Monthly OSINT Round-Up (September 2024)
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Monthly OSINT Round-Up (September 2024)
A FREE Summary of Tradecraft Tips & Industry News from the OSINT World.
Welcome to the ninth edition of our 2024 monthly round-up!
Each month, we highlight the best of our weekly content, featuring OSINT tradecraft tips and industry news curated by our expert osint analysts.
We're very proud to publish a weekly newsletter that has consistently served our community without interruption for nearly 150 weeks!
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Previous Issues
September 2024 Highlights
Tip: Introducing Datawrapper for PowerPoint
Datawrapper, a popular tool for creating charts, maps, and tables, is now available as a free PowerPoint add-in.
Tip: Visually Researching Any Topics with Tree of Knowledge
Claudia T. shared how she quickly got up to speed with the topic of energy security supply chain risks using a new tool, called Tree of Knowledge.
Tip: The Role of Covert Research Accounts in OSINT
Raymond James Todd wrote an article for the UK OSINT Community that highlights the effectiveness of covert research accounts in OSINT investigations for intelligence gathering, while also addressing the ethical and legal challenges they pose.
Tip: NSA’s Role in Finding Osama bin Laden Explained
In this episode of No Such Podcast, NSA leaders explain how foreign signals intelligence (SIGINT) helped locate Osama bin Laden.
Tip: Ethical Responsibility in the Use of Intelligence Tradecraft
According to Cortney Weinbaum, intelligence officers have an ethical duty to choose and apply the right tradecraft, regardless of rank, affiliation, or status.
Tip: Introduction to Bellingcat's VK-URL Scraper Tool
In this How To... episode, Bellingcat's Data Scientist Tristan Lee introduces the VK-url scraper tool, which enables users to scrape videos, photos, and other data from the Russian social media platform VKontakte for analysis and archiving in research.
Tip: Smart Arabic Keyboard for Effortless Writing and Research
Yamli is a smart Arabic keyboard that predicts what you're trying to write. It’s an essential tool for anyone performing searches in Arabic using the Latin script without switching keyboards. This tip was shared by Skip S. on LinkedIn.
Tip: The Importance of OSINT Investigative Strategy
Written by the UK OSINT community, this piece highlights the importance of strategic planning, ethical practices, and structured investigations in OSINT.
Tip: Free Training Course on Data Cleaning and Harvesting for Investigations
This NEW and free course by the Basel Institute on Governance teaches essential Excel techniques for data cleaning and harvesting, helping you organise and analyse documents in various formats.
Tip: Bellingcat Launches New Online Investigations Toolkit for OSINT Researchers
Bellingcat introduced its new Online Investigations Toolkit to help open-source researchers find the right tools.
Tip: Exploring Psychological Factors in OSINT Investigations – New Blog Post by Nico Dekens aka The Dutch OSINT Guy
Nico Dekens' new blog post highlights the importance of considering psychological factors like emotions and peer pressure in OSINT investigations.
Tip: Global News Monitoring Tip
Nico Dekens shares another valuable tip: to stay ahead of breaking news and understand global events, visit allyoucanread.com.
Tip: Digitising Old Maps
Speed up your map digitisation process with Autocomplete by Bunting Labs. Using AI, you can trace entire features with just two clicks, making it faster and easier than manual digitisation.
Tip: What Are Hidden Services & How Do They Work?
Industry News
Audiovisual Generative AI and Conflict Resolution: Trends, Threats, and Mitigation Strategies
This report examines the growing impact of synthetic media and generative AI on the information landscape in conflict and violence, emphasising the need for evidence-based analysis to understand its implications for global security, conflict resolution, and peace processes over the next 2-3 years.
Book Update by Michael Bazzell: OSINT Techniques 11th Edition Coming Soon
Michael Bazzell has provided an update on the 11th Edition of OSINT Techniques, which is now over halfway completed and scheduled for release by January 1, 2025.
Source: https://inteltechniques.com/blog/2024/09/12/major-books-update/
RealmOne Appoints Jennifer Ewbank to Board of Advisors
RealmOne, a cybersecurity and intelligence solutions provider for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community, has appointed former CIA Deputy Director Jennifer Ewbank to its Board of Advisors, bringing her extensive expertise in digital innovation and national security.
Source: https://realmone.com/realm-one-appoints-jennifer-ewbank-to-board-of-advisors/
Meta bans Russian state media for 'foreign interference'
Meta has banned Russian state media outlets, including RT and Rossiya Segodnya, from its platforms for engaging in covert influence operations.
Telegram Enhances Search Filtering to Remove Unsafe Content
Telegram has announced a major change to its search functionality, with plans to actively filter out unsafe or illegal content. While this improves user safety, it may complicate efforts for OSINT, journalism, cybersecurity, and law enforcement professionals who rely on the platform for investigations, writes Telemetry Lab on LinkedIn.
ODNI Establishes National Security Data and Policy Institute in Partnership with the University of Virginia
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has partnered with the University of Virginia to establish the National Security Data and Policy Institute, aiming to advance the Intelligence Community's use of emerging technologies for data collection, analysis, and management to enhance national security efforts.
Source: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2024/4000-odni-pr-23
That’s it for this month!
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