The Internet Data Collection with the Google Hacking Tool – White, Grey or Black Open-Source Intelligence?

The article analyzes the potential of obtaining internet-based information techniques referring to as Google Hacking (GH), that is, the forwarding of Google search queries revealing data not available directly or whose acquisition is unauthorized for ethical reasons, legal reasons or both. Techniques of obtaining information by GH method have been divided into three groups. The first method of obtaining data that does not raise ethical and legal concerns is referred to as open-source, white intelligence, including the search for deleted and archived pages, search for some information about users and other substantive information. The second group of techniques (grey intelligence) – raising ethical concerns – included the acquisition of information left (unconsciously) by the authors and owners of websites, information about the structure of websites and the configuration parameters of www servers. The last group of techniques is the so-called black intelligence – illegal and mostly unethical acts. There subject of analysis was the potential of obtaining secured information, of sensitive personal data and configuration parameters of programs and devices. The text is complemented by the analysis of the possibilities of obtaining information through the FOCA (Fingerprinting Organizations with Collected Archives) program, used to automate GH queries, metadata harvesting oriented,