NeedleStack

Everyone is talking about using AI for OSINT, but what are the ethical considerations before you fire up your first chat? Before you start feeding a machine learning model your data and relying on it’s results, our guest from Fivecast tells us what you should consider. Key takeaways ChatGPT has built-in biases (just like humans) Understand the human toll behind machine learning How to use AI respo...

Wondering how to incorporate AI into your OSINT framework? We asked the CEO and founder of the popular training organization, OSINT Combine . Key takeaways How can OSINT researchers leverage generative AI? Tips for spotting disinformation in an AI world Teaching ChatGPT your company datasets

We’re handing the mic over to our friends at Talking Threat Intelligence , a podcast by LifeRaft today. On the show, they had our very own Daniel Ben-Chitrit on to discuss the security implications of ChatGPT, how it could be used by phishing scammers to up their skills and the safest way for OSINT researchers to prompt AI. Key takeaways Security implications of ChatGPT “A force multiplier” for ph...

We sit down with the author of the new OSINT reference book Deep Dive: Exploring the Real-world Value of Open Source Intelligence, Rae Baker. Baker is an expert in OSINT with an emphasis on maritime intelligence, analyzing vessels and ports around the world. In this episode, she shares tips from her book, blog and career, and we explore her one-of-a-kind OSINT training game, Kase Scenarios.

Not his real name, but there’s real fun to be had learning how JoseMonkey geolocates videos on his wildly popular TikTok channel. Hear the tools, techniques and process he uses to pinpoint even the trickiest videos, the wildest things he’s seen and how this supersleuth got into the GEOINT game.

We attended USGIF’s GEOINT Symposium so you don’t have to (but you should – it’s great). NeedleStack producers Aubrey and Shannon break down the geospatial intelligence conference (and its many, many acronyms) and the presence of OSINT on the floor, in keynotes and the Innovation Hub. If you’re an open-source researcher, tune in to understand what’s out there and how to leverage this adjacent INT.

In this episode, our guest brings more than 30 years of experience from the Department of Defense to the conversation. James A. Samuel, Jr. is now in the private sector working as an entrepreneur in the GEOINT space, using his military knowledge to create apps that use location data to protect safety.

As commercial satellites increase and technology advances, what does the future of geospatial intelligence look like? We ask our guest to explain the basics of GEOINT, where it’s headed and how other industries can utilize one of the most fascinating -INTs.

Abbi Dobbertin of Fivecast and Adam Huenke join the podcast to talk hot takes. As tradecraft and training leads, respectively, and years of OSINT practitioner experience between them, they’ve come to form opinions on some of OSINT’s more heated topics.

Producers Shannon and Aubrey attend the 2023 Symposium on Open Source, Social Media and National Security. They discuss highlights, panel topics and advice for people hoping to break into a career in OSINT, INFOSEC and NATSEC.

This week, a high school criminology teacher joins the podcast to discuss how teaching open-source research helped engage his students during distant learning. In the classroom, OSINT can show students the power of open-source information and serves as a cautionary tale for sharing personally identifiable information online.

Our guest is a former FBI investigator and current university professor who has tips for practitioners in every industry. From the protocol before you log on to conduct OSINT research to the resources and reporting, here are the tips for approaching your OSINT like law enforcement.

A founding member of the OSINT Curious Project joins us to give practical tips and advice for researchers. We discuss tools, tradecraft and trends with Micah Hoffman.

The president of the OSMOSIS Association and host of OSINT Cocktail, Cynthia Navarro, joins the podcast to discuss how creating a community of open-source researchers had allowed her to learn from others and hone her skills.

The times they are a’changing. Open-source intelligence was once the lesser celebrated branch and now makes up the bulk of analytical reporting. Our guest tells how the federal government is changing its views on OSINT.

The director of the soon-to-open Open-Source Intelligence Laboratory of University of Albany joins the podcast to discuss the definition of OSINT and how his students will research its effect on society.

It’s a new year and as researchers work to hit their goals, we want to revisit some of our most important advice for securely investigating online. It’s time to take stock of your security hygiene and revisit how your digital fingerprint may be getting in the way of finding the data you need.

Watch when Jack Rhysider of Darknet Diaries shares his amazement at what hackers will do “for a free burrito,” or the moment Rob Fuller, a read team and CTI director, condemns security awareness training. From journalists to OSINT investigators to dark web experts, here are some of the best moments we shared with guests last season.

Our second book club episode features essential reading for threat intelligence. New York Times reporter, Nicole Perloth, gives a history of the zero-day market and how it has changed the cyber weapons arms race. Learn how this market was created and what it means for future cyber defense.

This special edition of NeedleStack features a must-read for open-source researchers, We Are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins. Our producer Shannon discusses what she learned from the founder of Bellingcat’s tell-all and how researchers can learn from the organization’s practices.

In this episode, an expert OSINT practitioner from both government and private sector practices joins to share hands-on tips from in the field. He also shares what the students of Center for Intelligence and Research and Training are learning from their real-world client experiences.

Authoritarian regimes create propaganda and disinformation, in part, by blocking citizens’ access to traditional news sources. In this episode, co-founder of Samizdat Online, Yevgeny Simkin, walks us through how their program works in partnership with outlets to syndicate articles to bypass censorship in Russia and other countries — to get citizens and researchers the information they need.

Nick Hardinges from the Reuters fact-checking team joins the podcast to walk us through how to go about debunking information online, from deciding what’s worth covering to why grainy images should make you skeptical. Ultimately, fact-checking takes time, persistence and a healthy dose of intrigue. Key takeaways Know these telltale signs of doctored content Check your sources Do some digging on wh...

Social media and traditional media overlap now more than ever, with social media providing an opportunity to reach and resonate with new audiences – for better or worse. Rachel Baig knows this intersection well. As a social media journalist and trainer for Deutsche Welle, she knows the ins and outs of not only using social to identify a great story but also how to spot a fake one. In this episode,...

Fact-checkers’ biggest nemesis is the proliferation of disinformation in the digital age. Chris Paul joins the episode to talk about Russian propaganda and disinformation techniques. Why are they so effective? Is it skill or just an innate vulnerability for humans to want to believe what they see? Chris Paul walks us through his research from the technical to the psychological.