Billy Bostickson 🏴👁&👁 🆓 @BillyBostickson

12 Jun • 49 tweets • BillyBostickson/status/1271411411336359936

1/2 Tools and guides to conduct online investigations

1. Google Earth 3D

How To Use Google Earth's Three Dimensional View: Feat. Syria, Yeme…
It has become abundantly clear that geolocation and remote sensing is fundamental
to knowing what happens in conflict areas where it is often too dangerous for
journalists, observers and analysts to …

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/03/05/how-to-use-google-earths-th…

2. Reverse Image Search

Guide To Using Reverse Image Search For Investigations - bellingcat

Reverse image search is one of the most well-known and easiest digital
investigative techniques, with two-click functionality of choosing “Search Google for
image” in many web browsers. This method h…

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/12/26/guide-to-using-reverse-imag…

3. Flight Tracking
 A Beginner's Guide To Flight Tracking - bellingcat
Flight tracking is an accessible and useful tool for open source investigators. Being
able to track the movements of aircraft belonging to powerful individuals and armed
forces can add important deta…

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/10/15/a-beginners-guide-to-flight-tr…

4. Linkedin Research

Bellingcat’s Invitation Is Waiting For Your Response: An Investigative …

Whether you’re investigating a company purporting to have damning information on
Robert Mueller or conducting research on anti-Islamic State foreign fighters in Iraq
and Syria, LinkedIn can serve as …

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/03/21/bellingcats-invitation-is-waiti…

2/2 Tools and guides to conduct online investigations

5. Phone Contact Book Apps

Using Phone Contact Book Apps For Digital Research - bellingcat

Popular apps such as TrueCaller or GetContact advertise the ability to see who is
really calling you, even if you do not know the number, and alert the app user of
spam or scam calls. However, the wa…

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/04/08/using-phone-contact-book-a…

6. How To Track Illegal Funding Campaigns Via Cryptocurrency

 How To Track Illegal Funding Campaigns Via Cryptocurrency - bellingcat

After posting a tutorial on tracking GRU agents’ bitcoin (BTC) transactions, I’ve
received numerous responses asking how to find out even more. I aim to please,
so I’ve put together another tutorial …

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/03/26/how-to-track-illegal-funding-…

7. TweetDeck Research

The Most Comprehensive TweetDeck Research Guide In Existence (Pr…

To some researchers, TweetDeck might seem superfluous in a world where Twitter
Advanced Search exists. The platform would appear to be just a prettier version of
what you are already doing through Tw…

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/06/21/the-most-comprehensive-tw…

8. Photographs

Dali, Warhol, Boshirov: Determining the Time of an Alleged Photograp…

On 11 October 2014, a Facebook profile to a person named “Ruslan Boshirov” —
the cover identity of Skripal poisoner Anatoliy Chepiga — posted a lone photograph
of Prague, showing the heavily traffick…

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2018/10/24/dali-warhol-boshirov-determ…

Tools and guides to conduct online investigations

Open Source Intelligence/Investigation
Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit
 INACTIVE. NEW LINK: bit.ly/bcattools
Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit THE BELLINGCAT TOOLKIT HAS MOVED
TO bit.ly/bcattools Welcome to Bellingcat’s freely available online open source
investigation toolkit. You can follow our w…

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BfLPJpRtyq4RFtHJoNpvWQjmGnyVkfE2HYoIC…

OPEN SOURCE INTELLIGENCE

TOOLS AND RESOURCES HANDBOOK (2018)
https://www.i-intelligence.eu/wp-
content/uploads/2018/06/OSINT_Handbook_June-2018_Final.pdf

4/x Tools and guides to conduct online investigations

Recommended Reading:
https://www.i-intelligence.eu/wp-
content/uploads/2016/11/Recommended_Readings_May_2015.pdf
A Taxonomy of OSINT Sources
https://www.i-intelligence.eu/resources/taxonomy/
Newsletter OSINT:
https://www.i-intelligence.eu/resources/newsletter/
Tools and Resources Handbook 2016:
https://www.i-intelligence.eu/wp-
content/uploads/2016/11/2016_November_Open-Source-Intelligence-Tools-and-
Resources-Handbook.pdf

5/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

The Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) toolkit is result of crowdsourcing by OSINT
community members on GitHub.

OSINT - Open Source Intelligence Toolkit - 100's of useful tools

OSINT toolkit is derived from i-intelligence’s OSINT Tools and Resources
Handbook - 100's of useful links and tools for researchers

https://www.andyblackassociates.co.uk/resources-andy-black-associates/osint-toolkit/
When you first see a list of tools like this, you probably think, blimey! where do I
start?

6/ x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

The key is to build a workflow that uses a mix of tools and techniques to achieve a
required outcome. This excellent guide will help beginners to learn & experienced
OSINT hackers to discover new tricks
https://www.randhome.io/blog/2019/01/05/2019-osint-guide/

7/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

Sample Investigation listing tools used:

Here Are The Tools And Methods We Used To Map A Macedonian Fake…
Sherlock Holmes had his magnifying glass. Hercule Poirot relied on his "little grey
cells". But the 21st century internet detective...

https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2019/01/here-are-the-tools-and-methods-we-used-to…

8/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

The Open Source Intelligence resource discovery toolkit
rr.reuser.biz
Useful, but not much on China though.

9/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

Old School US Army Manual:
fmi 2-22-9
https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fmi2-22-9.pdf
and atp 2-22-9
https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/atp2-22-9.pdf

10/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Link Directory (171 pages)
https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/attach/10/10459_Open%20Source%20In.pdf

11/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

A measly 6 page introduction from NATO
http://www.jwc.nato.int/images/stories/threeswords/OSINT.pdf

12/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

Chinese Real Estate – OSINT Analysis (Big Data)
https://semantic-visions.com/chinese-real-estate-osint-analysis/
PDF
https://semantic-visions.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Semantic-Visions-
China-Real-Estate_v4.pdf

13/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

OPEN SOURCE INTELLIGENCE navigator for investigative journalists
(mainly financial fraud & corruption via Western Balkans to aid to the global agenda
of fighting illicit financial flows)
https://bird.tools/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/13082019_Osint-guide_v2fin.1.pdf

14/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

Top 10 Popular Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Tools
https://www.greycampus.com/blog/information-security/top-open-source-
intelligence-tools?sscid=61k4_am0vf

15/ x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

Watch a webinar (need to register with email)
How to Use Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) in Investigations

How to Use Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) in Investigations

Learn how to use OSINT, aka open source intelligence, competently in your
investigations and find the information and evidence you need through online
searches.

https://i-sight.com/resources/how-to-use-open-source-intelligence-osint-in-investigations/

16/x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

I highly recommend this:
"Verification handbook for Investigative Reporting"
guide to online search and research techniques for using ugc and open source
http://verificationhandbook.com/downloads/verification.handbook.2.pdf

17/ x Tools & guides to conduct online investigations

Euro Tool if you can get it:
Joint Research Centre Open Source Monitoring Tools and Applications
https://ec.europa.eu/assets/jrc/events/20130627-tto-circle/jrc-20130627-tto-circle-
atkinson.pdf
EMMOSINTSuite– ImprovedEntityRecognition
https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/5762/response/18626/attach/3/11.release%2
0notes%20improved%20entity%20recog.pdf

Taking a Break, more China specific resources to come

and other specific guides

18/ x someone (@KlausRiede) commented so I will continue

Geolocation: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/geolocation-tools/
Airplanes: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/airplane-tools/
Cryptocurrencies: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/cryptocurrency-
tools/
Reddit: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/reddit-search-tool/
Vimeo: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/vimeo-search-tool/
YouTube: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/youtube-search-
tool/https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/youtube-search-tool/

19/x OSINT online tools:

Instagram: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/instagram-tools/
Twitter: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/twitter-search-tool/
Facebook: https://www.aware-online.com/osint-tools/facebook-search-tool/
People: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/people-search-tool/
People 2: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/people-tools/
User Names: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/username-tools/
User Names 2: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/username-search-
tool/

20/x OSINT online tools:

Emails: https://www.aware-online.com/osint-tools/e-mail-search-tool/
Emails 2: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/email-address-tools/
Phone Number Search: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/phone-
number-search-tool/
Phone Number Tools: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/phone-
number-tools/
Company Search: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/company-search-
tool/
Company Tools: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/investigating-
companies/

21/ x OSINT online tools:

Photos & Videos: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/photo-and-video-
tools/
Filetypes: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/filetype-search-tool/
Reverse Image Search: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tutorials/reverse-
image-search/
Web Archive: https://www.aware-online.com/osint-tools/web-archive-tools/
Websites: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tools/website-tools/
Source Code for Websites: https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-
tutorials/investigating-the-source-code-of-a-website/

22/x OSINT online tools:

Finding Open FTP servers:
https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tutorials/find-open-ftp-servers/

23/x OSINT online tutorials:

https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tutorials/
https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tutorials/page/2/
https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-tutorials/page/3/
Example (Pinterest): https://www.aware-online.com/en/osint-investigation-on-
pinterest/
Take the OSINT Challenge (try the twitter one): https://www.aware-
online.com/en/osint-challenges/

24/x
OSINT Flowcharts (DIY):

Create your own OSINT flowcharts - Aware Online Academy

OSINT flowcharts - Create your own OSINT flowcharts so that you are not
dependent on lists and tools of others - Click here to read more

https://www.aware-online.com/en/create-your-own-osint-flowcharts/

Checklists: https://www.aware-online.com/en/category/osint-checklists-en/
Twitter Metadata: https://www.aware-online.com/en/interpreting-metadata-on-
twitter/
Pipl search engine (Trial)/:

Search with Pipl.com - Update June 2019 - Aware Online Academy

Search with Pipl.com ★ The People Search Free from Pipl has been shut down ★
How can you still use people search engine Pipl for free?

https://www.aware-online.com/en/search-via-pipl-com/

Social Media:
https://www.aware-online.com/en/category/social-media/
Telegram:

Search for Telegram groups based on location - Aware Online Academy

Find Telegram groups - Read this short blog post and learn how you can map
 groups on Telegram based on a spoofed geolocation.

https://www.aware-online.com/en/search-for-telegram-groups-based-on-location/

25/x Bloody Hell this OSINT shit is endless!

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Tools & Resources
osint.link
OSINT part3
osint.link/osint-part3/
Can't find part 2, guess I am crap at OSINT 🤣
26/x Bloody Hell this OSINT shit is endless!
Excellent resource:
The OSINT Toolkit by Craig Hays
Last updated: 8th June 2020

The OSINT Toolkit. Last updated: 8th June 2020 | by Craig Hays | osint …
A Google Maps alternative from the Chinese search company Baidu. Check out the
Baidu view of the world in relation to border disputes. Bing Maps are an alternative
to the highly popular Google Maps…

https://medium.com/osint/the-osint-toolkit-3b9233d1cdf9

27/ x OSINT Maps & Satellite images

Maps:

Maps | OSINT Essentials

https://www.osintessentials.com/maps

Satellite images:

Resources for Finding and Using Satellite Images

 বাংলা | Français | Русский|Español Satellite images are powerful tools for discovery
and analysis, plus provide vivid illustrations. There is real potential for investigative
journalists to make grea…

https://gijn.org/resources-for-finding-and-using-satellite-images/

Satellite Imagery Examples: https://allsourceanalysis.com/tag/satellite-imagery/

28/x Military Bases

An open source intelligence map of every military installation in the world.
https://sites.google.com/view/osintmilitarymap/
Project was started by Covert Cabal & has since been built upon by a community of
like-minded enthusiasts & is a constant WIP
Video:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/SziPRVqy8G8

29/x Online OSINT Tools

Exif Data:

Extract Exif data from a WordPress website - OSINT tutorial

Extract Exif data from a WordPress website ★ OSINT tutorial on how to extract the
Exif data from a photo on a Wordpress website. Use our OSINT tip now!

https://www.aware-online.com/en/retrieving-exif-data-from-a-wordpress-website/

LinkedIn: https://www.aware-online.com/en/find-the-email-address-of-a-linkedin-
user/
15 useful Google Operators: https://www.aware-online.com/en/15-useful-google-
operators-for-your-investigation/

Thanks to Aware Online @aware_online

This thread will continue with a focus on Chinese Investigations and more OSINT
tomorrow

30/ x OSINT for China - Wechat

Google & Baidu do not show much content from Wechat (Weixin), China's most
popular social media platform, so if you want to search Wechat, translate search
terms with Google translate (or other) or copy the Chinese & go here:
weixin.sogou.com

31/ OSINT for China -Wechat

Weixin Sogou (horrible name, I know) has some very useful specific search engines:
Academic: scholar.sogou.com
Medical/Doctors: mingyi.sogou.com
General Web Search: sogou.com
Images from China: pic.sogou.com

32/ OSINT for China -Wechat/Weixin

Maps (China): map.sogou.com
Here are results for WCDC
(Wuhan Center for Disease Control & Prevention)
武汉市疾病预防控制中心
http://map.sogou.com/#c=12719110,3561101,15&lq=%u6B66%u6C49%u5E02%u75
BE%u75C5%u9884%u9632%u63A7%u5236%u4E2D%u5FC3&where=12728384.765
625,3552517.578125,12730826.171875,3554302.734375,0&page=1,10
You can click on:
Details
All offices
Real time traffic
Photos
3D view
Satellite view

33/ OSINT for China -Wechat/Weixin Maps

Here is the 3D view of WCDC, zooming in shows a SIM world but no people selling
experimental bats ;)
http://map.sogou.com/#c=12719140.625,3561109.86328125,18&lq=%u6B66%u6C4
9%u5E02%u75BE%u75C5%u9884%u9632%u63A7%u5236%u4E2D%u5FC3&where
=12653500,3506125,12830000,3610875,0&page=1,10&hb=1,0

34/ OSINT for China -Wechat/Weixin Maps

Here is the standard Satellite view of WCDC:

http://map.sogou.com/#c=12719140.625,3561109.86328125,18&lq=%u6B66%u6C4
9%u5E02%u75BE%u75C5%u9884%u9632%u63A7%u5236%u4E2D%u5FC3&where
=12653500,3506125,12830000,3610875,0&page=1,10&hb=1,0
Again you can see real time traffic if that's your cup of tea
You can also click top right to see a side by side comparison by years (see next tweet)

35/ OSINT for China -Wechat/Weixin Maps

Here is the side by side view of the Satellite map for WCDC showing 2010 and 2015
(later dates are not available for this location)
http://map.sogou.com/hybrid.html#city=%25u6B66%25u6C49,12719164.0625,3560
990.234375,18
36/ OSINT for China -Wechat/Weixin Video Search
You can search for videos here:
v.sogou.com
For example, WCDC
https://v.sogou.com/v?
query=%CE%E4%BA%BA%CA%D0%BC%B2%B2%A1%D4%A4%B7%C0%BF%D8%
D6%C6%D6%D0%D0%C4&typemask=6&p=&dp=&w=06009900&_asf=&_ast=&dr
=&enter=1&sut=2011&sst0=1592155987767
This search will pull in all Chinese platform videos,
such as: Yokou, Tudou, Bili Bili, Sina, Tencent

37/ OSINT for China -Wechat/Weixin News Search

News Search Engine
news.sogou.com
Pulls in News (mainly "approved" news ;)
from:
Sohu
Tencent
Sina
Phoenix
Netease
and Others
Here is the WCDC news search:
https://news.sogou.com/news?
query=%E6%AD%A6%E6%B1%89%E5%B8%82%E7%96%BE%E7%97%85%E9%A2
%84%E9%98%B2%E6%8E%A7%E5%88%B6%E4%B8%AD%E5%BF%83&mode=1&
w=&sut=3531&sst0=1592160448527&lkt=0%2C0%2C0
You can sort for source, relevance or time
38/ OSINT for China -Wechat/Weixin Other
Other available categories of search:
https://www.sogou.com/docs/more.htm?v=1
For example:
"Hot" News: top.sogou.com
"Knowledge": zhihu.sogou.com
and zhishi.sogou.com
Online Translation: fanyi.sogou.com

39/ OSINT for China - "Sogou Treasure Box"

https://www.sogou.com/docs/help/helpbox.htm?v=1
This has one section of interest to us, a search box for:
IP address
Mobile Phone
ID Card
Postal Code
Phone Area Code
For Example:
https://www.ws-virology.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Guo-Deyin-CV-201902-
En.pdf
https://www.ws-virology.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CV_SHI-ZL-
2018_ASM.pdf
Try it out, what can you find?
40/ I got sidetracked as I found some photos and news stories on "sogou" that I had
not seen via Google.
Can't help feeling that they both look so sad and dare I say...guilty?

41/ Sogou "Treasure Box" Phone Search

Here are results for a certain person with a CV:
1. https://www.reg007.com/guishu/18971223826
If you want more info, must register & pay 9 RMB
reg007.com/invitecode/buy
2. https://shouji.911cha.com/18971223826.html
More information here & link to Baidu Map
ditu.911cha.com/wuhan.html
42/ Sogou "Treasure Box" Phone Search
As you surely noticed in image attached to tweet 41, there is link at bottom to:
China Telecom (Hubei) 189.cn/hb/
There is a login button at the top which leads to:
login.189.cn/web/login
Useful if you forgot your password

43/ "Wechat"
Popular app "Wechat" or "Weixin" has many features if you use it with your
telephone:

Official WeChat Resources - China Channel

Our Ultimate List of Official WeChat Resources: Websites & Services Surrounding
The WeChat Platform Divided Into 4 Sections. Any Suggestions For Additions?

https://chinachannel.co/wechat-resources/

An Introduction to WeChat - China Channel

This WeChat Introduction Will Cover All The Key Statistics Regarding The
Platform. Why Is It So Popular In China? How Can Businesses Leverage WeChat?

https://chinachannel.co/wechat-introduction/

WeChat PC Version: WeChat Essential Tips - China Channel

Everything You Need To Know About The WeChat PC Desktop Versions With This
In-depth Article. Important For Those Using WeChat For Business Or Work

https://chinachannel.co/wechat-pc-version-wechat-essential-tips/
 【WeChat】Big Updates Made It Easier!
WeChat launched several interesting features in the updated iOS 6.5.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wechatbig-updates-made-easier-augustin-missoffe-%E…

https://medium.com/@augustinm/wechat-how-to-expose-on-new-feature-top-
stories-%E7%9C%8B%E4%B8%80%E7%9C%8B-d9f7f4195fa7
You can also download it to your PC:
https://pc.weixin.qq.com/?t=win_weixin&lang=en

44/ "Wechat (2)

Use Wechat on your phone to search for people, accounts, groups, news or connect to
people or log in to some Chinese websites, then here are some guides:
1.

WeChat Official Account: an epic guide | WeChat Wiki

WeChat have given businesses tools to reach the Chinese audience with WeChat
Official Account. As a brand portal, this is a maketing platform to leverage.

https://wechatwiki.com/wechat-resources/wechat-official-account-marketing-platform-e…

2.

WeChat just launched Search and Top Stories

WeChat launched Search and Top Stories sections in the updated WeChat app.
Check out the new interfaces and the potential impact.

https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/20671/wechat-labs-search-top-stories/
3. https://qpsoftware.net/blog/wechat-search-engine
4. https://qpsoftware.net/blog/how-register-wechat-official-account-subscription-
vs-service

45/ Spot the Difference Time!

I'm off to bed, so leave you with a puzzle
1. What is the place in the map?
2. How many differences can you spot?
3. Fancy a swim in the lake (top left)?
http://map.sogou.com/hybrid.html#city=%25u6B66%25u6C49,12719767.08984375,
3530207.51953125,18

I will update this thread with more China related OSINT tomorrow:
Translation of Texts, Images, Audio and Video
Weibo search
Shodan CCTV search
We Chat vulnerabilities
Huawei Routers
Some other stuff
will unroll @threadreaderapp just in case.

Unroll @threadreaderapp

•••