The OSINT Output Hosted by Tim and Chris

By Jay Heisler, Freelance Canadian Journalist

Nicole Hurey Bio (LinkedIn Profile) – Fifteen years in investigations taught me one thing: the truth is usually buried in the details most people skip over. I built my career working complex cases and learning how to spot patterns others miss. Today I bring that same mindset into open source intelligence. I am the founder of Paradox Index where I focus on structured OSINT analysis, digital investigations, and intelligence built entirely from public data. I also created The OSINT Vault, a workspace for organizing tools, workflows and research methods and I have personally developed five of the tools used within it. My work is about connecting small signals across the open web to uncover the bigger picture others overlook.

Can you say a bit about your work in the insurance industry and the OSINT applicability? No need to discuss the specific company if you prefer.

Absolutely. I’ve spent most of my career in the insurance industry, with a large portion of that focused on investigating fire and theft claims. Looking back, I was using OSINT long before I knew there was a term for it.

As far back as I can remember (and this is probably the core of why I love OSINT so much), I’ve always felt a need to know the truth. That’s one thing about me that I just can’t let go of. When something is off or something doesn’t feel right, I won’t stop until it makes sense. After handling enough claims, you start to recognize patterns. It’s not that you assume people are lying, it’s that you learn to pay attention to the inconsistencies, the missing pieces, and the details that get changed along the way and no longer make sense.

It’s wild to me that people will spend hours preparing what they’re going to tell an insurance company, but they don’t seem to think about what they’ve already posted online. I think some people assume that because their profile is private, nobody can see their content unless they’re friends with them. But it’s not exactly a secret that on certain platforms, photos, comments, tagged images, and other information can still be surfaced in different ways regardless of whether a profile is private.

I always thought that was common knowledge, but lately I’m starting to realize that the things I consider common or second nature aren’t so common. Apparently most people aren’t spending their time figuring out how to find information, connect dots, or identify people online when they don’t have a direct connection to them. To me, that’s just part of how my brain works, so I never really stopped to think that it might not be normal for everyone else.

For me, the most common vehicle theft claim is often the simplest version of a theft you can be given because it leaves a lot of room for unanswered questions. The story is usually that the vehicle was parked in the driveway overnight, there were no cameras, no witnesses, and nobody saw or heard anything. All the keys are accounted for, the police were notified as soon as the owner noticed it was missing, and there are no signs of broken glass or forced entry. On its face, that’s entirely possible.

But sometimes having an OSINT mindset can help uncover factual details that weren’t included in the original story. I’ve seen vehicles reported stolen that later appeared in family photos the owner was tagged in days after the reported theft. I’ve found supposedly stolen vehicles listed for sale online through nothing more than VIN research and open-source searches. In one case, I came across a local post describing a hit-and-run involving the same vehicle, at the same time and in the same area as a theft claim I was investigating, which gave me an entirely different direction to pursue.

The point isn’t that every claim is fraudulent. It’s that sometimes the missing piece isn’t hidden at all, it’s honestly sitting in plain sight online.

I think people tend to view investigations the way they’ve seen them portrayed in movies, with secret databases and highly specialized tools doing all the work. While there are certainly resources available in this field that most people don’t have access to, a lot of the answers are already out there for anyone willing to take the time to look.

Social media posts, marketplace listings, discussion forums, public records, and all the digital breadcrumbs people leave behind will, more times than not, provide a much more factual foundation than a recorded statement ever could.

I always say that if you know how to use it properly, OSINT at its core helps turn assumptions into facts.

Can you say a bit about the OSINT Vault and the response you’ve received so far?

The OSINT Vault wasn’t something I had planned. It originally started because I was looking for resources through various Start.me pages that were completely disorganized to say the least, a lot of the resources were outdated, hit 404’s, or paywalls and I got to the point where I said to myself, I’m just going to build one myself that I know I can rely on and use it as a quick reference when I needed it. But me never being able to leave well enough alone, I eventually turned it into a site and shared it publicly in case somebody else found it useful too.

That’s kind of how all the tools I’ve built came into play as well. They usually started because I needed something at the time and either couldn’t find it or couldn’t find a version that was actually being kept up to date, so I would just end up building it myself, usually while I needed it.

The OSINT Grid was the exception. That one definitely gave me a run for my money. I was overly confident I could get it completed in a week, and that clearly didn’t happen. It ended up taking months because I hand verifies every single source (nearly 5k). By the time I was done with it, I didn’t even need it anymore, but I can’t start something and not finish it. It’s just not who I am. I’m hoping I’ll need it again at some point because I’m pretty certain I’m still having nightmares of Maps and county lines.

Regarding the response, I’ll be quite honest with you, I don’t really follow up on it. My goal was never to get recognition or clout from it. It genuinely started as something I needed, and I just decided to share it.

I’ve gotten messages from people telling me they’re seeing it pop up in Telegram groups, which is funny because I’ve never even used Telegram, or that it’s being referenced alongside other sites, which is completely fine and flattering in a sense however I just don’t personally keep tabs on any of that because it’s not what I intended it for.

My focus has always been keeping it up to date. I usually go through everything at least a couple of times a week, and if I build a new tool, I’ll release it and hope it ends up being useful to somebody else too.

Can you say a bit about trying to break into OSINT circles on LinkedIn? You’ve had quite a bit of success.

I’m being honest when I say this question threw me off a little bit because I’ve never really thought about it that way. I’ve never viewed LinkedIn connections as some sort of measure of success, so it’s not something I’ve spent much time thinking about. There was never any strategic plan to get into any circle. Honestly, I don’t even like circles. I’ve never been one to follow a crowd.

I also don’t pay much attention to people’s acronyms, titles, or where they fall in whatever hierarchy exists. If anything, it’s quite the opposite. I’ve walked away from connections most people would fight to keep. Not because I’m better than them, but because their behavior didn’t match my values.

On some of my social media, my banner states: “But who are you when no one’s watching?” I mean that very literally. It’s not a metaphor, it’s not a poetic flourish, it’s not open to interpretation. It’s a direct question. The answer tells me far more about a person than any title, credential, or position ever could.

Some of my connections are people I’ve worked with either in person or virtually. Others came from getting to know people, testing their platforms either pre- or post-launch, and building relationships from there. Some of them came from tools they built that I happened to use myself.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a hidden secret to breaking into any type of circle. I like to think all of my connections are organic, whether I’m the one sending the request or they’re reaching out to me. Most of them came from genuine conversations, using someone’s tool, testing a platform, asking questions, and connecting with people who have that same no-BS, say-it-like-it-is mentality. I am who I am. I tend to be very direct, I don’t sugarcoat things, and I’m naturally drawn to people who are the same way.

I’m still not quite sure if I’m even in a circle, if I’m being honest.