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

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Preparation and Planning

Planning is essential to success in all intelligence and investigative collec-

tion. Exploitation of the vast quantities of data on the Internet potentially

relevant to any topic can be greatly enhanced by preparation, some of

which may consist of a group of queries from a list of URLs normally

used for the type of subject being searched (e.g., people, businesses), and

some preparation that will be done just before and during searching.

1

First, frame the question: What is known about the person, entity, or topic?

Next, the search should be based on the following:

• Nature of the data needed

• Purpose of the search (including potential uses of results)

• Best sources, including standard search ...