, whether their story holds up |
| Fake investments | Whether the company exists, where it is really based, whether it is authorised, whether the website was created only weeks ago |
| Fake supplier or fake CEO (CEO fraud) | Whether the email domain is genuine or an imitation, whether the bank details match the supplier's real ones |
| Online sellers and buyers | Whether the account is credible, whether the item's photos were stolen from other listings |
| Shell companies | Whether a firm has premises, staff and a history, or exists only on paper |
The mechanism behind many scams is very old. In the article on Landru, the Bluebeard of Gambais I showed how a swindler of 1915 used matrimonial adverts in the same way as today's romance scams. And it was precisely the linking of scattered pieces of information that exposed him.
6. Cybersecurity and prevention
The situation. A company, a professional practice or a family wants to understand how exposed it is.
What OSINT does. It looks at your organisation through an attacker's eyes, but without attacking it: what information about managers and staff is public, which email addresses can be guessed, which data have already ended up in leaks that were made public, which documents or photos reveal more than they should, and how easy it would be to write a convincing phishing email aimed at you.
The result. A map of risks and countermeasures, often combined with staff training on recognising scams. I discussed a concrete case in the article on the Ricardo data breach.
7. Reputation and defamatory content online
The situation. Someone publishes false or defamatory content about you or your company, perhaps from an anonymous profile.
What OSINT does. It documents the content in a form your lawyer can use, with date, time, address and a preserved copy, before it is deleted. In some cases it can identify links between profiles and people. Formal identification of an anonymous author, however, often requires court proceedings.
8. Verifying images, videos and documents
The situation. A photo, a video or a document is presented to you as evidence. Is it genuine? Was it taken where and when it is claimed?
What OSINT does. Reverse image search, metadata analysis where available, geolocation by comparing landscapes, buildings and shadows with maps and satellite imagery, and tracing the first publication of a piece of content. As a photographer, this is a part of the work I find particularly fascinating.
9. Historical and genealogical research
The situation. Reconstructing the history of a family, a building, a collector's item or a document.
What OSINT does. It applies the same method to archives, historical registers and period publications. It is the approach I use in the historical articles on my blog, from the plague described by Manzoni to the death of Hitler.
What an OSINT analyst cannot do
This is the most important section, because it is where the industry promises the most.
- No access to other people's bank accounts, emails, phones, chats or accounts. Not because it is difficult, but because it is a crime. The Swiss Criminal Code punishes, among other things, unauthorised access to a data processing system (art. 143bis) and eavesdropping on or recording other people's conversations (art. 179bis ff.).
- No obtaining phone records, criminal records, medical files or tax data of third parties.
- No fake profiles to deceive a person or to get into private groups under false pretences.
- No ignoring data protection. Even public information is personal data, and processing it must comply with the Federal Act on Data Protection, in the version in force since 1 September 2023, and with the protection of personality under the Civil Code.
- No improper monitoring of employees. Swiss employment law allows an employer to process an employee's data only where it concerns their suitability for the job or is necessary for performing the contract (art. 328b of the Code of Obligations).
Anyone promising "special" access exposes you to criminal consequences and produces material that may well be unusable in court. In Swiss civil proceedings, the court takes unlawfully obtained evidence into account only if the interest in finding the truth prevails (art. 152 para. 2 of the Civil Procedure Code).
How an assignment works
- First consultation, confidential and free of charge. At my office in Chiasso, by phone or by video call. I listen to the situation and assess whether an OSINT investigation can really help you, and whether it is lawful.
- Defining the question and a written plan. Objective, sources, method, estimated time, spending cap.
- Collection and verification. Every item is captured, preserved and cross-checked against other sources.
- Final report. An answer to the question, sources, attachments, the reliability of each item and a clear separation between facts and hypotheses. If needed, I deliver it directly to your lawyer.
On costs: checks with a defined scope can be agreed for a flat fee, while broader research is charged by the hour. Rates are always set out in writing before any work begins.
How to recognise a serious OSINT analyst
| Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|
| Asks what your question is before starting | Promises to "find everything" about anyone |
| Explains which sources will be used and which will not | Offers access to bank accounts, phones or online accounts |
| Gives you a written plan with a spending cap | Asks for cash up front without a contract |
| Delivers a report with sources and separates facts from hypotheses | Hands over screenshots with no date or source |
| Works with an authorisation and an identifiable company | Will not say which company issues the invoice |
| Sometimes tells you: "You don't need this" | Accepts any assignment |
In Ticino, private investigation requires a cantonal authorisation, and the list of authorised agencies is public. InSpace.Center LLC is registered on it.
In short
OSINT is neither magic nor espionage. It is method: a clear question, lawful sources, cross-checking and a report that stands up to scrutiny by third parties. It serves anyone who needs to recover a debt, decide whether to trust a partner, protect an inheritance, guard against a scam or understand how exposed their business is.
If you have a situation to assess, in Chiasso, in Lugano or elsewhere in Ticino, you will find all the details among my services. The first consultation is free and confidential, and it also helps establish whether an OSINT investigation really is the right answer.
Frequently asked questions
What does an OSINT analyst do?
They collect, verify and analyse information from open sources, meaning sources that can be accessed lawfully: official registers, publications, archives, the press, websites, social networks, images and maps. The result is not a list of links but a report that answers a specific question, states the source of every piece of information and separates established facts from hypotheses.
When can an OSINT investigation help?
The most common cases are tracing untraceable debtors and seizable assets, due diligence on companies and business partners, inheritance disputes, checking people met online, preventing and reconstructing fraud, assessing a company's digital exposure and documenting defamatory content online.
Can an OSINT analyst access bank accounts, emails or phones?
No. OSINT works only with lawfully accessible information. Accessing other people's accounts, computer systems, bank accounts or communications is a criminal offence. Anyone who promises it exposes themselves and the client to criminal consequences, and produces material that may well be unusable in court.
Can OSINT be used to find a missing person?
If you fear for someone's safety, especially a child or a vulnerable person, contact the police immediately. OSINT is useful for tracing people you have lost touch with, debtors, heirs or witnesses. If an adult has freely chosen to break off contact, their privacy must be respected.
How much does an OSINT investigation cost?
It depends on the question and the scope. Checks with a defined objective, such as verifying a company or a person, can be agreed for a flat fee; broader research is charged by the hour. Before starting you should always receive a written plan with the objective, the method and a spending cap.
Is information gathered through OSINT admissible in court?
It can be used if it was gathered lawfully and documented properly: date and time of capture, source address, a preserved copy of the content and a description of the method. The court always decides, however, and it also considers how the evidence was obtained.