CivInt Center

Intel Search

Open‑source discovery with CivInt’s custom Google Programmable Search Engine.

Smart Google Dorking for OSINT

"Dorking" means using precise search operators to surface relevant, publicly accessible information faster. For CivInt work, that means open‑source, lawful, ethical discovery only—respect site terms, robots.txt, privacy, and avoid targeting sensitive or non‑consensual data. Use the operators below to narrow scope, filter formats, and cite sources rigorously.

Core Operators

  • "example exact phrase" — force exact match
  • -example_term — exclude a word or phrase
  • OR — logical OR between terms
  • site:example.org — restrict to a domain or subdomain
  • filetype:pdf — restrict to a document format (pdf, xlsx, csv, pptx, txt)
  • intitle:term / inurl:term — require in page title / URL
  • .. — numeric range, e.g., 2020..2025
  • AROUND(n) — proximity search, e.g., flood AROUND(3) mitigation
  • before: / after: — date filters, e.g., after:2024-01-01
  • cache:example.org/page — Google’s cached copy (when available)
  • related:example.org — find similar sites

Scope & Jurisdiction

  • site:.gov / site:.edu / site:.org — sector scoping
  • site:*.delaware.gov — state‑level scoping with wildcard
  • site:example.org "press release" — official comms only
  • site:examplecity.gov intitle:"meeting minutes" — public meeting records

Document & Data Discovery

  • filetype:pdf policy — policy PDFs
  • filetype:xlsx budget — spreadsheets (budgets, schedules)
  • filetype:csv "open data" — machine‑readable data
  • intitle:"request for proposals" OR RFP — procurement
  • intitle:"after action report" — AARs / lessons learned
  • "public comment" site:.gov — regulatory input windows

Time & Updates

  • after:2025-01-01 — recent only
  • site:example.org (update OR revision) after:2024-06-01
  • intitle:"advisory" OR "bulletin" after:2024-10-01

People & Organizations (Public Context)

  • site:linkedin.com/in "Title" "Organization" — roles/titles (respect privacy)
  • site:example.org directory — staff directories on org sites
  • site:news.example.com "Organization" interview — media signals

Civic & Geo

  • site:*.gov "grant guidance" filetype:pdf
  • site:opendata.* (dataset OR geojson)
  • intitle:"capital improvement plan"
  • "hazard mitigation" filetype:pdf

Worked Examples (nondescript topic: community garden program)

Official PDFs
\"community garden\" program site:.gov filetype:pdf after:2022-01-01
Policy and program documents from government sources.
Budget / Grants
\"community garden\" (grant OR funding) filetype:xlsx site:.gov
Spreadsheet formats for awards, allocations, and schedules.
Meeting Minutes
site:*.city.gov intitle:\"meeting minutes\" \"community garden\"
Public deliberations and decisions.
Press/Advisories
site:state.example.gov (\"press release\" OR advisory) \"community garden\" after:2024-01-01
Recent updates and announcements; constrain by date.
Similar Sites
related:examplecity.gov \"community garden\"
Discover comparable programs for benchmarking.
Proximity (RFPs)
\"community\" AROUND(3) \"garden\" AROUND(5) (RFP OR \"request for proposals\") site:.gov
Find solicitations where key terms appear near each other.
Open Data Portals
site:opendata.* (garden OR \"urban agriculture\") (dataset OR csv OR geojson)
Machine-readable data for mapping and analysis.

Tip: Start broad, then narrow with site:, filetype:, and date filters. Save final URLs with dates for sourcing.