Week in OSINT #2024-27

Week in OSINT #2024-27

book geolocation opsec overpass turbo osint osm ai
This week another small update from the world of open source investigations, with some free reading material to start with!

This week I start off with a free book, put together by researchers, that show the importance of open source information and investigation techniques. I haven't been able to read it in full yet, but I do encourage you to check it out and bookmark it for future reference. Further more I touch on the subject of AI, large language models, and how they are slowly shaping the world of investigations:

  • OSINT book
  • AI & OSINT
  • Earthkit
  • OpSec Tip

Tip: OSINT book

The book "Open Source Investigations in the Age of Google" isn't just any book about open source investigations that teaches you the ropes, but is a collection of chapters written by different authors. They contain case studies, go into detail about the role of open source investigations within the intelligence community or journalism, and show how it can be used to track human rights violations or nuclear weapons development. The publication is free to read online, and contains a wealth of information, also within the abundance of footnotes that are available. Thank you Dr. Olamide Samuel [] for sharing this on X!

Another must-read
Another must-read

Link: https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/...

Article: AI & OSINT

This article touches on the subject of where AI and LLM's can be beneficial within the world of open source investigations. Several years ago the techniques weren't really ready yet, but the rapid development of large language models, training sets and new algorithms, make it that the world of open source intelligence is shifting. Matt Edmondson [ ] described in what areas computers can help us out nowadays, and if we are able to solve crimes faster due to this, while still being able to independently verify the outcome, I am all for it!

You now how hard it is to find a suitable image?
You now how hard it is to find a suitable image?

Link: https://thehackernews.com/2024/07/...

Tool: Earthkit

Several weeks ago I was sent a link to the GitHub repo of "earthkit", after which I tried to get it up and running locally. I didn't have enough time to solve some bugs I encountered, and I left it for what it was. But when Cyb_detective [ ] mentioned it again last week, accompanied by a web-based version, I had to play with it again! This is a one-stop solution for geolocation tasks, and while it isn't perfect yet, it will be more than able to help you in some of the more tougher investigations out there, or get you somewhat close to a possible area. A really awesome tool that can only improve. Thank you Jett Chen [] for all your work!

Using GeoCLIP to guestimate an easy Quiztime challenge
Using GeoCLIP to guestimate an easy Quiztime challenge

GitHub: https://github.com/JettChenT/earthkit

Link: https://earthkit.app

Tip: OpSec Tip

A quick tip from Sinwindie [ ], about active investigation techniques that use pass resets to find information. It may seem harmless on your end, but have you tried these techniques on your own accounts recently? Have you checked that the target isn't being notified about it? Online platforms may change their policies about this overnight, and all of a sudden your seemingly harmless investigative technique can spook a high-value target. Be careful out there, stay passive, stay hidden...

Stay passive!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQQxTbsrUKM

FUNINT: This Week's Meme

Have a good week and have a good search!

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