Our weekly hack for those in the field doing the work & digging up critical intel.
The ability to uncover information on the internet is the primary skill of an online investigator. There are hundreds of thousands of surface, deep, and dark websites, but which are most pertinent to your unique case? Do you know how to utilize Google to its full potential? With new social media platforms coming online at a rapid pace, capturing leads and evidence in social media networks is more complex than ever. Do you know the latest tools of the trade?
Hg’s OSINT Tips of the week provides you with the latest intel how to be most effective in our tradecraft. We are always looking for new tools, so don’t hesitate to let us know if you have one you’d like reviewed in a future post!
Enjoy!
This week, our Timely Tips review three Twitter-focused, investigative tools that can help identify trending hashtags, collect intel on specific users and even visually define the connection between specified users. Come on, it’s time to dig in.
Cyber Investigations: www.trendsmap.com
Trendsmap shows the latest Twitter hashtags and topics trending on a global basis. Click on a hashtag anywhere on the map and explore what everyone in that locale is posting on that topic. Trendsmap is frequently updated, providing the latest information. However, one Trendsmap feature is the ability to span backwards (up to seven days) providing a history of what was trending on a specific date. While it’s a free tool, purchasing a Trendsmap subscription gives access to such features as seeing a greater trending history and creating alerts. Trendsmap is a resource for monitoring global awareness for traveling, or for risk or threat management.
Cyber Investigations: www.Tinfoleak.com
Need to collect detailed information about a Twitter user? Tinfoleak.com is one resource to use when researching a specific public profile. To run a report, enter the desired Twitter handle in the Search for Leaks search field, and provide your email address. An email will be sent to you containing a link to an in-depth dossier of the user, including basic information, the user’s devices and operating systems, additional social media profiles, frequent hashtags, user mentions, geolocations, and other useful information. Additionally, it provides the subject’s Twitter ID and date of account creation. When investigating, tinfoleak.com makes Twitter analytics that much easier.
Cyber Investigations: www.twiangulate.com
Looking to build a connection between two Twitter users, or locate specific accounts that are most followed by members of a group? Twiangulate is an online tool that can help. A Twitter account is required to access Twiangulate, but at free of charge. To search and get results, input the usernames or keywords into one of the four given tabs: Followed by, Followers of, Reach of, and Keywords. Once this is completed, an established connection can be determined. To see how these users are connected, email info@twiangulate.com to construct a network map. Through this, you will have a visual representation of the connections between your two accounts of interest.
Have an OSINT tip for us? Contact us, and we will consider reviewing it in future posts!
Like what you’re reading? Check out Hg’s monthly webinars!
Throughout the year, Hetherington Group offers monthly live webinars on current investigative tactics involving social networks, search engines, due diligence, the dark web, and other related topics. Participants should have some basic experience of the topic, as all programs are offered at an intermediate level, unless otherwise noted.
