The Weekly OSINT Newsletter - Issue 109 | New Year's Eve Edition
Your weekly digest of OSINT tradecraft tips, job opportunities, and industry news.
Welcome to this New Year’s Eve Edition!
We're excited to present this carefully curated summary of select tradecraft tips and industry insights to all of our subscribers!
As a token of our appreciation, paid subscribers will be granted access to our comprehensive knowledge archive, encompassing over two years of weekly tradecraft tips and industry news. Our Knowledge Archive is fully searchable and sortable, ensuring you can find the tips you need whenever you need them.
Additionally, we're thrilled to announce the private beta of our OSINT Jobs Market Analytics Platform (OJMAP) - exclusively for our paid subscribers.
This innovative tool is designed to aid your career planning by analyzing global job postings, giving insights into required qualifications, typical tasks, and competitive compensation rates for freelancers or salaried positions.
Upon completion of all tests, this platform will become publicly available, benefiting the entire OSINT community. Furthermore, we offer detailed analysis services for businesses seeking an in-depth understanding of the industry.
From everyone at osint-jobs.com, we wish you a Happy New Year and hope the year ahead brings you happiness, success, and prosperity!
OSINT 2023 Year in Review
Highlighting Tradecraft Tips & Major Industry Developments from January to December 2023.
January
Space-Imagery Firm Maxar to Go Private
Maxar Technologies, a publicly traded space company with a five-decade history and a focus on various space-related aspects, announced its acquisition by Advent International, a private equity firm.
OSINT Tutorial
Learn how to use these five tools in Google Earth Pro.
OSINT Resource
Access 600+ million court records in the US (now 740+ million as of 31 December 2023).
February
ChatGPT Used For Nefarious Purposes
Foreign states already using ChatGPT maliciously, UK IT leaders believe. According to a recent study by BlackBerry, which surveyed 500 IT decision makers in the UK, the majority of these leaders are of the opinion that foreign states are currently employing the ChatGPT chatbot for hostile activities against other countries.
Twitter API News
Starting February 9, Twitter will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead.
More from Twitter
Twitter announces that "Effective March 20, 2023, only Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to use text messages as their two-factor authentication method."
OSINT & Jan 6 Investigations
How OSINT powered the largest criminal investigation in US history.
Cyber OSINT
Check out this community-driven cyber-threat intelligence library.
OSINT Tools
Check out OSINTCombine's updated bookmark stack.
OSINT Tip
How to find the name linked to a Gmail address without notifying the person.
March
Article
CIA official ‘doesn’t envision’ chatbots replacing human analysts.
Alternative to Twitter
Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative Bluesky hits the App Store as an invite-only app.
National OSINT Day?
The US OSINT Foundation just designated 26 February as National #OSINT Day.
OSINT Tool
Check out this NEW tool + new data sets for researching the relationships between beneficial owners, sanctions and politicians.
End of The OSINT Curious Project
The OSINT Curious Project has come to an end. Read here the official announcement.
Guide for Analysts
How to Properly Prep, Analyse, and Conclude Investigations.
Twitter News
"Twitter’s new API access starts at $42,000 a month for 0.3% of Twitter’s data. "
April
OSINT Tip
Here are four great tips for using using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
Twitter News
Twitter launched their NEW Twitter API access tiers.
Europol Report
The criminal use of ChatGPT – a cautionary tale about large language models.
ChatGPT for Analysis
OSINT Tips
Investigating on Facebook? Check out these useful search formulas and recommended tools.
Twitter News
OSINT Tip
How to check if an email is registered on Discord.
May
OSINT Tip
Great resource when working with military uniforms in OSINT investigations.
OPSEC Guide
Basic guide on how to create a sock puppet account.
Video Recording
OSINT Panel on Army Modernization Efforts of the OSINT Discipline.
Twitter News
Twitter is currently in the process of suspending free Twitter API access for third-party developers, according to Botometer. How this will impact Botometer's services, read here.
OSINT Blog
OSINT Workflow with ChatGPT: Tips, Risks, and Benefits.
Report
Challenges to U.S. National Security and Competitiveness Posed by AI.
June
Cryptocurrency Investigation
How to investigate Ethereum? Check out this investigation mind map
Podcast
Optimising OSINT for the Intelligence Community.
Virtual Manipulation Brief
Generative AI and its implications for social media analysis (HT @i-intelligence).
OSINT Tip
How to view a LinkedIn account anonymously.
Report
European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend report 2023 (TE-SAT).
OSINT Resources
Bellingcat has been regularly updating their OSINT investigations toolkit. Check out the current version here.
July
Twitter News
Twitter will soon make you pay for TweetDeck.
Tutorial
Watch this webinar to learn more about using the dark web for intelligence gathering purposes.
Interactive Timeline
Tor and Beyond: Key Developments in the History of the Darknet.
Unmasking GhostEzra
How OSINT Investigators Reveal Hidden Identities.
Learning Excel
Being great at Excel is a valuable skill - not just for data analysis but also for OSINT. Here's how you can learn it for free!
August
Lecture
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) - Maturing the Discipline.
Google Privacy News
Google announced new and important features in Google Search to help you stay in control of your personal information, privacy and online safety.
Article
How the US is using open-source intel to track Russia's war in Ukraine.
Conflict Alert System Tutorial
Want to learn how to use ACLED's Conflict Alert System? Then check out this quick tutorial.
Audio OSINT
Using audio for open-source intelligence analysis.
OSINT News
Chinese military's expanding use of OSINT.
September
ChatGPT for OSINT
Tips, precautions and ethical considerations.
OPSEC Tip
Exercise caution when dealing with links on Discord, as the new Markdown Syntax can conceal the true nature of links upon initial inspection (HT @delta_sauce).
Verification Case Study
Learn how to verify and filter through media noise in the case of investigating the death of Prigozhin (HT @OSINT_Tactical).
Verifying Chinese Companies
Learn the basics of how to verify a Chinese company in this blog post by Asia Verify.
OSINT News
Army to treat OSINT as ‘intelligence discipline of first resort’ under new strategy.
Verification Tip
This website is a valuable resource for learning about verification workflows and tools, offering a structured path from choosing your digital media to the essential tools for verification. 🌐🔍 (DW Innovation Team).
October
OSINT Tip
Google recently enhanced its search capabilities by adding .csv files to the indexed file types, enabling users to utilize the 'filetype:' search operator for more comprehensive searches (HT Aleksandra Bielska).
Military OSINT
This comprehensive guide, titled 'Mastering Military OSINT,' is an informative resource for contemporary military intelligence analysts, providing valuable insights into the field of Military OSINT (HT @Gilad S, LinkedIn).
Democratizing justice
How open-source research is changing financial crime investigations. This blog post discusses the growing importance of open-source research methods in combating financial crimes. It highlights the benefits of open source research, including wide data access, real-time monitoring, cost-effectiveness, collaboration, and transparency.
Time Management Tips
A recent LinkedIn post offers a wealth of valuable tips and tools that can significantly enhance your time management skills, ensuring that you meet deadlines efficiently and maintain your productivity (HT @Rachel Turner).
Open-Source Intelligence Has Arrived
Signal News
No Evidence of Alleged Vulnerability and New Quantum-Resistant Protocol.
November
Essential Guide for War Crimes Investigation
A Comprehensive Resource for Experts and Novices Alike.
Free Handbook on Violent Extremism - Risk Assessment and Management
Highlighting this valuable resource for those working in this domain.
Understanding Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIRs) & Learning How To Use Them
Telerecon
A new and free Python-based tool for scraping and analysing Telegram data.
Twitter News
Twitter is rolling out AI-based See Similar Tweets Feature.
December
A Guide to Utilizing Breach Data for Advanced OSINT
Techjournalist's guide on "How to Use Breach Data for OSINT" is a deep dive into the often-underutilized potential of breach data available via the dark web or commercial providers.
OSINT News
BAE Systems hosts inaugural OSINT Foundation Awards.
Handling Traumatic Content - Internal Guides Made Public
Yandex News
Yandex NV could sell Russian assets all at once.
Generative AI as a Strategic Co-Pilot in Intelligence Analysis: Enhancing Human Expertise
This academic article dives into the role of generative AI in strategic intelligence analysis.
That’s it.
This concludes a brief overview of our 2023 highlights. For full access to all our content from 2023 and a rich archive of over two years' worth of detailed, weekly newsletters, consider upgrading your subscription.
Our esteemed paid subscribers will get exclusive access to our knowledge archive, filled with invaluable insights.
Moreover, they'll have the advantage of early access to the private beta of our OSINT Jobs Market Analytics Platform, a state-of-the-art resource to help the community understand what the market really needs.
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