OSIntOps News

20 Oct 2024 08:08

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - This Week's Meme

OSIntOps News

17 Oct 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-30 - sector035 - Search Grid

Link

Galen Reich created something I needed some time ago, but where I created a transparent image with a search grid as an image overlay, he created an online tool for it that can generate a custom grid in a KML file. It consists of loads of small squares you can click to go to, but that you can also colour to highlight certain search areas. An awesome addition to Google Earth Pro, and highly recommended. Thank you for this Galen!

OSIntOps News

16 Oct 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-30 - sector035 - Jason and Dragons

Link
Site

Carey Parker from the Podcast "Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast" talked with Jason Edison about open source intelligence, doxing, privacy and more. This is an interesting podcast that wasn't on my radar yet, focussed on security and privacy for 'non-techies', as Carey describes it.
Jason Edison on privacy and OSINT

OSIntOps News

15 Oct 2024 18:18

Google, Harvard, and more are offering FREE AI courses (no payment required)

Here are 8 FREE courses to master AI in 2024:


1. Google AI Courses

Google offers 5 different courses to learn generative AI from the ground up.

Start with an Introduction to AI and finish having a solid understanding of AI as a whole.

🦾 https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/paths/118


2. Microsoft AI Course

Microsoft offers an AI course that covers the basics and then more.

Start off with an introduction and continue through learning about neural networks and deep learning.

🦾 https://microsoft.github.io/AI-For-Beginners/


3. Introduction to AI with Python

Harvard University is offering a full 7-week course to explore the concepts and algorithms of AI.

Start with the technologies behind AI and end with knowledge of AI principles and machine learning libraries.

🦾 https://www.edx.org/learn/artificial-intelligence/harvard-university-cs50-s-introduction-to-artificial-intelligence-with-python


4. Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT

This 6 module course by Vanderbilt University offers beginners a starting point to writing better prompts.

Start by learning effective prompting and complete the course knowing how to bend ChatGPT to your will.

🦾 https://www.coursera.org/learn/prompt-engineering


5. ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Devs

OpenAI in collab with DeepLearning is offering this course taught by Isa Fulford and Andrew Ng.

Start off with best practices and finish with a better understanding of prompting with hands-on practice.

🦾 https://www.deeplearning.ai/short-courses/chatgpt-prompt-engineering-for-developers/


6. LLMOps

Google Cloud in collab with DeepLearning is offering this brand new course taught by Erwin Huizenga.

Go through the LLMOps pipeline of pre-processing training data and adapt a supervised tuning pipeline to train and deploy a custom LLM.

🦾 https://www.deeplearning.ai/short-courses/llmops/


7. Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics

In this 4 module course, the University of California - Davis covers big data and introduces IBM's Watson.

Start by learning about big data opportunities and end knowing the limitations of AI.

🦾 https://www.coursera.org/learn/big-data-ai-ethics


8. AI Applications and Prompt Engineering

edX has an introductory course on prompt engineering that goes beyond the basics.

Start by learning the basics and end knowing how to create your own applications.

🦾 https://www.edx.org/learn/computer-programming/edx-ai-applications-and-prompt-engineering


NB
Take Coursera courses without the trial: First, go to the course you want to take and click 'Enroll for free', then 'Audit the course'.
Note: You'll need to create an account to take courses, but won't need to pay anything.

By https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-storm-560360254/

OSIntOps News

15 Oct 2024 08:08

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - Opt-Out Podcast

Link
Website

This podcast isn't so much about OSINT, but it is about privacy, but contains some interesting topics. The latest episode is about the Proton Wallet, but I was especially interested in older episodes. Topics on privacy minded chat apps like SimpleX or Session, anonymous SIM cards, the i2p network or the search engine Startpage. They not only give ideas on new apps to discover and dive into, but also ideas to extend your searches during investigations. As we all know, within the digital realm people try to be invisible, or hard to find, so one needs to know what options are out there when we are looking for people. And a podcast that explain things about apps that are aimed at privacy, is a great way to learn more about exactly that!

OSIntOps News

14 Oct 2024 08:08

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - My OSINT Tools

Link
Webinar

I received a tip from Micah Hoffman that he and Griffin Glynn have been creating some really handy bookmarklets. Whether it is metadata in Instagram a hidden search option on a Facebook profile, or metadata within TikTok, they created a bookmarklet for it and it's free! No need to find hidden information by using some expensive tool, but straight within your own browser in your favourite VM!

OSIntOps News

13 Oct 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-30 - sector035 - This Week's Meme

OSIntOps News

12 Oct 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-29 - sector035 - urlDNA

Link
urldna/use-case-building-your-phishing-threat-hunting-query-library-with-urldna-io-0d86fc237bba">Blog

Last week I was notified by 0xtechrock about a new online service, called 'urlDNA'. It is an online platform is able to scan malicious or suspected phishing sites, and has a wide range of query options available. It can be used for brand monitoring, query on similar sites via favicons, screenshots, or infrastructure, and a lot more. It gives you an online sandbox and it can scrape new sites via their Python library. And the best part of all, it is all free!
This domain looks phishy indeed!

OSIntOps News

12 Oct 2024 12:22

Week in OSINT #2024-29 - sector035 - BigDomainData

LINK

Everybody knows Whoxy, when it comes to retrieving historical Whois information. And until some time ago there was DomainBigData, but sadly that has stopped operating. But while I was doing a research project on my own, I actually found a similar site. With BigDomainData, you have a large database of historical Whois data to your disposal. And even though Whois records are mostly redacted due to GDPR laws, it can still give an indication whether a domain name has been transferred or not, since usually the city and country are still visible. So when a long running domain name hasn't moved from the location after being redacted, you may actually have an indicator who the current owner is. And with this site, it isn't just historical records, but they also offer a reverse search on all sorts of Whois records too.

OSIntOps News

07 Sep 2024 20:04

The Guardian: Telegram to drop ‘people nearby’ feature and improve moderation
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/sep/06/telegram-to-drop-people-nearby-feature-and-improve-moderation

The chief executive of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has announced the messaging app will improve moderation on the platform and has removed some features that have been used for illegal activity.
The app’s founder unveiled the changes on Friday hours after calling his arrest by the French authorities last month “misguided”. Durov has since been charged with allegedly allowing criminal activity on the app.

OSIntOps News

19 Aug 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-27 - sector035 - Earthkit

GitHub
Link

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!

OSIntOps News

18 Aug 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-27 - sector035 - Meme

OSIntOps News

17 Aug 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - Opt-Out Podcast

Link
Website

This podcast isn't so much about OSINT, but it is about privacy, but contains some interesting topics. The latest episode is about the Proton Wallet, but I was especially interested in older episodes. Topics on privacy minded chat apps like SimpleX or Session, anonymous SIM cards, the i2p network or the search engine Startpage. They not only give ideas on new apps to discover and dive into, but also ideas to extend your searches during investigations. As we all know, within the digital realm people try to be invisible, or hard to find, so one needs to know what options are out there when we are looking for people. And a podcast that explain things about apps that are aimed at privacy, is a great way to learn more about exactly that!

OSIntOps News

15 Aug 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - My OSINT Tools

Link
Webinar

I received a tip from Micah Hoffman that he and Griffin Glynn [ ] have been creating some really handy bookmarklets. Whether it is metadata in Instagram a hidden search option on a Facebook profile, or metadata within TikTok, they created a bookmarklet for it and it's free! No need to find hidden information by using some expensive tool, but straight within your own browser in your favourite VM!

OSIntOps News

14 Aug 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - Phone Numbers

Link

Via a tweet by Cyb_detective, I discovered a page over on the web site of OH SHINT!. The page is dedicated to phone numbers, reverse searches, general phone books, and even has a few country phone books listed already. It is a work in progress, and this is something I have been wanting to do myself too some time ago. But when I still had my links on this website (no worries, they will come back!) I never was able to actually finish that section, dus to the sheer amount of online phone registers put there! Well done so far, and I am surely going to bookmark this link!

OSIntOps News

19 Oct 2024 08:08

H4X-Tools
link
Open source toolkit for scraping, OSINT and more.

OSIntOps News

17 Oct 2024 08:08

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - Phone Numbers

Link

Via a tweet by Cyb_detective I discovered a page over on the web site of OH SHINT!. The page is dedicated to phone numbers, reverse searches, general phone books, and even has a few country phone books listed already. It is a work in progress, and this is something I have been wanting to do myself too some time ago. But when I still had my links on this website (no worries, they will come back!) I never was able to actually finish that section, dus to the sheer amount of online phone registers put there! Well done so far, and I am surely going to bookmark this link!

OSIntOps News

16 Oct 2024 08:08

Week in OSINT #2024-31 - sector035 - OSINTlytics

Chrome extension

During my adventures on the internet, I discovered a new Chrome extension called 'OSINTlytics'. It adds a small context menu to your browser, that detects several different things, like:

- IP addresses
- MD5, SHA1, SHA256 hashes
- Domain names and URLs
- Windows error codes

Most investigators won't have a need to dive into Windows error codes, but to have a small context menu pop-up when you simply select an IP address or domain name, and it gives you a range of options to search on, is a welcome help. Sites like VirusTotal, VPNcheck or urlScan, and a collection of others lesser known sites from Thalos, Sucuri and Norton, will give a researcher a nice advantage to quickly dive into details.

OSIntOps News

15 Oct 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-30 - sector035 - Breadcrumbs.app

Link

There are several tools out there that offer apps to do crypto analysis, and most of them are extremely expensive then it comes to licensing. But now there is an alternative, and even in the higher price range it is still cheaper than some of its competitors: Breadcrumbs. The nice thing is, that even with the free version you are able to visualize actions on the blockchain, and still gives you a very nifty tool with lots of options for manual editing.

OSIntOps News

14 Oct 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-30 - sector035 - Intelligence Disciplines

link

Ritu Gill shared an article over at OSINT Team about all types of intelligence gathering, of which OSINT, or open source intelligence, is just one of the many. They explain different disciplines, and explain their use case, and have a short bit of history about each one. An interesting blog, for people that don't know about the different aspects of the intelligence community.

OSIntOps News

13 Oct 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-30 - sector035 - Mental Health

link

For the first topic, I simply quote the author Jochen Spangenberg:

This paper deals with those working on the digital frontline, namely journalists, researchers and investigators who view, evaluate, and potentially use digital content such as eyewitness media for their reporting. Viewing such content often also means being exposed to gruesome or disturbing material of all types. This can take its toll on the mental wellbeing of investigators.

His research paper isn't that long, and is absolutely well worth a read, whether you are new to the field of open source intelligence, or a seasoned investigator already. In the less than 20 pages, filled with references, he talks about the different types of trauma that can occur when doing this job. He also talks about how to be prepared, or little tricks to help coping with sensitive material, and of course about seeking help if needed, or hos to spot signs of someone that might be struggling with vicarious or secondary trauma.

It doesn't always have to be a gruesome scene from a war scenario that is triggering, because from personal experiences I can say that sometimes even a heart breaking story with non-lethal impact can trigger emotional responses. Whatever your area of expertise is, and no matter the type of stories you investigate, it is always possible to have strong emotional reactions during an investigation. So read up on this research paper, and take your time for it. Talk about it with staff, colleagues or others close to you, and use the tips for your own benefit.

And I would like to close this section off, with Jochen's own closing remarks:

Finally, it is hoped that this contribution succeeded in raising further awareness for the topic and, ideally, can help to avoid ‘learning it the hard way’ by providing some useful tips, advice, and resources before the (mental) damage is done to those deal-ing with potentially disturbing digital content.

OSIntOps News

13 Oct 2024 08:08

Week in OSINT #2024-29 - sector035 - Micah's Resources

link

Staying on the topic of DNA, this man has OSINT embedded in it I think! He has been a mentor for a lot of people over the years, and many have seen him teach SANS classes, or are enjoying his current online content. Micah Hoffman has developed multiple tools and techniques over the years, and on this page he shares them with you. Pretty much all of his resources have been featured in WiO before already, but for some this might all be new. So go over, and check out the free content, and do make sure to check out his course material too!

OSIntOps News

12 Oct 2024 13:13

Week in OSINT #2024-29 - sector035 - OSINT4All Start.me

LINK

This StartMe page is several years old already, but it is almost impossible to collect them all! So here is another one for you to have a look at, and see what resources are available in there. It is still being updates, with the last update around 2 months ago at the time of writing, and contains loads of different categories for you to explore. It is still a mystery to me why it was never featured though, since it has been the most visited StartMe page several times in the last few years. Time to continue this I think

OSIntOps News

09 Oct 2024 09:57

Fact check: How can I spot AI-generated images?
Joscha Weber | Kathrin Wesolowski | Thomas Sparrow

Link

Midjourney, DALL-E, DeepAI — images created with artificial intelligence tools are flooding social media. Some carry the risk of spreading false information. Which images are real and which are not? Here are a few tips.

OSIntOps News

06 Sep 2024 19:47

How to Analyze Facebook Posts Using AI
https://www.digitaldigging.org/p/how-to-analyze-facebook-posts-using
Uncovering the struggles of Russians Near the Finnish Border Using LLMs

OSIntOps News

18 Aug 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-27 - sector035 - OpSec Tip

Link

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...

OSIntOps News

17 Aug 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-27 - sector035 - AI & OSINT

Link

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!

OSIntOps News

15 Aug 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-27 - sector035 - OSINT book

Link

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!

OSIntOps News

14 Aug 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-29 - sector035 - urlDNA

Link
urldna/use-case-building-your-phishing-threat-hunting-query-library-with-urldna-io-0d86fc237bba">Blog

Last week I was notified by 0xtechrock about a new online service, called 'urlDNA'. It is an online platform is able to scan malicious or suspected phishing sites, and has a wide range of query options available. It can be used for brand monitoring, query on similar sites via favicons, screenshots, or infrastructure, and a lot more. It gives you an online sandbox and it can scrape new sites via their Python library. And the best part of all, it is all free!

OSIntOps News

13 Aug 2024 18:18

Week in OSINT #2024-29 - sector035 - Micah's Resources

Link

Staying on the topic of DNA, this man has OSINT embedded in it I think! He has been a mentor for a lot of people over the years, and many have seen him teach SANS classes, or are enjoying his current online content. Micah Hoffman has developed multiple tools and techniques over the years, and on this page he shares them with you. Pretty much all of his resources have been featured in WiO before already, but for some this might all be new. So go over, and check out the free content, and do make sure to check out his course material too!