Investigators from Bosnia and Herzegovina attend OSCE-supported Workshop on Using Open Source Intelligence for Criminal Investigations

Law enforcement representatives from the State Investigation and Protection Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended a five-day OSCE-supported online workshop on the use of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) for criminal and financial investigations, held from August 30 to September 3. Through practical and interactive sessions, participants gained knowledge on how to identify, gather and analyze quantitative and qualitative data that is publicly available on the internet.

Using open source intelligence in combating organized crime is key in identifying and preventing criminal groups from conducting operations online. This workshop provided participants with the necessary tools, resources and techniques on how to efficiently and effectively navigate public sources on the internet for intelligence on organized crime groups and their assets. Sessions on: planning an internet investigation; conducting basic and advanced web searching; capturing evidence; investigating digital images, websites and social media; and understanding the overall internet architecture were held. Each session was accompanied by exercises and a debrief where participants had the chance to put in practice their acquired knowledge.

The workshop was organized within the framework of OSCE’s Asset Recovery in South-Eastern Europe.  Participating States include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The project is financially supported by the United States, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.