Training & Instruction
OSINT Training
Hands-on open-source intelligence training for investigators, agencies, legal teams and corporate security — taught by a SLED-licensed investigator and FAA Part 107 pilot.
AWDA delivers practical OSINT training built on real investigative casework — not just tool demos. Sessions run in person at our Anderson or Pickens offices, live online, or on-site as a custom program for your agency or company. A certificate of completion is provided, and training may qualify for SLED continuing-education credit — ask when you enroll.
Call (864) 437-8850 for current dates, pricing, and custom agency programs.
What we teach
Course Overview
This course trains students to plan, collect, verify, and report open-source intelligence (OSINT) using lawful, repeatable methods drawn from real investigative casework. Students progress from the intelligence cycle and legal framework through search, social media, people/records, technical, and geolocation disciplines, then integrate frameworks, operational security, and court-ready reporting in a hands-on capstone.
By the end of this course, students can:
- Apply the intelligence cycle to structure an open-source investigation end to end.
- Operate within South Carolina and federal legal and ethical limits for OSINT collection.
- Use advanced search, SOCMINT, people/records, technical, and GEOINT techniques to find and verify information.
- Correlate usernames, emails, and phone numbers to identify and confirm a subject.
- Maintain operational security and managed attribution to protect the investigator and the case.
- Produce a clean, court-admissible report with proper capture and chain of custody.
Curriculum — Core Modules
#2001 - OSINT Foundations, Law & Ethics
The intelligence cycle, source reliability, and the legal and ethical limits of open-source collection under South Carolina and federal law. Documentation standards from day one.
- Full-Day
- Core
#2002 - Advanced Search & Google Dorking
Search operators, vertical and specialized engines, cached and archived content, and building repeatable search strings that surface what basic queries miss.
- Half-Day
- Search
#2003 - Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT)
Platform-specific search and profile analysis across Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Reddit; monitoring, timelines, and network mapping.
- Full-Day
- SOCMINT
#2004 - People Search, Skip Tracing & Public Records
People-finder services, court, property, business and licensing records, and cross-verifying identities to confirm a subject and rule out false matches.
- Full-Day
- Investigations
#2005 - Identifiers — Username, Email & Phone
Enumerating accounts from a username, email or phone number; breach-data awareness; and correlating identifiers to a single person.
- Half-Day
- Correlation
#2006 - Domains, IP & Website Infrastructure
WHOIS, DNS, certificate transparency, passive reconnaissance, and reconstructing a site's history and ownership.
- Half-Day
- Technical
#2007 - Images, Faces & Geolocation (GEOINT)
Reverse-image search, EXIF metadata, facial-search tools, and chronolocation / geolocation from visual clues, satellite and street-level imagery.
- Full-Day
- GEOINT
#2008 - OSINT Frameworks & Automation
Hands-on with Maltego, SpiderFoot and Recon-ng; building link charts and automating collection while keeping results defensible.
- Full-Day
- Tooling
#2009 - OPSEC & Managed Attribution
Protecting the investigator: research accounts (sock puppets), network isolation, VPNs, and avoiding tipping off or attribution burn.
- Half-Day
- OPSEC
#2010 - Report Writing & Court-Admissible Evidence
Turning collection into a clean, defensible report — capture, preservation, chain of custody, and the basics of testifying to your findings.
- Full-Day
- Reporting
#2011 - Capstone — Live OSINT Exercise
A timed, scenario-based practical (CTF-style) where students collect, verify, and report against a realistic target set under instructor review.
- Full-Day
- Practical
Who Should Attend
Investigators & Legal
Private investigators, paralegals and attorneys building admissible open-source evidence for domestic, fraud, and civil matters.
Law Enforcement & Agencies
Officers, analysts and public-safety teams standing up or sharpening an OSINT capability, including SAR and threat assessment.
Corporate & Cyber
Security, HR, threat-intelligence and due-diligence teams vetting people, vendors and online risk.
Formats & What You Get
Delivery Options
In-person (Anderson / Pickens), live online, or on-site at your facility. Half-day, full-day, or a multi-day program combining the modules above.
Certificate & CE
Certificate of completion for every attendee. May count toward SLED continuing education — confirm at enrollment.
Toolkit & Support
Students leave with a working methodology, a repeatable checklist, and the curated OSINT Resources reference used in class.
Ethics & scope
All AWDA OSINT training emphasizes lawful, ethical collection under SLED licensing (#3112) and applicable law. Techniques are taught for legitimate investigative, security, and research use only.