A Blockchain-Based Framework for OSINT Evidence Collection and Identification

The rapid advancement of social media and the exponential increase in online information have made open-source intelligence an essential component of modern criminal investigations. However, existing digital forensics standards mainly focus on evidence derived from controlled devices such as computers and mobile storage, providing limited guidance for social media–based intelligence. Evidence captured from online platforms is often volatile, editable, and difficult to verify, which raises doubts about its authenticity and admissibility in court. To address these challenges, this study proposes a systematic and legally compliant open-source intelligence framework aligned with digital forensics principles. The framework comprises five stages: identification, acquisition, authentication, preservation, and validation. By integrating blockchain-based notarization and image verification mechanisms into existing forensic workflows, the proposed system ensures data integrity, traceability, and authenticity. The implemented prototype demonstrates the feasibility of conducting reliable and legally compliant open-source intelligence investigations, providing law enforcement agencies with a standardized operational guideline for social media–based evidence collection.