Internet Searches for Vetting, Investigations, and Open-Source Intelligence

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The Internet’s Potential

for Investigators and

Intelligence Officers

According to Merriam-Webster, the Internet is an electronic communica-

tions network that connects computer networks and organizational com-

puter facilities around the world.

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While the World Wide Web is dened

differently, the words Web and Net have become more or less synonymous

with the Internet. By design, the Internet is “public.” Incredible quanti-

ties of data on the Internet are available to anyone with a computer and a

browser. Some Web sites limit access to hosted data in various ways, and

some allow the individual posting information to invoke privacy restric-

tions on unauthorized access. If no limitations apply, posted information

is open to the public. Some ...