Insights

What is OSINT training? Open source intelligence (OSINT) is the art and science of gathering intelligence from unclassified, publicly available — or open — sources. While these sources include offline resources like traditional mass media and directories, OSINT today is increasingly practiced online, making use of the ever-expanding wealth of user-generated content as new technologies […]

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is the collecting of unclassified, publicly available information for use in an intelligence context. It can be used by organizations to strengthen their intelligence production capabilities in investigatory work of all kinds, from enhanced due diligence screening to business risk analysis to criminal profiling and investigation. This blog post will cover the […]

In Isacov v Schwartzberg, 2018 ONSC 5933 (CanLII) the plaintiff sued the defendant for general damages in the amount of $1,000,000 and special damages in the amount of $2,000,000, after the defendant’s vehicle ran over the plaintiff’s right foot. The defendant’s counsel produced a private investigator’s report late in the process which included photos from […]

Video game consoles are an emerging source of information for civil and criminal OSINT analysts. When you remove the video games themselves, you are left with a communication tool and platform, as well as the ability in some instances to trade items of value. Many gaming platforms also operate as social networks as well. Games […]

There are dozens of social media tools that offer the ability to graph the connections between accounts, hashtags, shared URLs and other forms of content. These are very powerful tools that can help the analyst or the investigator quickly assess who is important in a network and where individuals or organizations may be located, and […]

Organised crime groups in cost Canadians an estimated five billion dollars a year in financial crime alone, according the the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada’s website. This includes everything from credit card fraud, money laundering and bookkeeping fraud, to exploiting legitimate investments or employing illegitimate investment ventures (e.g. Ponzi schemes). While the overlap between white collar […]

As an investment, training realizes some of the best returns that an organization, or an individual can earn. With the changing landscape that auditing, compliance, regulatory, intelligence and law enforcement professionals face, it is incumbent upon individuals and organizations to be prepared to meet the challenges in an actionable, convenient and cost effective way. If you are interested in […]

In preparation for a recent speaking engagement we came across a paper written for the journal “Studies in Intelligence” which is published by the Central Intelligence Agency called The Scope of FBIS and BBC Open-Source Media Coverage, 1979–2008, written by Kalev Leetaru. The paper examines the foreign language translation services of the Foreign Broadcast Information Service […]

The MacOdrum Library at Carleton University has an extensive catalogue of Canadian and international interactive maps which may be useful to OSINT research. From mapping hurricanes to municipal maps with interactive layers, this is an excellent place to begin geographic investigative research in Canada. The library also provides links to an extensive list of aerial photograph datasets from around […]

Players of first person shooter and other MMORPG games may wonder how they end up in which world (i.e. on which server in the game), how the game makers keep the play interesting for them,  how they are matched up with different players and more importantly how the games make money from free accounts on the […]