{
  "schemaVersion": "1.0",
  "type": "note",
  "title": "Black Hat Prospecting: OSINT, Dorking, Breached Data, and how I learned to love the Surveillance State",
  "url": "https://opengtm.co.uk/notes/black-hat-prospecting-osint-dorking-breached-data-and-how-i",
  "author": {
    "name": "Oliver Longhurst",
    "type": "Person",
    "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-longhurst"
  },
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-29T11:23:08.972Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-08-21T04:13:52Z",
  "source": {
    "platform": "linkedin",
    "postId": "7488192387177951234",
    "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/posts/oliver-longhurst_black-hat-prospecting-osint-dorking-breached-activity-7488192387177951234-KLyS"
  },
  "excerpt": "Minority Report never won Tom Cruise an Oscar, but as an 8 year old it framed the old 'free will vs determinism' argument into a high octane sci fi thriller…",
  "body": "Minority Report never won Tom Cruise an Oscar, but as an 8 year old it framed the old 'free will vs determinism' argument into a high octane sci fi thriller that I'll still watch today. \n\n\"Precrime\" as a concept is fascinating. \n\nThe ability for 3 \"precogs\" to predict a murder before it happened, letting police stop a crime before it was even committed. \n\nNow stay with me. \n\nImagine the commercial equivalent. \n\n\"Prebuy\"\n\nThe ability for a vendor to know that a prospective customer is about to enter a buying cycle, before they raise their hand, visit a pricing page or speak to a competitor.\n\nBottle that, and you're the second trillionaire overnight. \n\n“Intent data” and “buying signals” are already attempts to approximate Prebuy.\n\nThey promise to identify which accounts are in market, what they may be researching and when a salesperson should make contact.\n\nBut what happens when GTM teams go further?\n\nWhat if they layer conventional intent data with OSINT, advanced search techniques, identity resolution, and even breached data, to construct a far more complete picture of the people behind an account?\n\nNot merely: Which company is preparing to buy?\n\nBut: Who inside that company is most likely to act, what might influence them and how can they be reached?\n\nWho would built it? \nWho would buy it? \nAnd perhaps more importantly, who would admit to using it?\n\nWelcome to the dystopian world of Black Hat Prospecting.  \n\nWhere the methods of investigators, intelligence analysts and hackers collide violently with the incentives driving modern sales."
}