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Talk Intermediate

The FOSS Side of Spying: How Hackers Use OSINT

Rejected
Session Description

This talk is a fast-paced, practical dive into how ethical hackers and researchers gather intelligence from publicly available data using completely open-source tools. From social media profiles to exposed APIs, GitHub leaks to Shodan results—OSINT is often the first step in any real-world hacking operations.

Participants will see how tools like Spiderfoot, theHarvester, GHunt, and Recon-ng help automate and scale intelligence gathering. We’ll also explore how developers accidentally leak secrets, and how open datasets are being weaponized by both attackers and defenders.

The session will highlight real-world examples, demo use cases, and give actionable insights for developers, students, and open-source contributors on how to protect their digital footprint.

Key Takeaways

  • A clear understanding of what OSINT is and why it matters

  • Overview of powerful open-source OSINT tools and frameworks

  • Real-world examples of how open data leads to compromise

  • How FOSS plays a critical role in both offense and defense

  • Practical tips to reduce your own or your project’s OSINT exposure

References

https://osintframework.com/

Session Categories

Knowledge Commons (Open Hardware, Open Science, Open Data etc.)
Which track are you applying for?
Main track

Speakers

Sanchay Singh Founder and SME Cybersecurity | Hackersvilla Cybersecurity Pvt Ltd

Sanchay Singh is the Founder of HackersVilla Community and CyberSangam Meetups, focused on advancing cybersecurity awareness and collaboration.

As a Corporate Trainer, he has delivered sessions for firms like Cognizant, KPMG, Deloitte, and EY, and has organized workshops at leading conferences and Universities including BSides and DEF CON, sharing insights on offensive security and cyber threats.
Sanchay Singh
https://instagram.com/sanchayofficial

Reviews

It would have been great if the author could have submitted a blog link or other resource apart from the official project url.

Reviewer #1 Not Sure

The talk focuses on explaining the OSINT framework which is essential for developers as well as an ethical hacker. This talk should focus demonstrate more practical and real world examples making it relevant for the community.

Reviewer #2 Approved

This talk doesn't seem to highlight FOSS in any significant way. While the topic is interesting and likely relevant to may, it doesn't seem to result in the strengthening/promoting of the FOSS ecosystem of India/the world. While many hacking tools are often FOSS, the users are not contributors to FOSS in anyway.

We are mostly rejecting talks on the mere use of FOSS project in preference for talks on the making and maintenance of FOSS projects, at least for India FOSS as we have limited slots at our national conference.

Reviewer #3 Rejected

Agreed with the other no review. I don't feel a demo of various tools (which is what the proposal looks like because of a lack of details) does not convince me to vote for this talk at a national level conference. Consider applying for a city level event?

Reviewer #4 Rejected