Ebook
Exposing the Invisible: The Kit
Tactical Tech
A free, openly licensed investigation handbook for beginners and citizen investigators, from safety and evidence evaluation through dorking, web archiving, geolocation, company research, and interviewing. Method-first and still growing.
Tactical Tech's Kit opens with the line that you are already an investigator and builds from there: investigation essentials, online methods, fieldwork, deeper topics such as supply chains and disinformation networks, and how to communicate findings. It is online in four languages with a condensed PDF booklet, licensed CC BY-SA, and new guides have been added since launch.
Worth it if
- You are new and want method and safety before tools
- You are an activist, journalist, or researcher working outside big institutions
- You want material you can legally adapt for a workshop
Skip it if
- You want cyber or corporate-security OSINT
- You want a tool directory; it names tools only in passing
What is inside
- 01
Getting started and essentials
Safety first; what makes an investigation; evaluating evidence and sources; fact-checking basics; libraries and archives; collaboration and crowdsourcing.
- 02
Investigation methods
OSINT as an ocean of information; search smarter by dorking; retrieving and archiving websites; what is behind a website; maps; data acquisition; a step-by-step geolocation guide.
- 03
In the field
Interviews, managing sources, sensitive stories, bio-investigations, and gathering visual evidence.
- 04
Diving deeper
Ocean datasets, supply chains, signs and symbols, company research, thinking critically about maps, climate adaptation, and tracking disinformation networks.
- 05
Communicating and cases
Investigative writing, campaigns, and worked cases on social apps, data brokers, and political ads.
What you will be able to do
- Plan a small investigation safely and ethically
- Use search operators, web archives, and domain lookups with purpose
- Geolocate a photo following a written method
- Research a company's ownership and supply chain from open sources
How current it is
Launched in 2019 and extended since with guides on bio-investigations and disinformation networks. Individual guides carry dates; some tool mentions have aged. Tactical Tech is active.
- Updated
- Launched 2019; guides added through the 2020s
- Maintained
- Actively maintained
How to get the most from it
- 01
Read Safety First before anything else
The Kit is written for people who may be at risk, and the advice is good for everyone.
- 02
Do the geolocation guide with a Gralhix exercise
The method and the practice fit together.
- 03
Adapt it for your team
The share-alike licence allows it, as long as you share under the same terms.
Strengths
- Method and safety first
- Openly licensed
- Four languages
Limitations
- Beginner level
- Few tools named
- Not for cyber or corporate work
Pair it with
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is there a PDF?
A condensed booklet is linked from the site. The full Kit is online and larger than the booklet.
Who is it for?
Beginners and citizen investigators: activists, journalists, researchers, and anyone starting from zero.
Learned the method? Practise it on real data
The resources above teach the craft. When you want to run real lookups across breach, people, domain, and crypto sources without opening a dozen vendor accounts, that is what SearchIn is for.
- Free account, no card
- Credits never expire
- Refund unused balance in 7 days