It is difficult to imagine a factor or investigator who would not regularly contact the list of OSINT tools selected by the Bellingcat team. Until 2018, it was a Google document, then Google Table, and from September 24, 2024 updated Tulkit Available on the GitBook platform. We tell you how it is arranged, what you can find in it and how to use it.
Programs and platforms appear and disappear, stop working, from free ones become paid, so the search for the necessary tool to solve a specific problem sometimes requires significant time. In 2022 and 2023 polls showed that up to 85% of surveyed investigators experienced difficulties in finding the necessary technical means. There are hundreds of programs and scripts and thousands of articles and collections that tell about them, but the completeness and relevance of instructions, as well as the effectiveness of decisions, are always in a big question-in order to maintain any list relevant, significant efforts and time are required.
From the very beginning, the task of Bellingcat’s Online Investigations Toolkit was to simplify the search for tools for online investigations. And now this task looks adequate, conveniently and efficiently solved. Including because for processing a document from Google Tables, 40 investigators were conducted in Gitbook and their wishes were taken into account, the most important thing of which is regular updates and relevance of information.
On the one hand, the new Tulkit is built according to the same compositional scheme as previous. As before, most of the tools included in the list are free and divided into the same basic categories: maps and satellites, geolocation, analysis of photos and videos, search for data about people and companies, transport, military conflicts, website analysis, archiving, etc. However, if in the table used for about six years, only the main functionality and distribution model (paid or free), in the format, in the format, in the format, in the format. GitBook Investigative programs, platforms and scripts are commented on in much more detail.
The page of each list of the list contains a link to the tool itself, information about the price, the level of use, system requirements, restrictions (for example, whether authorization is required), the presence of guides in different languages, known cases of application in investigations, information about the creator of the tool, about the availability or absence of advertising tracks. As well as an important block dedicated to the ethical aspect: if the use of a platform, program or script can cause any ethical issues (including issues of influence on energy consumption and ecology), this will be indicated in the description.
Not all tools are now accompanied by so detailed comments, but the GitHub community has already connected to work on the project. Among other things, this means that the Bellingcat Tullingcat will constantly actualize under the control of the “guardians” from the investigators' team itself.
Bellingcat GitBook also includes OSINT instructions, Hyde By safety and list useful mailings. All of the above makes it the most complete and affordable list of tools for online investigations in 2024.
