Services · OSINT
OSINT incident inquiry: documenting a leak, an impersonation or a threat
A data leak is circulating, a fake account is impersonating your brand, an executive is receiving targeted threats. An OSINT inquiry establishes what happened using open sources: traceable collection, timeline, cautious attribution hypotheses. BEAROPS documents the facts rigorously and preserves the material, so that you can decide and, if necessary, refer the matter to the authorities. It applies the BEAROPS OSINT investigation method to a specific incident.
- Traceable collection
- Cautious attribution
- Sound legal framework
- In French or English
When should you launch an OSINT inquiry?
| Situation | What the investigation seeks to establish |
|---|---|
| Data leak | The origin, extent and spread of the exposed data |
| Brand impersonation or identity theft | Fake websites, fake accounts or fake profiles and how they are spread |
| Targeted threat | The context and credibility of a threat against the organisation or an executive |
| Disinformation campaign | The timeline and amplifiers of an attack on your reputation |
To reduce the risk of targeted threats against your executives upstream, see the executive exposure assessment .
A mandate defined before any collection
Collect, verify, reconstruct
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Scoping
Investigative question, mandate, scope, legal basis.
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Traceable collection
Gathering items from open sources, with time stamp and origin.
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Verification
Corroboration and consistency check of every item.
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Timeline
Reconstructing the facts over time.
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Cautious attribution
Graded hypotheses, never a categorical accusation.
Documented, preserved material
Every item retained is time-stamped, sourced and preserved in a traceable way, to protect its integrity. We document the chain of collection so that the items can be used by your legal advisers. Whether they are admissible before an authority or a court is for a lawyer or a judge to assess: we provide the material, not the legal characterisation.
What does an OSINT inquiry not do?
An OSINT investigation is limited to open sources: it replaces neither a judicial investigation nor action by the authorities. It does not claim certain attribution and does not guarantee completeness. It sheds light on a situation and documents facts, to support your decision and your next steps.
What do you receive at the end of the inquiry?
- A factual report: timeline, sourced items, reliability level.
- Attribution hypotheses, presented cautiously and graded.
- Items preserved in a traceable way, usable by your legal advisers.
- Recommendations: reporting, formal notice, filing a complaint, remediation.
Sources and references
Sources consulted on . Report an error: contact+site@bearops.fr
Frequently asked questions
Can an OSINT investigation be used as evidence in court?
We document and preserve items in a traceable, time-stamped way, to protect their integrity and make them usable by your legal advisers. Whether they are admissible before an authority or a court, however, is for a lawyer or a judge to assess, not for us.
Can you identify the author of a leak or a threat?
We put forward graded attribution hypotheses based on the items gathered, never a categorical accusation. OSINT sheds light and documents, but definitive identification and its legal characterisation are a matter for the competent authorities.
Is this service legally governed?
Yes. An investigation involving third parties is subject to a specific legal framework. We define the mandate, the purpose and the legal basis before any collection, use only open and lawful sources, and check the applicable regulatory framework case by case before committing.
Can you act urgently?
Yes, speed matters: some traces disappear quickly. From the first contact, we scope the investigative question and take the first steps to preserve the material, before it is altered or deleted.
Facing an incident? Document it quickly and properly
Describe the situation to a BEAROPS analyst. Together we scope the investigative question, the legal framework and the first steps to preserve the material.