OSINT Blog
The Lego Method: An Investigator's Process for Enhancing OSINT
My bewildered colleague, who wanted to observe a digital investigation, struggled to comprehend my focus on the Facebook profile of a seemingly unimportant woman. I found her by reversing the phone number of a current tenant living where the subject allegedly resided. However, no obvious links between the two individuals existed: major age gap,…
Continue Reading
Google Dorks for OSINT Investigations
Dorking is a technique that uses advanced search operators within Google Search and other search engines to find information. Primarily used to locate security holes in the configuration and computer code within websites, Dorks can also provide investigators with opportunities to enhance intelligence gathering during OSINT investigations.
Continue Reading
Crime Scripts: Interpreting Criminal Decision-Making to Disrupt Crime
To prevent and disrupt crime and disorder at scale, investigators are increasingly utilizing scientific approaches. Problem-oriented policing (POP) is an approach that involves using analytics to identify and understand a specific problem and develop a tailored response.
Continue Reading
Cryptocurrencies: The Evolution of Criminal Funds
In the absence of effective regulation, the criminal use of cryptocurrency is accelerating. Whilst the scale of the criminal use of cryptocurrencies is difficult to determine, it was estimated to be roughly $14 billion worth of transactions in 2021. $14 billion represents only a small share of the overall cryptocurrency market, however, this figure…
Continue Reading
The Intelligence Cycle: Generating OSINT from OSINF
The Intelligence Cycle is a structured process that outlines the steps involved in producing intelligence. Intelligence, most simply defined as information with added value, is the output of the intelligence cycle, where raw data and information flow into the process and emerge with value for the organization.
Continue Reading
Business Due Diligence: Understanding the Fake Agency Fraud Behind Madbird.
In 2020, the world went into lockdown. During this time, many people lost their jobs and many others began to work from home full-time. During this time, Madbird, a London-based digital design agency, hired roughly 50 remote employees worldwide for management, sales, and design positions. Job ads were posted internationally, promising sponsorship to…
Continue Reading
How Government Agencies Utilize OSINT
Intelligence-led government operations utilize reliable, relevant, timely, and actionable intelligence from the internet. OSINT enables government agencies to collect and analyze information from the internet relating to their criminal investigations, infrastructure and action planning, and tackling misinformation.
Continue Reading
Money Mules: How Organized Crime Groups Recruit Via Social Media For Money Laundering
When criminals profit from crime, they need to make their money look legitimate. Criminals avoid using their bank accounts to transfer their criminal funds directly as this would easily link them to their criminality. The criminals first want to move the money around to create a complicated trial. To do this, they launder the money, moving it around…
Continue Reading
Digital Policing: Conducting Internet Investigations in an Increasingly Digitized World
Technology plays a significant and central part in almost everything humans do. By the end of 2021, the number of internet users worldwide stood at roughly 4.9 billion people, almost two-thirds of the global population. The majority of people using the internet have no links to criminality and the protection of their right to privacy has always been,…
Continue Reading
Source Code: Investigating Websites Beneath the Surface
Source code is the programming language behind any web page or piece of software. Source code lies beneath the surface of a web page and contains embedded text, images, and videos. Source code can provide valuable insights to an investigator, providing a plethora of information hidden from public view.
Continue Reading