Detective-giri on the Net, a fine science

On June 18 a video supposedly of an Indian Christian priest dancing with several women intimately went viral on social media leading to immediate flaring of tempers and opinions Two days later fact checkers confirmed that the people in the video were a Brazilian actor who entertains crowds at events dressed as a priest and his friend a Portuguese modelWhile the sheer number of provocative claims on social media are today stuff of daily routine the magic is in the way these are debunkedmdashwith careful and painstaking research In the case of the dancing priest what led to the truth was a reverse image search using a screenshot and searches on YouTube and Instagram to identify the people in itWhile use of information available in the public domain to verify unsubstantiated facts is protocol with the advent of the Internet this has now evolved into a fascinating science known as Open Source Intelligence or OSINTKalim Ahmed and Brijesh SinghThe evolution of OSINT lies in several major events of global historical significance According to an article published in The Intelligencer Journal Of US Intelligence Studies in 2013 the first documented example of OSINT was in 1947 Following Japanrsquos attack on Pearl Harbour the US government placed Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service a research initiative by Princeton University under the purview of the Central Intelligence Agency It was renamed the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service and tasked with scanning news media for information relevant to intelligence and espionage The practice was soon adopted by several countries and peaked during the Cold War with governments of several countries scrutinising thousands of news broadcasts globally every monthldquoOSINT began to be formalised during the Cold War era but it focused on openly available print and broadcast materialrdquo says Additional Director General of Police Brijesh Singh ldquoHowever it was with the advent of the Internet and its widespread use that the potential of OSINT was truly realised By the early 2000s with the exponential growth of digital data OSINT started gaining more recognition and evolved into the term and practice as we understand it todaymdashleveraging the Internet and digital resources for intelligence gatheringrdquoAn independent cyber expert and the first head of the statersquos cyber department Singh says that OSINT holds immense importance for law enforcement agencies in IndialdquoAs growth of Internet usage spikes exponentiallyrdquo says Singh who is currently posted as principal secretary to the chief minister ldquomore information than ever is available publicly and can be leveraged for investigative and predictive policing For criminal investigations OSINT can aid in collecting information about suspects their activities connections and even potential future actions It can assist in tracking down cybercriminals understanding their modus operandi and even predicting potential targetsrdquoSOCMINT or Social Media Intelligence an offshoot of OSINT that focuses on collection and analysis of data from social media platforms is already an important tool for law enforcement Take Twitter for example The right keywords can narrow your search down to pictures posted only from one location during a specific period of time Refine search parameters further and Twitter will show you responses to nothing but a particular accountGeolocation is a favourite among OSINT practitioners where one can confirm the place using minute details captured in one or a set of pictures ldquoConsider this scenariordquo says factchecker Kalim Ahmed ldquoa violent crime is secretly filmed on the outskirts of a village in a wartorn country You have a general idea of the district but lack specific details such as the exact spot time of the crime or season Geolocation proves invaluable in such investigationsrdquoHe breaks down the methodologyldquoAccumulate diverse video clips from various sources taken from different angles devices and quality carefully document visual details such as the mountains in the background vegetation ground markings visible trees or any distinctive structures Analyse the subjectsrsquo shadows for approximation of time Studying visible vegetation and considering climate conditions might help identify the season Eventually we use tools such as Google Earth to compare and match the collected visualsrdquoOSINT is now an accepted and recognised skill that even recruiters look for A quick search for it on LinkedIn throws up 588 results with job profiles ranging from cybersecurity analysis fraud detection vendor assessment and risk analysis for corporate firms Numerous private institutes in India now have beginners and advanced online courses for the skillldquoOSINT was always part of our work intuitivelyrdquo an independent auditor and consultant tells midday ldquoBut today we have tools that help us use the information found in open domain effectively Through OSINT we can get a sense of a particular entity be it a person or a company which approaches our clients and build an accurate picture of how risky it would be to associate with themrdquoTo the determined reader it can also be used to catching a cheating spouse1947The first time OSINT was officially used in a focused manner for intelligence gathering purposesOSINT in your toolboxGoogle dorks Advanced search operators that can be used to refine searches and find specific informationShodan Often described as the lsquosearch engine for everything elsersquo Shodan can suss out specific types of computers routers servers etc connected tothe InternetTweetDeck Arranges multiple timelines in one easy interface making it easy to follow hashtags and track social media activitiesHunchly Captures full web pages as you browse and can automatically collect and organise data for online investigationsEchosec Systems Platform Can access data from various social media platforms blogs news websites and other sources to give insight on potential threats or to gather evidencePhantomBuster Can automate data extraction from social media platforms such as LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram and others