You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
GIAC (SANS)GIAC Open Source Intelligence (GOSI)
The GIAC Open Source Intelligence (GOSI) certification validates a practitioner's strong foundation in OSINT methodologies and frameworks. It signals your capability to provide actionable intelligence by efficiently collecting, processing, and analyzing vital information in a constantly changing field. GOSI holders are well-versed in data collection, reporting, and analysis of targets, making them valuable assets for incident response, investigations, and security operations.
Exam formatProctored exam
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryGIAC
Passing score69%
Free questions286
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What GIAC Open Source Intelligence (GOSI) proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
2domains
6objectives
46concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The GIAC Open Source Intelligence (GOSI) certification validates a practitioner's strong foundation in OSINT methodologies and frameworks. It signals your capability to provide actionable intelligence by efficiently collecting, processing, and analyzing vital information in a constantly changing field. GOSI certification holders are well-versed in data collection, reporting, and analysis of targets, making them valuable assets for incident response, investigations, and security operations.
GOSI covers open-source intelligence methodologies, data collection, analysis, and reporting, including harvesting data from the dark web and operational security fundamentals. The certification is designed for professionals who need to gather and analyze publicly available information to support investigations, threat intelligence, and risk mitigation. Earning GOSI demonstrates that you can turn raw data into actionable intelligence, a critical skill in today's information-rich environment.
Who it’s for
The GOSI certification is for professionals who need to collect, analyze, and report on open-source intelligence to support investigations and security operations. This includes cyber incident responders, digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) analysts, security analysts, penetration testers, social engineers, law enforcement and intelligence personnel, private investigators, insurance investigators, recruiters, human resources personnel, and researchers. If your role requires you to gather and analyze publicly available information to identify risks, support investigations, or make informed decisions, GOSI validates the skills you need to perform effectively.
Recommended experience
Practical work experience in cybersecurity or a related field is recommended to ensure mastery of the skills necessary for certification. College-level courses or self-paced study through other programs or materials may also meet the needs for mastery. Practical work experience in cybersecurity or a related field; College-level courses or self-paced study through other programs or materials
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective GIAC (SANS) measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
OSINT Fundamentals and Methodology
- OSINT Methodology
- Privacy and Operational Security Fundamentals
- Searching, Collecting, and Processing Data
Target Investigation and Infrastructure Analysis
- Investigating People
- Investigating Businesses
- Network Data and Infrastructure Analysis
On the day
The exam itself
Everything GIAC (SANS) publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationGIAC Open Source Intelligence (GOSI)
Exam formatProctored exam
Duration120 minutes
Questions75 questions
Passing score69%
DeliveryGIAC
LanguagesEnglish
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path GIAC (SANS) lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to GIAC Open Source Intelligence (GOSI)
Credential earnedGIAC Open Source Intelligence (GOSI) Certification Renewal and maintenance
GIAC certifications must be renewed every four years by earning 36 CPE credits or retaking the exam. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. GIAC (SANS) maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by GIAC (SANS)
Exam registration
Register for the exam through GIAC, GIAC (SANS)’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official GIAC (SANS) certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does GOSI relate to the GIAC Strategic OSINT Analyst (GSOA) certification?
GOSI is a Practitioner-level certification that validates a strong foundation in OSINT methodologies, while GSOA is a more advanced certification that demonstrates command of advanced skills and strategies for conducting open-source intelligence investigations. GSOA is a separate, higher-level credential.
Is there a hands-on or lab component in the GOSI exam?
The GOSI exam is a proctored exam consisting of 75 questions. It does not include a hands-on lab component like some other GIAC certifications that use CyberLive.
What is the retake policy for the GOSI exam?
GIAC does not publicly specify a retake policy for the GOSI exam. Candidates should refer to their GIAC account or contact GIAC for details on retake policies.
Can I earn CPE credits for the GOSI certification by taking other GIAC exams?
Yes, GIAC allows CPE credits for earning other certifications, including ISO-17024-accredited certifications. However, specific CPE credit amounts and categories should be verified in your GIAC dashboard.
What job roles does the GOSI certification map to?
GOSI is designed for cyber incident responders, DFIR analysts, security analysts, penetration testers, social engineers, law enforcement and intelligence personnel, private investigators, insurance investigators, recruiters, HR personnel, and researchers.
How soon are results available after taking the GOSI exam?
GIAC does not publicly specify the exact timing for score release. Candidates should refer to their GIAC account for score availability.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 286 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept GIAC (SANS) measures — each one written out.
2domains
6objectives
46concepts
61free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1OSINT Fundamentals and Methodology132 questions
2Target Investigation and Infrastructure Analysis154 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
OSINT Methodology10 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
50 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
286 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
286questions
61pages
6objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1OSINT Fundamentals and Methodology132 questions
2Target Investigation and Infrastructure Analysis154 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
46concepts
286free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from GIAC (SANS)
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
1official link
46concepts mapped
The source
GIAC (SANS)’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official GIAC (SANS) outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 6 objectives, 46 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When GIAC (SANS) changes the outline, this page changes with it.
6objectives on the outline→46concepts written→286free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.