Nico Dekens

Nico Dekens

Nico is a SANS Instructor for SEC497 Practical Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), the lead author for SEC587: Advanced Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Gathering and Analysis, the owner of Dutch Osint Guy Intelligence Services, and an all-round All Source Analyst with years of government experience. Before he became a SANS instructor, Nico helped set up the OSINT units within the Dutch Government. He has taught hundreds of police, tax, and military units to conduct OSINT research & analysis, and is a well-known keynote speaker who has given lectures about OSINT & cyber intelligence for governments in Europe and the United States. Nico has been honored by Head of Europol, the DHS, and NATO for his efforts in the OSINT field.

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Nico Dekens is the owner of Dutch Osint Guy Intelligence Services and an All Source Analyst who specializes in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), online Human Intelligence (HUMINT) and Online investigations. Nico eats, sleeps, and lives everything which has to do with OSINT, online investigations, intelligence gathering and analysis. He has over 20 years’ experience as an (all source) Intelligence Analyst in Dutch Law Enforcement. There, he analyzed murder cases, international narcotics cases, stolen art cases, gang violence cases, political disturbance cases. Investigated and analyzed online jihadist groups & conducted several online covert virtual HUMINT investigations.

Known online as @Dutch_OsintGuy, Nico is very active within the OSINT community. As the owner of Dutch Osint Guy Intelligence Services, Nico provides consultancy and training for Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), risk assessments, keynotes, security awareness, and implementation of structured team methodologies. He is also a co-founder of the OSINTCurio.us project.

Nico chose to be an OSINT Specialist and Cyber Intelligence Analyst because he wanted to help to make the world a safer place and because OSINT is one of the fastest fields in the cyber realm, with an ever-changing landscape. This helps him to remain in a constant state of learning and giving back what he’s learned to others who also want to make this (digital) world a safer place.

Before he became a SANS instructor, Nico helped set up the OSINT units within the Dutch Government as well as train and educate thousands of government employees on how to work in structured teams and perform excellent online investigations.

Nico is a SANS Instructor for SEC497 Practical Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and lead author of SEC587: Advanced Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Gathering and Analysis. As an instructor, he uses practical real-world examples as much as possible. “Being an instructor isn't one-way traffic; it is a dynamic process between the student and instructor” Nico says. He is also a faculty member of the SANS Technology Institute, an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and multiple winner of the National Cyber League competition. With all his OSINT and intelligence gathering and analysis experience that he brings to the table, Nico is able to share his unique experiences with his students on Open-Source Intelligence.

Among his biggest career highlights, he is proud of helping to stop terrorists from executing their attacks and stopping child predators. It’s his goal to keep the world safe and help those who are not able to defend themselves. Nico has had students come back to him years later, thanking him for techniques he taught them that played a role in their investigations.

Nico has been honored by Head of Europol, the DHS, and NATO for his efforts in the OSINT field. He’s received a letter of gratitude from the Dutch Military Cyber Intelligence and Cyber Defense department. He’s also been honored by Dutch Law Enforcement for his efforts in counter terrorism and online investigations.

Nico holds certifications as a Police Detective, Operational Intelligence Analyst, Tactical Intelligence Analyst, Strategical Intelligence Analyst, Open-Source Intelligence Analyst, Cyber Intelligence Tradecraft Professional, Online Counter Terrorism Specialist

Nico is the 2023 Open Source Intelligence Champion of the Year, presented by the OSMOSIS Institute. Nico is a typical gadget nerd. When he’s not teaching, he likes to play around and test new gadgets that are closely related to the cyber field. So Raspberry pi, esp8266, esp32, microbits, iot devices are things he likes to learn more about. He also likes to work-out and play basketball. He’s also a collector of unique sneakers.

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