OSINT work needs clear legal and professional boundaries

Define Pacta’s actual service scope

OSINT describes research and verification methods using lawfully accessible sources. It may support documentation, monitoring, training or authorised technical assessment. The actual purpose of an assignment matters more than its tools. Research about individuals performed to defend another party’s interests can fall within a regulated framework in France.

Pacta Cyber Lab provides educational resources, software tools, IT services and technical reviews of authorised systems or environments. Alain Stevens no longer works as a private investigator and Pacta does not conduct named-person investigations for third parties. Assignments falling under regulated private investigation must be referred to appropriately authorised professionals. Article L.621-1 of the French Internal Security Code defines private investigation by its information-gathering purpose for third parties.

Practical checkpoints

• Document the technical scope and purpose in writing.
• Exclude named-person investigations for third parties.
• Minimise personal information collection and retention.
• Refer regulated investigative work to authorised professionals.

Data protection and proportionality

Personal data published online does not remove the need to assess lawful basis, purpose and processing conditions. Retention should be limited, access protected and unnecessary reuse avoided. This section is educational, not individual legal advice; sensitive or cross-border cases require advice appropriate to their circumstances.

This guide concerns technical analysis, prevention and documentation. Third-party systems require an authorised scope; Pacta does not offer named-person private investigations.

Continue exploring

• Turn open-source cyber monitoring into useful decisions
• Connect public digital exposure to real business risk
• Train teams to observe, verify and document
• Structure OSINT research around a specific technical question

View the full section index

French Internal Security Code, Article L.621-1 (official text)