From Social Media to Open-Source Data: The Layers of Digital Investigation

Date Posted: February 27th, 2025

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is an essential tool for law enforcement and defense agencies, in addition to financial and commercial organizations. OSINT allows investigators and analysts to draw from a vast pool of readily available online information, from social media posts to data in deep-web databases. By piecing together these layers of data, investigators can gain valuable insights into criminal networks and activities. But as digital information becomes harder to access, investigators must adapt, using new strategies and tools to effectively gather evidence.

Here’s a look at the main layers of OSINT and how each one supports modern investigations, along with some of the new techniques being used to address the challenges OSINT data analysis presents.

The Visible Web: Social Media and Search Engines

The first OSINT layer, the visible or “surface” web, consists of websites and social media platforms that are easy to access without special tools. This includes popular platforms like Telegram, VK, and TikTok, which hold a treasure trove of publicly available information. As of 2024, over five billion people globally use social media, creating digital footprints that can sometimes reveal crucial details, even for criminal investigations.

Social media is often the first stop for investigators. By examining posts, location tags, and user interactions, analysts can identify persons of interest and connect them to others. While it’s common to assume that criminals avoid social media, many still leave traces through their associates, family members, or friends. Investigators can follow these trails to map out connections and movement patterns, which builds profiles and even network maps that lead to larger breakthroughs. Penlink’s tools make it easier for analysts to map and visualize these connections, identifying key patterns quickly and efficiently.

The Deep Web: Restricted but Useful Databases

Beyond the surface web lies the deep web, a part of the internet that regular search engines can’t access. This layer includes specialized databases, subscription-based services, and directories that require proper authorization to access. For OSINT professionals, the deep web offers valuable information, such as personal directories, employee records, and certain government databases.

In an investigation, analysts might use these deep-web resources to cross-reference names, phone numbers, or addresses they’ve already found. Although deep-web access sometimes involves permissions or fees, the data can be essential for verifying and enhancing what’s gathered from social media or other sources. Platforms like Penlink integrate deep-web data with surface-web insights, enabling investigators to consolidate information into a single, actionable view. This holistic approach streamlines the investigative process, saving time and improving accuracy.

The Dark Web and Threat Monitoring

The dark web, an anonymous part of the internet, is OSINT’s deepest and most valuable layer for crime analysts. It hosts illicit activities and transactions that investigators monitor for insights into cybercrime and other threats. Dark-web monitoring requires specialized tools, as the data found here is unindexed and encrypted. But despite these challenges, it’s essential for tracking high-risk activities. Integrated with data from other OSINT layers, dark-web data adds important context to surface, deep, and location-based data, helping investigators stay aware of emerging threats. Using Penlink’s Tangles, investigators can scan the dark web safely and anonymously, gathering crucial pieces of information that are traditionally inaccessible or risky to access. 

Challenges in Data Access

Now, even with OSINT’s potential, data access restrictions are a growing obstacle. Social media platforms have strengthened privacy controls, making it harder to obtain user data. Laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe also place limits on how data can be collected and used, requiring investigators to adapt.

To work around these limits, analysts are developing new open-source techniques that allow them to use aggregated data and indirect connections when they can’t directly access personal information. One of these techniques is to use group patterning.

With limited access, OSINT experts are now analyzing data collectively, studying groups or social networks to infer details about individuals. For example, if an investigator can’t view a suspect’s friends list, they might examine friends of friends to create a social map. This technique, called “group of interest” analysis, helps analysts uncover connections and interests based on mutual associations. This method can reveal hidden networks and potential threats even among private profiles, aligning with both regulatory requirements and investigative goals. Penlink’s tools support this kind of analysis by providing features that help investigators study indirect connections and group patterns while staying compliant with evolving data-privacy regulations.

OSINT’s Future in Digital Investigations

OSINT is evolving, becoming more complex and critical for digital investigations. With data from social media, the deep web, and the dark web, investigators need tools that merge these sources to create a complete picture. Platforms like Penlink’s Tangles help by gathering data from multiple sources into one place, so investigators can focus more on analyzing than on collecting data. The future of OSINT will require more than advanced tools. Investigators will need to keep learning and adapting to new data regulations and access limitations, and as technology advances, the balance between privacy and investigative power will continue to shift, demanding innovation and ethical responsibility alike. By leveraging the different layers of open-source intelligence, OSINT professionals can spot patterns, trace movements, and gather insights vital to public safety and national security, ensuring their investigations are both effective and respectful of privacy.

The future of law enforcement isn’t just digital—it’s intelligent.