Social Media Intelligence & OSINT-Based Suspect Profiling System Problem Statement In cybercrime and online investigations, individuals often operate across multiple social media platforms using different or reused identifiers such as usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, profile images, and shared content. These fragmented digital footprints make it difficult to accurately identify, correlate, and understand a person's online presence using a single source.
Design and develop a Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT) based system that enables the lawful collection, correlation, and analysis of publicly available social media and OSINT data to identify and link multiple online accounts belonging to the same individual. The system should assist investigators in discovering, correlating, and visualizing digital identities across platforms while maintaining transparency, traceability, and ethical boundaries.
Core Features Registration and Inputs
Secure user registration and authentication mechanism in Web. Access restrictions: only authorised users can create, view, or modify case profiles; sensitive outputs protected from unauthorised access. Input one or more subject identifiers: usernames/aliases, email addresses, phone numbers, profile URLs.
Identifier-Based SOCMINT Collection
Collect publicly accessible data from social media platforms, forums, blogs, comment sections, and open web sources. Analyse breach/leaked data references to identify exposed usernames, email-username associations, and linked platform references.
Cross-Platform Identity Correlation
Correlate accounts using reused/similar usernames, shared email/phone references, profile metadata, bio descriptions, and naming patterns. Reverse image analysis to find reused or visually similar profile photos. Post-content analysis to detect identical/similar posts, reposted media, captions, hashtags, links, and cross-platform narrative consistency.
Posting Behaviour Analysis
Posting frequency and activity volume; time-of-day and day-of-week patterns. Platform-specific behavioural differences; behavioural consistency/deviation across linked accounts. Sudden changes, gaps, or spikes that may indicate events or behavioural shifts.
Content and Keyword Analysis
Extract frequent keywords, hashtags, phrases/slogans; recurrent topics/themes/interests. Language and tone indicators (neutral, promotional, aggressive, persuasive, etc.). Content repetition patterns and cross-posting detection.
Public Interaction and Relationship Analysis
Followers/following, mutual connections, frequently engaged accounts (likes, comments, mentions, reposts). Reciprocal relationships, friend/associate networks, shared follower communities, cluster formation around the subject.
Visualisation and Reporting
Graph-based visualisation of linked accounts and identifier-based connections. Timeline view of activity across platforms. Structured SOCMINT report: identified accounts, correlation logic, open-source references, limitations and confidence notes.
Feasible Expectations at Student Level Secure registration/authentication in a web UI; case profile management. Working SOCMINT prototype using publicly accessible social media/OSINT sources. Basic suspect profiling by aggregating public data (posts, usernames, metadata, interactions). Simple identity correlation across platforms using common identifiers. Fundamental relationship/network graph visualization. Basic behavioural analysis (keyword frequency, sentiment, posting patterns). Searchable, structured OSINT dashboard and a basic investigation-style report.
References https://www.maltego.com/blog/everything-about-social-media-intelligence-socmint-and-investigations/ https://osintframework.com/ https://inteltechniques.com/tools/index.html https://app.osint.industries/
Note: The outlined expectations represent only the basic features. Students are encouraged to think creatively and develop innovative enhancements. Everything About Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT) and Investigat... In this article, we will walk you through everything you should know about social media intelligence and the best practices of conducting social media investigations. Everything About Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT) and Investigat... IntelTechniques Search Tool OSINT Industries OSINT Industries The Investigation Platform for Unmatched Accuracy & Real-time Data. The Leading OSINT Tools Built to Accelerate Your Investigations. OSINT Industries 🔒 Reminder: mentorship & doubts only — do NOT share code here. The hackathon is in person.