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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. -
Open Source Searching with Maltego by Paterva
In this issue of Data2Know, read about the details of open source searching with Paterva’s software, Maltego, and the wide world of trademark searches and investigations through TESS. Here, we take you through Maltego and explain how to utilize it to your best advantage when trying to locate a subject online. -
Deciphering Large Company Ownership
Large companies become complicated quickly. The corporate tree is just that, a top-down view of companies and ownership. The corporate tree provides a clear understanding about the ultimate parent company. Publicly traded companies will have their corporate structures written in their annual reports. Even so, that information is not easily discerned. -
Inside Secrets of Media Research - Part 1
With 24 hour news, press releases, videos, interviews, Web releases, and company announcements, almost everyone seems to get his or her chance at 15 minutes of fame, and that translates into hours of saved research time. Researching news in databases, through paper indexes, or by instant alerts, is a skill that is different fro traditional investigations. Many investigators do not delve deep enough into the news for relevant stories or potential connections; yet the news is exactly where to find many leads. -
The Many Faces of Fraud
When it comes to fraud, investigators and law enforcement professionals know that there are more than Ponzi schemes and money laundering. -
BRB Publications.com Free Public Record Resources
As investigators, we are now enjoying the many years of development and slow progression as counties and states continue to add new databases. Investigators are wise to keep an eye for these latest releases. For the most part, these are free and valid resources that make our job easier. Visit BRBPublications.com to find the link to Free Public Record Searches - updated links outlining all the the public records you can imagine within the United States. -
Expert techniques for finding experts
For over a decade many have considered the word "expert" a dirty word. Once you start calling yourself an expert, other are waiting in the wings to knock you down a peg, However they do exist. Many individuals have spent their life focusing on an area of interest to which they can attribute advance education and contribution. -
Due Diligence with LexisNexis and WestLaw
The value of combining traditional media (e.g., news, journals, and the written word vs. social media) with online litigation searches is immeasurable. Case after case has been made thanks to finding articles with a mere mention of our subject referenced. Old court cases, no longer accessible from county Web sites—if ever they were available—can also be located. -
Acxiom and AboutTheData.com
Acxiom uses sophisticated business intelligence and marketing databases "to strengthen connections between businesses, individuals, and their partners." Further information on the Acxiom Web site states that they have "cutting-edge, data-oriented products and services that create better living values for their clients" -
Facebook Graph Searching
In this issue learn about how Facebook announced Graph Search, a Facebook-specific search engine which allows you to search all of the things people have shared with you. If your post is set to "public" that means that anyone can find it through a Facebook Graph Search. Facebook has been steadily making changes to privacy and security controls, including changes made to app permissions, untagging and removing photos, and adding privacy shortcuts in 2012. -
Due Diligence on the Politically Exposed Person
This article discusses the due diligence process using www.WorldCompliance.com, a robust database" of profiles of individuals and organizations that pose a potential risk to the financial system" per the Web site. -
But Wait - I Didn't Do It!
In the United States, all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Does this mean your mugshot is removed from the Internet once you are proven innocent? Sure, if you pay a fee. Or maybe it won't be removed...
