A Comparative Study of OSINT Automation Tools

Recently, the rapid increase in the volume of information due to advancements in internet technology has led to serious issues of personal and confidential information being stolen and misused in open-source environments.Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) involves collecting, processing, and delivering information gathered from public internet sources to users who require it.OSINT automation tools are specifically designed software or tools that aid in collecting and analyzing publicly available information.OSINT automation tools are predominantly used by security experts, cyber investigators, information analysts, and corporate security teams to detect and counteract cyber threats, primarily focusing on information gathering, data analysis, and threat detection.In this paper, the various functionalities and applications of OSINT automation tools are explored to enhance the efficiency of information collection and analysis through OSINT, and the limitations and areas for improvement in automation tools are identified to develop more effective information collection strategies.In particular, we plan to examine the characteristics of four automation tools that provide open-source data: TheHarvester, FOCA, Metagoofil, and Recon-NG.Additionally, the comparison results were aimed at developing future OSINT automation tools by conducting a detailed analysis and comparing the features, strengths, and weaknesses of OSINT automation tools that can be widely used.