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Sock puppet accounts are mainly known to those outside the information security field as accounts used for disinformation purposes, such as swaying your opinion about a topic or a product. However, this is not the only way to use a sock puppet account. In Hg’s Summer FactSheet, up-and-coming cybersecurity researcher Dakota State University Junior, Mariel Klosterman, describes how sock puppets are used by malicious actors and OSINT investigators, types of sock puppet accounts, and how to create a sock puppet for information collection. -
Across the Ocean - Business Due Diligence in the Republic of China
How does the well-informed investigator determine if a company located in the Republic of China is reputable and free from encumbrances? In this article you will be given a systematic account of the due diligence steps necessary to answer the above question. This article examines the steps, thought processes, and online resources necessary to achieve success with business due diligence in China. The objective of our investigation is to minimize monetary and reputational risks involved with a foreign business. -
Industry Sources for Every Investigator
One of the challenges with due diligence research is that the industry in which we are investigating is ever-changing. Each industry has its own publications, news, social media forums, and data collections. One example is the medical industry. Cardiologists have their own magazines, associations, and data producers, and you need to search within all those industry resources if you are conducting research on a cardiology group. Research gets tougher with unique occupations—such as waste management, philosophers, and DVR manufacturers. Each has its own panoply of information producers. This article focuses on the WHERE to find information, rather than the always important WHAT. -
The Business of Finding Business Assets Business assets can be held in many ways—and buried in even more ways. Among the many creative money management methods available, business assets can be legally held in a foreign country, as a corporate shell, or a personal trust. Assets can be liquid (cash or easily converted to cash), intangible (hard to find or evaluate), or hidden (tucked way not to be found). Typical assets controlled by a business include: Real Property; Personal Property; Investments and Trusts (Financial Assets); Intellectual Property; and Subsidiaries/Spin-offs. For those assets that can be located, a discussion of some practical search procedures follows. Each asset type is examined, with examples of how to search for and investigate them. what you pay for. -
Online Intelligence Tips for Forensic Accounting Investigations This past year Cynthia Hetherington had the privilege to address The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (https://cbvinstitute.com) on the topic of online and cyber investigation applications. CBV is intensely interested in work efficiency, excellent content, and the resources that can support those endeavors. Our session was a great success and was included in the CBV Journal of Business Valuation 2020 Edition. The following is an adaptation of the session and article, in hopes of providing beneficial knowledge to information professionals, accountants, researchers, and those cyber-curious truth seekers who, like CBV, value efficiency in their productivity. -
In Hg’s Spring FactSheet, Manager of Intelligence Dennis Maida and Analyst Thomas Fogle explore and analyze significant threat and risk concerns for the next 6-12 months; Ukraine/Russian War; U.S. midterm elections; the Great Resignation; supply chain; and COVID-19. Each one is unique, yet there is a connection between them all. -
On Your Trademark, Get Set, Go! In Hg’s Fall FactSheet, Senior Analyst and Trademark Expert Jake Pennington explores Trademark use and Hg's Trademark Investigations service further in depth. He covers first use, continuous use, and last use, identifying use in commerce, and types of trademarks. -
This past year Cynthia Hetherington had the privilege to address The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (https://cbvinstitute.com) on the topic of online and cyber investigation applications. CBV is intensely interested in work efficiency, excellent content, and the resources that can support those endeavors. Our session was a great success and was included in the CBV Journal of Business Valuation 2020 Edition. The following is an adaptation of the session and article, in hopes of providing beneficial knowledge to information professionals, accountants, researchers, and those cyber-curious truth seekers who, like CBV, value efficiency in their productivity.
