FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 25, 2022 

Contact:

Kathleen R. McMorrow

The Communications Optic, LLC.

Phone: 973.665.8167

Email: kmcmorrow@tco-pr.com

Cynthia Hetherington Appoints Cynthia Navarro President

(Tampa, FL) The first-ever association for open source (OSINT) professionals was unveiled at the 8th Annual OSMOSISCon—the Open Source Skills-building Conference held at the Grand Hyatt in Tampa Bay, FL. Envisioned by Hg’s founder and president Cynthia Hetherington and Cynthia Navarro, principal of Finnegan’s Way and co-founder of the podcast OSINT Cocktail, OSMOSIS—the Association for OSINT Professionals aims to advance the profession of open source intelligence gathering and analysis; to support the interests and efforts of open source investigators, researchers, and analysts; and to serve the public good by supporting a network of global investigators working to make our world a safer place.

“It is an honor to have been chosen as the inaugural president of the OSMOSIS association,” stated Ms. Navarro. “Cynthia and I have been inspired and guided by the Institute’s Board of Advisors and trusted leaders in our industry to identify the needs of our global network and to establish the foundational tenets of community, innovation, and communication for our new association and its members.”

“It’s time to elevate this essential profession that has—until now—primarily worked for the public good behind closed doors,” stated Ms. Hetherington, MLS, MSM, CFE, CII. “The OSMOSIS association offers camaraderie and community to a vast network of open source professionals around the world. We invite experts, novices, and students of our field to come together and champion our indelible mark on society, while advancing our skills and tradecraft through rigorous professional development standards and an ironclad code of ethics.”

The Association hosted a booth at OSMOSISCon, where attendees learned more about the privileges and benefits of membership, registered as inaugural members for free, and met with other professional OSINTers. Next year, the Association will become the official host of OSMOSISCon, which annually brings hundreds of open source intelligence professionals together to learn, share, and network.

In 2023, the Association will launch its fully functioning website, which will serve as an online community for OSINT professionals. Continuing education opportunities, e-commerce, chat boards, and more will draw thousands of professionals together to advance the goal of making the world a safer place for all.

About OSMOSIS Institute

Founded by Cynthia Hetherington of Hetherington Group in 2015, the OSMOSIS Institute’s mission is to educate and train cyber intelligence investigators, researchers, reporters, and analysts on OSINT and SOCMINT techniques and best practices. To that end, we seek to foster professional growth in our community. We strive to inform professionals on how to protect personal privacy data and abide by national and international laws and ethics standards. To promote its mission, the Institute hosts the annual OSMOSIScon—the Open Source Skills-building Conference. Now in its 8th year, OSMOSIScon brings hundreds of cyber intelligence analysts together to learn, share, and network. Sessions dive into all open source techniques and skills related to exposing fraud, identifying geolocations, and cracking impenetrable leads.

About Cynthia Navarro, Principle, Finnegan’s Way

Ms. Navarro has been a business partner and Advisor to the Hetherington Group since 2000. She has worked in the area of investigations for over 35 years, most recently as Social Media Analyst and Recruiter at Digital Mountain, Inc. Ms. Navarro is the principle of Finnegan’s Way, an investigative consultation and training firm located in California. In this role, she managed both civil and criminal investigations and consulted worldwide, specializing in anti-piracy and business and intelligence backgrounds. Prior to Finnegan’s Way, Ms. Navarro held various management positions at several Silicon Valley firms. Throughout her career, Ms. Navarro has been responsible for managing business intelligence gathering, intellectual property theft investigations, interviews, cyber investigations, background investigations, and trainings. She has taught using the internet as an investigative tool and OSINT to thousands of law enforcement and corporate investigators worldwide. Ms. Navarro is the past president of the High Technology Crime Investigation Association and holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from California State University – East Bay and has her Private Investigator license through the state of California.

About Hetherington Group (Hg)

Hg is committed to sharing expertise, so the world can be a safer place. As a leader in open source intelligence gathering, it provides accredited training to industry professionals across the country. Hg offerings include seminar and webinar training in beginner, intermediate, and advanced internet and social media investigations; online ethics and best practices; online monitoring tools; fraud examinations; and open source intelligence searching. Annually, Hg staff train over 8,000 investigators, security professionals, attorneys, accountants, auditors, military intelligence professionals, and federal, state, and local agencies on best practices. Material is timely and actionable. Participants gain useful knowledge which can be used in the course of their own investigations. Hg is an NSA Center of Excellence grant recipient charged with developing and offering training opportunities at the U.S. Department of Defense and academic settings. Hg classes are ACFE, NASBA, DHS, LPF, SHRM, and ASIS approved for continuing professional education credits.