Not all intelligence lives on the surface. Some of the most valuable data is deliberately hidden – and some of it is hiding in plain sight, flowing through the roads around you.
This episode covers Issues 103 and 104 of The OSINT Newsletter and focuses on two distinct but complementary areas: understanding the Dark Web as an intelligence source, and using live traffic data and cameras to build real-time situational awareness.
In Episode 17 of The OSINT Podcast, host Jake Creps opens with a foundational primer on Dark Web intelligence – or DARKINT. He breaks down the difference between the surface, deep, and dark web, explains how onion browsers and hidden services work, and outlines what investigators are likely to encounter when they go looking: breach dumps, criminal forums, paste sites, and shared credentials.
Jake covers the key distinction between OSINT and DARKINT – all DARKINT is OSINT, but not all OSINT is DARKINT – and explains why investigators combine both to build a complete picture of a target. He also addresses the compliance considerations that come with handling data sourced from the shadowy side of the net.
The episode then shifts to something more grounded – literally. Jake walks through how live traffic data can be used to gain situational awareness around a specific location or event. Starting with familiar tools like Google Maps and Waze, he explains how investigators can layer incident data, traffic flow, and police sightings before moving into more technical territory: the MapQuest Traffic API, the unofficial Waze API, and how to fuse multiple data sources into a single, custom solution.
From there, Jake covers live traffic camera feeds – manual methods via Department of Transportation sites, and API-based options like Road511 and Vizzion that allow investigators to build scalable, multi-location monitoring pipelines. The episode closes with a look at an unexpected bonus data source: rideshare apps, and the real-time vehicle location data sitting inside their public-facing interfaces.
Highlights include:
🧅 Dark Web 101 – surface, deep, and dark web explained, how onion browsers and hidden services work, and why Dark Web users are like ogres.
🕵️ DARKINT Data Types – breach dumps, criminal forums, paste sites, and what each means for an OSINT investigation.
🚦 Live Traffic Intelligence – using Google Maps, Waze, MapQuest API, and the unofficial Waze API to monitor incidents, road closures, and traffic flow in areas of interest.
📹 Traffic Camera Feeds – how to aggregate live camera feeds manually and at scale using Road511, Vizzion, and scraping methods.
The best investigators know how to follow the data wherever it leads – even into the dark, or down the road. Episode 17 shows you how to do both.
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