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Human trafficking is a growing worldwide problem. According to the International Labor Office in Geneva, the 2017 estimate of worldwide human trafficking was 40 million people, including 25 million victims of forced labor and 15 million victims of forced marriage. One in four of these victims are under the age of eighteen.   While the United States has a record of sustained efforts to investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking, […]

Ransomware and other malware attacks are on the rise. Criminals are constantly probing online systems to discover their vulnerabilities to hold systems hostage. Meanwhile, U.S. foreign adversaries are increasingly targeting assets in digitally accessible spaces to achieve their political goals.   Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is being used by both attackers and cyber security professionals to find ways to exploit critical systems […]

In IT, the word “metadata” basically refers primarily to the data behind the image, video or software application. Metadata implies data comprising of specific information that includes length, textual makeup, type, description, locational data, and other features or types of data that are used to either build or identify the element. Several types of hidden […]

The development of robust research questions is essential in guiding open-source information gathering efforts. Most information requests require focused thought and problem-solving to properly begin a disciplined approach to satisfying the requirement. With this in mind, it becomes essential to get intricate when forming a research question, and for businesses conducting open-source research for their […]

In research, while finding an area of interest is generally the first step, the next step is doing an in-depth search for related literature and research gaps.   Fortunately, there are several search resources available today. Academia.edu, launched in September 2008, offers an abundance of resources for researches. What does Academia.edu offer? Academia.edu is a web […]

The concept of live streams with webcams has been around since early 2000. Although live streams at the time do not come with present-day quality, it still had the potential to offer much more, and users globally are starting to realize its potential. Several users today desire fast streaming solutions, even with the growing popularity […]

Forensic imaging plays a vital role in computer forensics, with significant application in computer-aided analysis and investigative techniques. Forensic images come in bit-by-bit, sector-by-sector alongside other necessary details. Forensic images comprise visible files in the operating system as well as deleted files. The applications and analysis of forensic photos can be performed via specialized software. […]

Mind Maps are tools for the brain, which captures the thinking process inside the head. The mind-mapping process aids in thinking, creating ideas, collective knowledge, and remembering. Using mind maps would likely help you become a better thinker. It may be a little tasking to decide on the number of mind maps to use – […]

An essential part of any research is finding useful resources to support or improve your findings. And as we all know, research methods offer processes, strategies, and procedures for collecting data and evidence. As a part of your research, have you ever considered grey literature?  In the content below, we discuss grey literature and how […]

Practically every person makes use of Google or other similar search engines, but what most do not know is the capability of search engines to handle advanced queries. In the content below, we explore both Google Dorking and “Google Hacking” and discuss how they are useful. What is Google Dorking? A Google Dork query, sometimes […]

Making locating shooters by smartphone now possible, VERA is a new system that can accurately locate shooters based on video recordings from smartphones.

Since 1996, Wayback Machine has assembled over 400 billion web pages. And there is every possibility your favorite web page is already on a Wayback Machine. In general, if a website allows web crawlers and it is not blocked or passworded, you can archive them for future use.  Wayback Machine is a great resource for open source information collection and analysis and is heavily used by OSINT professionals.  What is Wayback Machine […]

Searching the web is taking a new approach especially in the Internet of Things (IoT) search engines and devices. Discover IoT's new frontier with Thingful.

Privacy browsing tools galore: will they really protect your anonymity when conducting business-critical research? We explore how to stay anonymous online.

Data visualization tools create and deliver visual designs for data. We discuss advantages to data visualization and our tool, the Sentinel Visualizer.

More than 350 ethical hackers got together in cities across Australia on Friday for a hackathon in which they worked to “cyber trace a missing face”, in the first-ever standalone capture-the-flag (CtF) event devoted to finding missing persons. Similar CtFs have been held before, alongside conferences such as DEF CON and B-Sides, but this was […]

OSINT and Money Laundering Let’s take a look at OSINT and Money Laundering. With social media websites and cyber-related intelligence which has given rise to an unprecedented volume of intelligence at one’s fingertips, the internet is an ocean of data that can significantly assist to crack money laundering and terror financing investigations. AML_CTF Investigations Over the last […]

Why did a state plane fly to New Mexico and back? A LearJet owned by the Kentucky State Police flew to Albuquerque on Sunday, stayed for a little over an hour, then flew back to Lexington. Why? For some time, news organizations across the state have been asking the Bevin administration to account for the […]

How Social Media Can Ruin Your Reputation Whether it comes from hackers, disgruntled customers, or is simply a backlash against something you post, negative social media content can destroy trust in your brand in a matter of minutes. “Social media is the most immediate threat to your company’s reputation,” says Pete Knott, digital consultant at […]

Social Engineering: 3 Ways Criminals Can Get Your Data When we hear social engineering, we immediately think phishing. Those of us in the industry may also think about vishing, dumpster diving, or the SECTF held at DEFCON and DerbyCon. Whether you are technically inclined or not, you are probably familiar with the “Nigerian Prince” or […]

Digital Footprints and OSINT When we talk about the work of gathering intelligence and erasing digital footprints, most people conjure the image of a James Bond-esque spy, infiltrating an enemy organization under an assumed identity. But there’s another kind of intelligence gathering, just as important to commercial, military, diplomatic and political operations: open-source intelligence, or […]

After the attacks on London bridge, Londoners rallied on Twitter using the hashtag #SofaForLondon, offering their sofas, and spare rooms to residents without homes. During Hurricane Harvey, hashtags like #sosHarvey were used to call for civilian helpers when phone lines were down. The world turned to social media to grieve, lend a hand and show […]

Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle has been taking heat through social media since her relationship with Prince Harry went public in 2016. Things were so bad that the prince ended up issuing an official statement condemning the “wave of abuse and harassment” she experienced. Markle apparently isn’t the only member of the Royal Family who gets hounded […]

The importance of social media intelligence doesn’t lie in the business world only, the government deployed a new division in the fight that is waging in Social Media. “We need to develop our asymmetric edge and bring focus to the orchestration of intelligence, information operations, cyber, electronic warfare and unconventional warfare,” Lieutenant General Ivan Jones, the […]