Open Source Intelligence a Cybersecurity Case Study

Technology offers several benefits to humanity. However, it has also become a critical point in terms of security and privacy for everyone. More and more people have access to the internet, generating a perfectly traceable digital footprint on the web. This work briefly exposes how any individual can find another using OSINT techniques and tools. The institutional website of the Salesian Technical University of Ecuador is used as a case study for the search for primary information. Different social networks are used as a complement in the information search. Society faces increasing cases of cyberbullying, scams, kidnappings, etc. Often, it is the individuals themselves who provide the necessary information for planning the attacks they fall victim to. This study seeks to raise awareness among individuals to responsibly manage the information they share publicly on the internet, thereby reducing the scope of malicious investigations. The new personal data protection law of Ecuador brings several changes in handling such data. The data shared on the institutional website and the current data policy are analyzed. Our main contribution is to demonstrate the easy access using OSINT tools to private information of any individual on a public website.