This document outlines important security considerations when using the OSINT Master Tool. OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) gathering must be conducted ethically and legally.
Always ensure you have proper authorization before investigating any targets.
- Personal Data: Only investigate data you own or have explicit permission to analyze
- Jurisdictional Laws: Comply with local, state, and federal privacy laws
- Terms of Service: Respect the terms of service of all platforms and APIs used
- Professional Use: Follow your organization's policies and ethical guidelines
✅ Authorized Activities:
- Investigating your own digital footprint
- Security assessments with written authorization
- Threat intelligence for your organization
- Academic research with proper approvals
- Bug bounty programs within scope
❌ Prohibited Activities:
- Stalking or harassment
- Unauthorized personal investigations
- Corporate espionage
- Identity theft or fraud
- Violating privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
# ✅ Good: Use environment variables
export HIBP_API_KEY="your_secure_key"
# ❌ Bad: Never hardcode keys in source code
HIBP_API_KEY = "abc123def456" # Never do this!- Environment Variables: Store all sensitive data in environment variables
- File Permissions: Restrict access to configuration files
- Key Rotation: Regularly rotate API keys
- Access Logging: Monitor API key usage
# Secure .env file permissions
chmod 600 .env
# Verify permissions
ls -la .env
# Should show: -rw------- 1 user user .env# ✅ Good: Sanitize sensitive data in logs
logger.info(f"Investigating email: {email[:3]}***@{email.split('@')[1]}")
# ❌ Bad: Logging sensitive data
logger.info(f"API key: {api_key}") # Never log API keys!All API communications must use HTTPS:
# ✅ Good: Always use HTTPS
async with session.get("https://api.service.com/data") as resp:
# Handle response
# ❌ Bad: Never use HTTP for sensitive data
async with session.get("http://api.service.com/data") as resp: # Insecure!
# Handle response# Default behavior includes certificate verification
connector = aiohttp.TCPConnector(ssl=True) # ✅ Good
session = aiohttp.ClientSession(connector=connector)
# Never disable SSL verification in production
connector = aiohttp.TCPConnector(ssl=False) # ❌ Dangerous!Respect API rate limits to avoid service disruption:
class ResponsiblePlugin(PluginBase):
def __init__(self):
self.rate_limiter = asyncio.Semaphore(5) # Max 5 concurrent requests
self.last_request = 0
self.min_interval = 1.0 # 1 second between requests
async def run(self, query, session):
async with self.rate_limiter:
# Implement delay between requests
now = time.time()
elapsed = now - self.last_request
if elapsed < self.min_interval:
await asyncio.sleep(self.min_interval - elapsed)
self.last_request = time.time()
# Make API request...- Minimize Requests: Cache results when possible
- Respect Robots.txt: Honor website crawling restrictions
- User Agent: Use descriptive, honest user agent strings
- Error Handling: Gracefully handle rate limit responses
# ✅ Good: Honest user agent
headers = {
"User-Agent": "OSINT-Master-Tool/1.0 (Security Research)"
}
# ❌ Bad: Deceptive user agent
headers = {
"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)" # Misleading
}Always validate and sanitize input data:
import re
from urllib.parse import urlparse
def validate_email(email: str) -> bool:
"""Validate email format"""
pattern = r'^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$'
return re.match(pattern, email) is not None
def validate_domain(domain: str) -> bool:
"""Validate domain format"""
try:
# Remove protocol if present
if '://' in domain:
domain = urlparse(domain).netloc
# Basic domain validation
pattern = r'^[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$'
return re.match(pattern, domain) is not None
except:
return False
def validate_ip(ip: str) -> bool:
"""Validate IP address format"""
try:
import ipaddress
ipaddress.ip_address(ip)
return True
except ValueError:
return False# ✅ Good: Parameterized queries
query = "SELECT * FROM results WHERE email = ?"
cursor.execute(query, (email,))
# ❌ Bad: String concatenation
query = f"SELECT * FROM results WHERE email = '{email}'" # SQL injection risk!Implement comprehensive security logging:
import logging
from datetime import datetime
def setup_security_logger():
"""Setup security-focused logger"""
security_logger = logging.getLogger("osint_security")
handler = logging.FileHandler("security.log")
formatter = logging.Formatter(
"[%(asctime)s] SECURITY - %(levelname)s - %(message)s"
)
handler.setFormatter(formatter)
security_logger.addHandler(handler)
security_logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)
return security_logger
# Log security events
security_logger = setup_security_logger()
def log_investigation(target_type: str, target_value: str, success: bool):
"""Log investigation attempts"""
# Sanitize the target value for logging
if target_type == "email":
sanitized = f"{target_value[:3]}***@{target_value.split('@')[1]}"
else:
sanitized = target_value
security_logger.info(
f"Investigation - Type: {target_type}, Target: {sanitized}, "
f"Success: {success}, Timestamp: {datetime.utcnow().isoformat()}"
)Maintain detailed audit trails:
{
"investigation_id": "uuid-here",
"timestamp": "2025-07-30T10:30:00.000Z",
"user_agent": "OSINT-Master-Tool/1.0",
"source_ip": "192.168.1.100",
"target_type": "email",
"target_value": "***@example.com",
"plugins_used": ["email", "username"],
"api_calls_made": 5,
"success": true,
"execution_time": 2.34
}class SecureAuditLogger:
def __init__(self, retention_days=30):
self.retention_days = retention_days
def log_investigation(self, data):
# Store only necessary data
audit_data = {
"timestamp": data["timestamp"],
"target_type": data["target_type"],
"target_hash": hashlib.sha256(data["target_value"].encode()).hexdigest(),
"success": data["success"],
"plugins_used": data["plugins_used"]
}
# Store audit_data...
def cleanup_old_logs(self):
"""Remove logs older than retention period"""
cutoff_date = datetime.utcnow() - timedelta(days=self.retention_days)
# Remove old entries...- All API keys stored in environment variables
- HTTPS enforced for all communications
- SSL certificate verification enabled
- Rate limiting implemented
- Input validation active
- Audit logging configured
- Error messages don't expose sensitive information
- File permissions properly set
- Regular security updates applied
# Use non-root user
FROM python:3.9-slim
RUN useradd --create-home --shell /bin/bash osint
USER osint
# Set secure file permissions
COPY --chown=osint:osint . /app
WORKDIR /app
# Install dependencies
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
# Run with minimal privileges
CMD ["python", "main.py"]-
Immediate Response
- Disable compromised API keys
- Review audit logs for unauthorized access
- Document the incident
-
Investigation
- Analyze log files for suspicious activity
- Check for data exfiltration
- Identify root cause
-
Recovery
- Rotate all API keys
- Update security measures
- Implement additional monitoring
-
Prevention
- Review and update security policies
- Provide additional security training
- Implement lessons learned
- Data Minimization: Collect only necessary data
- Purpose Limitation: Use data only for stated purposes
- Consent: Ensure proper consent for data processing
- Right to Erasure: Implement data deletion capabilities
- Data Protection by Design: Build privacy into the system
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework: Follow security best practices
- OWASP Guidelines: Implement secure coding practices
- ISO 27001: Align with information security standards
If you discover a security vulnerability:
- Do NOT create a public issue
- Send details to: security@example.com
- Include:
- Description of the vulnerability
- Steps to reproduce
- Potential impact
- Suggested fix (if known)
We will acknowledge receipt within 24 hours and provide a timeline for resolution.
Remember: With great power comes great responsibility. Use OSINT tools ethically and legally. 🔐