8 ms·

While it's not exactly a novel technique (I've read similar stories since the early 2010s at least), I'm continuously surprises by how much people are able to g

While it's not exactly a novel technique (I've read similar stories since the early 2010s at least), I'm continuously surprises by how much people are able to glean from inferences and online sources. The saga of the "he will not divide us" flag is particularly impressive.

def8cefe 6y ago
It's called OSINT and it's been around a lot longer than 2010.
- mikece 6y ago
  I'm not sure why 'def8cefe' is being voted down for pointing out the name of this process. OSINT is short for "open source intelligence" and the TL;DR is that only "open sources" (eg: not government/restricted datasets) are use to perform a digital investigation. Steve Rambam has given talks about digital investigations from the very beginning of the H.O.P.E. Conferences on this topic. In addition to law enforcement using this it's also used by private investigators or just amateur enthusiasts who team up to help solve missing children cases and track down info from other past cold cases or to even bust child trafficking rings. The skills natural to Hacker News readers makes me surprised there's not more general interest in OSINT here, especially defensive tactics to make sure we allow as little of our personal info to land in open datasets to feed OSINT investigations in the future.
  - def8cefe 6y ago
    There is interest in OSINT but my comment could be misconstrued as supportive of or normalizing LE practises so that upsets a very vocal interest group on the Internet.
    - mmm_grayons 6y ago
      I mean, I don't think even the internet nut-jobs support torching police cars... Edit: Ouch, looks like quite a few people here do. Do y'all really think that's the best way to effect social and political change? A minority of Americans screaming louder and using terrorism to vent their spleens won't solve the issue. In a democracy, everyone must focus on getting more people to vote for different policies to effect change.
      - def8cefe 6y ago
        Oh they do. I'm from the Toronto area and I remember quite well the G20 riots of 2010. People were applauding the arson of TPS cruisers on the Internet. There are almost 7 billion people on this planet and at least a third of them have Internet access. Any fringe opinion a person could have has been expressed at least once.
      - dx87 6y ago
        Depending on the reason for protest, police cars and government buildings are some of the only things it makes sense to burn down IMO. With the recent protests against police and government racism, for example, I'd understand them burning things belonging to the people oppressing them rather than stores and businesses that provide jobs and services for people in the area.
        mmm_grayons 6y ago
        I mean people are torching stuff in entirely different cities. It's not like they're torching chauvin's car then going home. Still illegal, but I guess I could understand the process behind that. Burning some cop car in Atlanta, what? That's just mob rage.
        malnourish 6y ago
        I think that dismisses the very real impact long term systemic racism has had. Additionally, a black man was just (allegedly, charges have been filed) murdered by the police after a a police officer shot him in the back and another stood on his shoulders while he was dying. There is justifiable outrage. I do not condone wanton destruction and arson, but disruptive protests work in a way that peaceful ones alone do not.
        mmm_grayons 6y ago
        No, they don't. They discredit the legitimate point that many state actors wantonly use excessive force in the minds of most Americans. Nobody will listen to proposals while he's worried about his things being destroyed. Nobody is going to vote for reform under the threat of having his business burned or his neighborhood terrorized. Using violence to achieve a political aim is terrorism, and will never achieve long-term social change. All it will do is prompt a backlash and close most Americans' minds to what is otherwise a legitimate grievance.
    - dvtrn 6y ago
      I’m gonna be the controversial voice who says anyone who misconstrues that specific previous comment as being supportive or normalizing unethical law enforcement practices probably is probably misconstruing willfully and intentionally.
    - A4ET8a8uTh0 6y ago
      For better or worse, those practices are already normalized. Average analyst at most FIs has good Google-fu skills and would likely be able to connect the dots as described in the article. I think you are right about HN bias in this area. Heavens know I don't like it the same way I don't like cop porn. That said, it is hard to argue with your point.
  - thatoneuser 6y ago
    I'm not versed in OSINT, but my strategy is to use as many alt accounts and throw out as much random/contradictory information as possible. They may know who I am and what I say, but my intentions are a blur at best. Deliberate obfuscation is the only solution.
- reaperducer 6y ago
  It's called OSINT and it's been around a lot longer than 2010. I listened to a 1940's episode of Dragnet a couple of days ago, and it was pretty much the same thing. Burglar was identified by photographs, his job, and a tattoo. This is just normal police work. People make a big deal out of it because it's "Cyber" this and "e" that.
  - taborj 6y ago
    Dragnet is good, but I much prefer Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
    - reaperducer 6y ago
      The man with the gold-plated expense account!
      - svieira 6y ago
        "action-packed" expense account, actually :-D
  - lukifer 6y ago
    Curiously, the term "cyber" originally referred not only to computing, but general issues of control and communication over large distances, particularly during wartime (encrypted radio messages and the like): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153954.The_Human_Use_of_Human_Beings https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153954.The_Human_Use_of_...
  - pmiller2 6y ago
    Not really. This is easier than "normal police work," because almost everybody carries a camera and a tracking device with them at all times now, and people can't resist posting things like that online.

def8cefe 6y ago

It's called OSINT and it's been around a lot longer than 2010.

mikece 6y ago
I'm not sure why 'def8cefe' is being voted down for pointing out the name of this process. OSINT is short for "open source intelligence" and the TL;DR is that only "open sources" (eg: not government/restricted datasets) are use to perform a digital investigation. Steve Rambam has given talks about digital investigations from the very beginning of the H.O.P.E. Conferences on this topic. In addition to law enforcement using this it's also used by private investigators or just amateur enthusiasts who team up to help solve missing children cases and track down info from other past cold cases or to even bust child trafficking rings. The skills natural to Hacker News readers makes me surprised there's not more general interest in OSINT here, especially defensive tactics to make sure we allow as little of our personal info to land in open datasets to feed OSINT investigations in the future.
- def8cefe 6y ago
  There is interest in OSINT but my comment could be misconstrued as supportive of or normalizing LE practises so that upsets a very vocal interest group on the Internet.
  - mmm_grayons 6y ago
    I mean, I don't think even the internet nut-jobs support torching police cars... Edit: Ouch, looks like quite a few people here do. Do y'all really think that's the best way to effect social and political change? A minority of Americans screaming louder and using terrorism to vent their spleens won't solve the issue. In a democracy, everyone must focus on getting more people to vote for different policies to effect change.
    - def8cefe 6y ago
      Oh they do. I'm from the Toronto area and I remember quite well the G20 riots of 2010. People were applauding the arson of TPS cruisers on the Internet. There are almost 7 billion people on this planet and at least a third of them have Internet access. Any fringe opinion a person could have has been expressed at least once.
    - dx87 6y ago
      Depending on the reason for protest, police cars and government buildings are some of the only things it makes sense to burn down IMO. With the recent protests against police and government racism, for example, I'd understand them burning things belonging to the people oppressing them rather than stores and businesses that provide jobs and services for people in the area.
      - mmm_grayons 6y ago
        I mean people are torching stuff in entirely different cities. It's not like they're torching chauvin's car then going home. Still illegal, but I guess I could understand the process behind that. Burning some cop car in Atlanta, what? That's just mob rage.
        malnourish 6y ago
        I think that dismisses the very real impact long term systemic racism has had. Additionally, a black man was just (allegedly, charges have been filed) murdered by the police after a a police officer shot him in the back and another stood on his shoulders while he was dying. There is justifiable outrage. I do not condone wanton destruction and arson, but disruptive protests work in a way that peaceful ones alone do not.
        mmm_grayons 6y ago
        No, they don't. They discredit the legitimate point that many state actors wantonly use excessive force in the minds of most Americans. Nobody will listen to proposals while he's worried about his things being destroyed. Nobody is going to vote for reform under the threat of having his business burned or his neighborhood terrorized. Using violence to achieve a political aim is terrorism, and will never achieve long-term social change. All it will do is prompt a backlash and close most Americans' minds to what is otherwise a legitimate grievance.
  - dvtrn 6y ago
    I’m gonna be the controversial voice who says anyone who misconstrues that specific previous comment as being supportive or normalizing unethical law enforcement practices probably is probably misconstruing willfully and intentionally.
  - A4ET8a8uTh0 6y ago
    For better or worse, those practices are already normalized. Average analyst at most FIs has good Google-fu skills and would likely be able to connect the dots as described in the article. I think you are right about HN bias in this area. Heavens know I don't like it the same way I don't like cop porn. That said, it is hard to argue with your point.
- thatoneuser 6y ago
  I'm not versed in OSINT, but my strategy is to use as many alt accounts and throw out as much random/contradictory information as possible. They may know who I am and what I say, but my intentions are a blur at best. Deliberate obfuscation is the only solution.
reaperducer 6y ago
It's called OSINT and it's been around a lot longer than 2010. I listened to a 1940's episode of Dragnet a couple of days ago, and it was pretty much the same thing. Burglar was identified by photographs, his job, and a tattoo. This is just normal police work. People make a big deal out of it because it's "Cyber" this and "e" that.
- taborj 6y ago
  Dragnet is good, but I much prefer Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
  - reaperducer 6y ago
    The man with the gold-plated expense account!
    - svieira 6y ago
      "action-packed" expense account, actually :-D
- lukifer 6y ago
  Curiously, the term "cyber" originally referred not only to computing, but general issues of control and communication over large distances, particularly during wartime (encrypted radio messages and the like): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153954.The_Human_Use_of_Human_Beings https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153954.The_Human_Use_of_...
- pmiller2 6y ago
  Not really. This is easier than "normal police work," because almost everybody carries a camera and a tracking device with them at all times now, and people can't resist posting things like that online.