The guys cover how OSINT is used in monitoring the unrest in Syria, and the tragic killing of Brian Thompson, United Healthcare’s CEO, on his way to the company’s investor day. Hosted by Nico “Dutch OSINT Guy” Dekens, Director of Intelligence and Collection Innovation, and David Cook, Director of National Security, with guest Jake Robinson, ShadowDragon’s Director of Product.
\n\nJake's Background:
\no Jake shared his journey from a U.S. Army intelligence analyst in human intelligence (HUMINT) to the CIA, where he was a targeting officer.
\no Discussion of the importance of open-source data in intelligence operations and its evolving use in government.
Geopolitical Insights:
\no Syria's current instability, including Bashar al Assad's exile and the rise of groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is discussed as a geopolitical event that has effects around the world.
\no OSINT tools can be used to monitor key players and groups for patterns and motivations. Social media platforms, like Telegram, are crucial for real-time intelligence gathering.
Practical Applications of OSINT in the News Last Week:
\no Real-world monitoring of geopolitical and domestic incidents, such as the assassination of United Healthcare’s CEO, demonstrates OSINT's role in monitoring real-time events.
\no OSINT is used widely for threat assessments for executives and principles to build a ‘threat profile’ or ‘threat matrix’ that can define or identify security vulnerabilities to fix.
\no The team emphasized balancing public exposure with security for high-profile individuals and companies is a double-edged sword – the need to be public while simultaneously maintaining safety.
Challenges in Verification:
\no Issues of misinformation and false data, particularly in high-profile cases (e.g., fake accounts of suspects), highlight the need for robust validation processes in OSINT.
Tools and Techniques:
\no Shadow Dragon’s tools, like Horizon, are designed for real-time monitoring, metadata analysis, and creating timelines to distinguish credible information from noise.
\nKey Takeaway:
\nOSINT is invaluable in today’s world. More data and information are public every day – use it to enhance security, monitor geopolitical events, and mitigate corporate risk. OSINT’s effectiveness depends on timely collection, thorough validation, and cautious interpretation.
Learn more at:
Special Guest: Jake Robinson.
","summary":"The podcast explores how Jake, a former CIA targeting officer, uses Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools and platforms, like Horizon© and SocialNet©, in understanding geopolitical shifts, corporate risk mitigation, and monitoring emerging threats. The discussion includes real-world applications, such as analyzing Syria's instability and assessing security risks for high-profile individuals, emphasizing the importance of timely data collection and validation.","date_published":"2024-12-14T23:30:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/9c4af8f5-31d3-4d99-b86f-e9b396253298.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":41873436,"duration_in_seconds":1744}]},{"id":"7193b139-4274-4a81-8e64-1c76366ed3f7","title":"S03 E11: Biotech Security and National Threats: Navigating Open Source Intelligence, Supply Chain Risks, and Insider Threats","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/biotech-supply-chain-threats-and-how-to-mitigate-them-with-osint","content_text":"In this episode, hosts Nico ‘Dutch OSINT Guy’ Dekens and David Cook welcome special guest Jackie Giunta, a corporate intelligence expert with a military intelligence background. Together, they dive deep into the complex intersection of national security, biotechnology, and corporate intelligence. They discuss the rising challenges, and opportunities, in open-source intelligence, the potential risks in global biotech supply chains, insider threats, and the growing influence of nation-state adversaries. Join us as we explore the importance of private-public partnerships and proactive approaches to safeguarding the biotech industry in an increasingly complex global landscape.Special Guest: Jackie Giunta.","content_html":"In this episode, hosts Nico ‘Dutch OSINT Guy’ Dekens and David Cook welcome special guest Jackie Giunta, a corporate intelligence expert with a military intelligence background. Together, they dive deep into the complex intersection of national security, biotechnology, and corporate intelligence. They discuss the rising challenges, and opportunities, in open-source intelligence, the potential risks in global biotech supply chains, insider threats, and the growing influence of nation-state adversaries. Join us as we explore the importance of private-public partnerships and proactive approaches to safeguarding the biotech industry in an increasingly complex global landscape.
Special Guest: Jackie Giunta.
","summary":"In this episode, Nico ‘Dutch OSINT Guy’ Dekens, David Cook, and guest Jackie Giunta discuss the critical security challenges facing the biotech industry, from insider threats and supply chain vulnerabilities to the role of open-source intelligence in countering nation-state actors. They emphasize the importance of proactive due diligence, private-public collaboration, and vigilance in protecting sensitive technology and data.","date_published":"2024-11-01T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/7193b139-4274-4a81-8e64-1c76366ed3f7.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":52157589,"duration_in_seconds":2172}]},{"id":"b0c56f0d-6970-4e64-b978-6218cf5e960a","title":"S03 E10: Navigating Election Monitoring: Insights on Security, Disinformation, and Social Media Trends","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/navigating-election-monitoring-with-osint","content_text":"This episode is all about the intricate process of using OSINT to monitor elections, with a focus on security and disinformation. The conversation explores the challenges faced by analysts as they track social media trends, identify potential threats, and combat myths and false information that can undermine election integrity. They highlight how disinformation campaigns, foreign influence, and deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it crucial for analysts to stay vigilant. The episode focuses on how local authorities and businesses can prepare for potential unrest surrounding elections and the vital role of monitoring tools in ensuring a smooth and secure process.Special Guest: Brye Ravettine.","content_html":"This episode is all about the intricate process of using OSINT to monitor elections, with a focus on security and disinformation. The conversation explores the challenges faced by analysts as they track social media trends, identify potential threats, and combat myths and false information that can undermine election integrity. They highlight how disinformation campaigns, foreign influence, and deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it crucial for analysts to stay vigilant. The episode focuses on how local authorities and businesses can prepare for potential unrest surrounding elections and the vital role of monitoring tools in ensuring a smooth and secure process.
Special Guest: Brye Ravettine.
","summary":"In this episode, hosts Nico \"Dutch OSINT Guy\" Dekens and David Cook, dive into the complexities of election monitoring using OSINT with guest Brye Ravettine from the ShadowDragon team. They discuss the challenges of tracking disinformation, social media trends, and potential threats to election security with OSINT, including the impact of deepfakes and foreign influence. The conversation emphasizes the importance of using monitoring tools to identify risks and maintain election integrity, while also preparing for unpredictable developments.","date_published":"2024-10-11T09:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/b0c56f0d-6970-4e64-b978-6218cf5e960a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":60698335,"duration_in_seconds":2528}]},{"id":"5ccfaa6b-7018-424b-8d7e-20d1cec4e4ee","title":"S03 Special Episode: Combating AI-Driven Disinformation: The Role of OSINT in Safeguarding 2024 Elections | ShadowDragon Podcast","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/special-episode-osint-for-election-monitoring","content_text":"","content_html":"","summary":"","date_published":"2024-10-07T08:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/5ccfaa6b-7018-424b-8d7e-20d1cec4e4ee.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":13887782,"duration_in_seconds":347}]},{"id":"d2c597ad-c7d9-409c-aa74-7496335c1c1f","title":"S03 E09: Unconventional Influence: OSINT for Psychological Operations and Business Warfare with Russ Robson | Shadow Dragon Podcast S3E9","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/unconventional-influence-and-osint","content_text":"In this episode of the ShadowDragon Podcast (Season 3, Episode 9), Russ Robson, a former Special Operations soldier and author of Unconventional Influence: The Ethical Psyop Manual for Modern Business Warfare, joins the show. Russ shares insights from his fascinating career journey—from a bluegrass drummer and business owner to joining the Army at 34 as a combat medic, and eventually becoming a Psyop specialist. He delves into his experiences working with the Colombian army on influence operations and narrative warfare. Russ also discusses the power of storytelling in business, using target audience analysis, and the parallels between psychological operations in the military and the corporate world. This episode offers a deep dive into the layers of identity, culture, and messaging, providing valuable lessons for both military and business strategies. \n\nDon't miss this compelling conversation about unconventional influence and its applications in modern warfare and beyond!Special Guest: Russ Robson.","content_html":"In this episode of the ShadowDragon Podcast (Season 3, Episode 9), Russ Robson, a former Special Operations soldier and author of Unconventional Influence: The Ethical Psyop Manual for Modern Business Warfare, joins the show. Russ shares insights from his fascinating career journey—from a bluegrass drummer and business owner to joining the Army at 34 as a combat medic, and eventually becoming a Psyop specialist. He delves into his experiences working with the Colombian army on influence operations and narrative warfare. Russ also discusses the power of storytelling in business, using target audience analysis, and the parallels between psychological operations in the military and the corporate world. This episode offers a deep dive into the layers of identity, culture, and messaging, providing valuable lessons for both military and business strategies.
\n\nDon't miss this compelling conversation about unconventional influence and its applications in modern warfare and beyond!
Special Guest: Russ Robson.
","summary":"ShadowDragon's own David Cook talks with former Psychological Operations soldier, Russ Robson about his forthcoming book, \"Unconventional Influence: The Ethical Psyop Manual for Modern Business Warfare\" and how OSINT can help in almost every facet of warfare and business. ","date_published":"2024-10-04T10:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/d2c597ad-c7d9-409c-aa74-7496335c1c1f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":78261402,"duration_in_seconds":3260}]},{"id":"62bd5dbe-d30a-4dd9-ba5e-4ce103ef90af","title":"S03 E08: Hijacked Hashtags and Potential Malware in Short URLs on Social Media","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/hijacked-hashtags-and-potential-malware-in-short-urls-on-social-media","content_text":"Podcast Summary: ShadowDragon - Malware Alert on Social Media\n\nIn this episode of the ShadowDragon podcast, Nico \"Dutch OSINT Guy\" Dekens delves into a recent surge in malicious online activity linked to trending topics on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Meta (Facebook), and Instagram. The discussion centers around a disturbing trend observed on August 8th, where malicious actors hijacked popular hashtags, including those related to the UK riots and other global events, by posting deceptive content designed to lure users into clicking dangerous links.\n\nThese malicious posts often feature images flagged as \"sensitive content,\" which, when clicked, direct users to a series of redirects that ultimately lead to scam sites, frequently with pornographic content. Nico warns listeners about the common characteristics of these posts, which include accounts with English-sounding usernames followed by a series of numbers and profile pictures of Asian-looking women. Nico also highlights how these tactics have been used across various events, from the Paris Olympics to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.\n\nThe episode emphasizes the importance of caution when engaging with such content online and provides insights into how malware analysis tools, like Any.Run and VirusTotal, can help identify the threats posed by these malicious links. The host concludes by urging listeners to stay vigilant and avoid falling prey to these social media scams.\n\nListeners are encouraged to like, subscribe, and share the ShadowDragon podcast and to reach out to the host, known online as \"Dutch OSINT Guy,\" for more information.","content_html":"Podcast Summary: ShadowDragon - Malware Alert on Social Media
\n\nIn this episode of the ShadowDragon podcast, Nico "Dutch OSINT Guy" Dekens delves into a recent surge in malicious online activity linked to trending topics on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Meta (Facebook), and Instagram. The discussion centers around a disturbing trend observed on August 8th, where malicious actors hijacked popular hashtags, including those related to the UK riots and other global events, by posting deceptive content designed to lure users into clicking dangerous links.
\n\nThese malicious posts often feature images flagged as "sensitive content," which, when clicked, direct users to a series of redirects that ultimately lead to scam sites, frequently with pornographic content. Nico warns listeners about the common characteristics of these posts, which include accounts with English-sounding usernames followed by a series of numbers and profile pictures of Asian-looking women. Nico also highlights how these tactics have been used across various events, from the Paris Olympics to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
\n\nThe episode emphasizes the importance of caution when engaging with such content online and provides insights into how malware analysis tools, like Any.Run and VirusTotal, can help identify the threats posed by these malicious links. The host concludes by urging listeners to stay vigilant and avoid falling prey to these social media scams.
\n\nListeners are encouraged to like, subscribe, and share the ShadowDragon podcast and to reach out to the host, known online as "Dutch OSINT Guy," for more information.
","summary":"In this episode of the ShadowDragon podcast, Nico \"Dutch OSINT Guy\" Dekens warns about a surge in malicious social media activity, where scammers hijack trending topics to lure users into clicking harmful links that lead to scam sites.","date_published":"2024-08-17T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/62bd5dbe-d30a-4dd9-ba5e-4ce103ef90af.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":12349693,"duration_in_seconds":308}]},{"id":"d3220821-004f-4912-8a84-f393e516416e","title":"S03 E07: Iranian Tensions Fueled by AI-Generated Content and Unrest in the UK","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/iranian-tensions-fueled-by-ai-generated-content-and-unrest-in-the-uk","content_text":"Podcast Summary\n\nIn this episode of the ShadowDragon podcast, Nico Dekens discusses the current geopolitical tensions and disturbances monitored through online platforms. The focus is on the recent actions of Israel against Hamas leaders, which have caused significant unrest and propaganda, particularly from Iran. The podcast highlights the use of AI-generated imagery in influence campaigns and the possibility of escalating conflicts involving rocket attacks and military mobilization in the region.\n\nThe episode also touches on the unrest in the United Kingdom, sparked by false narratives following a deadly stabbing incident. Nico emphasizes the role of social media in spreading misinformation and the importance of monitoring these platforms to understand the underlying causes and actors involved in these conflicts.\n\nOverall, the podcast provides an overview of the global tensions involving Israel, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, as well as the social unrest in the UK related to migrant communities. Nico stresses the significance of early warning and monitoring to stay informed and prepared for potential escalations.\n\nPlease like, subscribe, and share the podcast to stay updated on these important developments.","content_html":"Podcast Summary
\n\nIn this episode of the ShadowDragon podcast, Nico Dekens discusses the current geopolitical tensions and disturbances monitored through online platforms. The focus is on the recent actions of Israel against Hamas leaders, which have caused significant unrest and propaganda, particularly from Iran. The podcast highlights the use of AI-generated imagery in influence campaigns and the possibility of escalating conflicts involving rocket attacks and military mobilization in the region.
\n\nThe episode also touches on the unrest in the United Kingdom, sparked by false narratives following a deadly stabbing incident. Nico emphasizes the role of social media in spreading misinformation and the importance of monitoring these platforms to understand the underlying causes and actors involved in these conflicts.
\n\nOverall, the podcast provides an overview of the global tensions involving Israel, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, as well as the social unrest in the UK related to migrant communities. Nico stresses the significance of early warning and monitoring to stay informed and prepared for potential escalations.
\n\nPlease like, subscribe, and share the podcast to stay updated on these important developments.
","summary":"Nico Dekens breaks down what ShadowDragon's Horizon Monitor is picking up in the information space focused on Iranian aggression in the Middle East and unrest in the United Kingdom. ","date_published":"2024-08-12T09:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/d3220821-004f-4912-8a84-f393e516416e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":12547178,"duration_in_seconds":313}]},{"id":"c5dea62c-9cf8-4f6e-8693-6a46509d839f","title":"S03 E06: ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics Podcast - Unveiling Meliorator: Russian AI's Role in Global Disinformation","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/shadowdragon-osint-geopolitics-podcast-russian-ai-meliorator","content_text":"ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics and More Podcast Summary\n\nHost: Nico Dekens, “The Dutch OSINT Guy” (follow Nico on X: @dutch_osintguy)\n\nEpisode Focus: Critical cybersecurity advisory on state-sponsored Russian media using advanced software for foreign malign influence activities.\n\nKey Points Covered:\n\n\nIntroduction:\n\n\nThe episode delves into a joint cybersecurity advisory by prominent intelligence and security agencies from the United States, Netherlands, and Canada.\n\nMeliorator AI Software:\n\n\nRussian actors are using covert artificial intelligence software called Meliorator to manipulate social media.\nThe software, employed by Russian state-sponsored media RT, creates fake personas to disseminate disinformation on platforms like X (formerly known as Twitter).\n\nCapabilities of Meliorator:\n\n\nThe software can generate numerous realistic social media profiles, mimicking typical user behavior by posting, liking, and sharing content.\nIt amplifies pre-existing false narratives with sophisticated, tailored messages.\n\nTechnical Details:\n\n\nMeliorator comprises various components, including Brigadir (administrative panel for managing bots), Taras (back-end software for handling bot identities and actions), and a Mongo database for storing bot identities and automated actions.\nIt avoids detection by using AI-generated profiles, proxy IPs, and alternative user-agent strings to bypass platform verification.\n\nObfuscation Techniques:\n\n\nMeliorator uses IP obfuscation, authentication bypass, and user-agent manipulation to hide bot activities.\n\nAdvisory Recommendations:\n\n\nSocial media platforms, especially X, are urged to validate human operation behind accounts, enhance authentication and verification processes, and monitor suspicious user-agent strings.\nImplement Secure-by-Default settings, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) and other privacy-focused features.\n\nConclusion:\n\n\nStaying vigilant and informed is crucial to protect against disinformation campaigns.\nPrevious podcasts discussed the abuse of commercially or freely available AI for spreading false narratives, but Meliorator represents a more advanced threat.\n\n\n\nClosing Remarks:\n\n\nNico encourages listeners to stay safe and informed.\nListeners are invited to suggest topics for future episodes.\n\n\nThank you for tuning in to the ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics and More Podcast. See you in the next episode!\n\nShow Notes: \nState-Sponsored Russian Media Leverages Meliorator Software for Foreign Malign Influence Activity, found here: \nhttps://www.ic3.gov/Media/News/2024/240709.pdf\n\nFollow ShadowDragon on social media for more up-to-date news and information","content_html":"ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics and More Podcast Summary
\n\nHost: Nico Dekens, “The Dutch OSINT Guy” (follow Nico on X: @dutch_osintguy)
\n\nEpisode Focus: Critical cybersecurity advisory on state-sponsored Russian media using advanced software for foreign malign influence activities.
\n\nKey Points Covered:
\n\nIntroduction:
\n\nMeliorator AI Software:
\n\nCapabilities of Meliorator:
\n\nTechnical Details:
\n\nObfuscation Techniques:
\n\nAdvisory Recommendations:
\n\nConclusion:
\n\nClosing Remarks:
\n\nThank you for tuning in to the ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics and More Podcast. See you in the next episode!
\n\nShow Notes:
\nState-Sponsored Russian Media Leverages Meliorator Software for Foreign Malign Influence Activity, found here:
\nhttps://www.ic3.gov/Media/News/2024/240709.pdf
Follow ShadowDragon on social media for more up-to-date news and information
","summary":"In this episode of the ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics Podcast, host Nico Dekens, also known as the Dutch OSINT Guy, delves into a critical cybersecurity advisory on Russian state-sponsored media using advanced AI software, Meliorator, to manipulate social media. The episode explores the capabilities of Meliorator, including creating fake personas and disseminating disinformation, and provides recommendations for social media platforms to combat these sophisticated threats. Stay informed and vigilant against disinformation campaigns with insights from top intelligence agencies in the US, Netherlands, and Canada.","date_published":"2024-07-11T07:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/c5dea62c-9cf8-4f6e-8693-6a46509d839f.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":12142803,"duration_in_seconds":303}]},{"id":"9d5e2b26-6cb5-418d-8f9d-c0843f572e5e","title":"S03 E05: OpenAI Disrupts Covert Influence Operations With The Help of OSINT","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/combating-ai-misuse-how-open-ai-fights-covert-influence-operations","content_text":"Key Points Discussed:\n\n• Monitoring and Disruption Efforts: OpenAI collaborates with open-source intelligence practitioners to monitor internet activity and identify potential misuse of their language models by nation-states and other actors. They aim to disrupt sophisticated threats through continuous improvements in their safety systems and collaboration with industry partners.\n\n• Recent Trends: OpenAI has detected and disrupted operations from actors in Russia, China, Iran, and a commercial company in Israel. These operations, including ones named \"Bad Grammar\" and \"Doppelganger,\" used AI to generate content but failed to engage authentically with audiences.\n\n• Techniques and Tactics: The actors use AI to produce high volumes of content, mixing AI-generated and traditional formats, and faking engagement by generating replies to their own posts. Despite these efforts, they struggled to reach authentic audiences.\n\n• Defensive Strategies: OpenAI employs defensive design policies, such as friction-imposing features, to thwart malicious use. They also share detailed threat indicators with industry peers to enhance the effectiveness of disruptions.\n\n• Case Studies: Examples include Russian and Chinese networks targeting various regions with limited engagement, and an Iranian network generating anti-US and anti-Israeli content. These operations highlight the ongoing challenge of AI misuse.\n\n• Open Source Intelligence: Dekens discusses his work with Shadow Dragon, including a white paper on using open-source intelligence to identify and monitor troll and bot armies. He explains how prompt error messages can be a key indicator of malicious activity.","content_html":"Key Points Discussed:
\n\n• Monitoring and Disruption Efforts: OpenAI collaborates with open-source intelligence practitioners to monitor internet activity and identify potential misuse of their language models by nation-states and other actors. They aim to disrupt sophisticated threats through continuous improvements in their safety systems and collaboration with industry partners.
\n\n• Recent Trends: OpenAI has detected and disrupted operations from actors in Russia, China, Iran, and a commercial company in Israel. These operations, including ones named "Bad Grammar" and "Doppelganger," used AI to generate content but failed to engage authentically with audiences.
\n\n• Techniques and Tactics: The actors use AI to produce high volumes of content, mixing AI-generated and traditional formats, and faking engagement by generating replies to their own posts. Despite these efforts, they struggled to reach authentic audiences.
\n\n• Defensive Strategies: OpenAI employs defensive design policies, such as friction-imposing features, to thwart malicious use. They also share detailed threat indicators with industry peers to enhance the effectiveness of disruptions.
\n\n• Case Studies: Examples include Russian and Chinese networks targeting various regions with limited engagement, and an Iranian network generating anti-US and anti-Israeli content. These operations highlight the ongoing challenge of AI misuse.
\n\n• Open Source Intelligence: Dekens discusses his work with Shadow Dragon, including a white paper on using open-source intelligence to identify and monitor troll and bot armies. He explains how prompt error messages can be a key indicator of malicious activity.
","summary":"In this episode of the ShadowDragon podcast, host Nico Dekens delves into how OpenAI is addressing and preventing covert influence operations. Dekens highlights OpenAI's commitment to identifying and disrupting attempts to misuse their technology for manipulating public opinion. ","date_published":"2024-07-09T13:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/9d5e2b26-6cb5-418d-8f9d-c0843f572e5e.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":20411080,"duration_in_seconds":510}]},{"id":"5abbe3cc-218a-4f13-b7f9-9243a60e40f7","title":"S03 E04: ShadowDragon Special Edition Podcast: Terrorist Threats, French Elections, and Political Protests","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/shadowdragonspecialeditionpodcastterroristthreatsfrenchelectionsandpoliticalprotests","content_text":"The Shadow Dragon Special Edition Podcast\n\nIntroduction:\n\n\nThe podcast covers open source intelligence (OSINT) and geopolitics.\nTopics include military bases on alert, global protests, and elections.\n\n\nMilitary Alert in Europe:\n\n\nSeveral U.S. military bases in Europe are on heightened alert (state of alert Charlie, second highest level).\nThe alert is due to potential terrorist threats, indicating specific intelligence pointing to possible attacks.\nBases affected include the European Command Headquarters in Stuttgart and Ramstein Air Base in Germany.\n\n\nGlobal Protests:\n\n\nIncreasing protests against Western facilities, particularly banks, by groups identifying as anti-globalist and pro-Palestine.\nThese groups target businesses with ties to Israel through physical and digital attacks.\n\n\nElections and Political Disturbances:\n\n\nProtests related to election outcomes, especially in France, where there is significant opposition to Le Pen and her right-wing party.\nDemonstrations, such as the large protest at Place de la République on June 30, are becoming more common.\nMonitoring shows that left-wing and pro-Palestine groups are joining forces against right-wing politics and large companies linked to Israel.\nSimilar patterns observed in elections in the Netherlands, Argentina, and the U.S.\n\n\nConclusion:\n\n\nThe podcast emphasizes the global scale of these issues and encourages listeners to visit their website for more information.\n","content_html":"The Shadow Dragon Special Edition Podcast
\n\nIntroduction:
\n\nMilitary Alert in Europe:
\n\nGlobal Protests:
\n\nElections and Political Disturbances:
\n\nConclusion:
\n\nNico, the Director of Intelligence Collection Innovation, is joined by Daniel Clemens, CEO, David Cook, Director of National Security, and Elliott, the CTO of Shadow Dragon.
\n\nThe team discusses the dynamic nature of the internet and how their tools must continuously adapt to these changes. Elliott shares insights into the complexities of developing scalable and effective open-source intelligence tools that can keep up with the rapid evolution of online platforms and data.
\n\nNico and the team bring up the feedback from customers and some of our favorite capabilities of Horizon, the OSINT Platform. Here are some highlighted capabilities:
\n\n• Speed of Horizon is unmatched
\n• Ease of data integration
\n• Mobile, on-the-go capability as a web-based platform
\n• Timeline feature allowing investigators and analysts to visualize artifacts on a timeline
OSINT is vital for due diligence and knowing your customers, employees, and partners. The guys talk about some examples and move into some current events, including the protests on college campuses. Publicly available information (PAI) offers a window into peoples’ digital lives to identify bad habits.
\n\nThe guys talk about influence operations from adversarial nations and the linkages in the digital world. As we all live more online, adversarial nations and bad actors have injected malign information meant to influence people ultimately outcomes.
\n\nDavid brought up a propaganda playbook that fits into today’s modern, digital world where people are being influenced from never-ending streams of online information without, or instead of, validating ideas among friends, family or small groups to provide a check on actions. The concept is discussed on the backdrop of campus protests.
\n\nDaniel stresses the importance of mindset – whether you’re an investigator, entrepreneur, or artist, “mindset is everything in winning.” Having a mindset that doesn’t need external validation from society creates better outcomes. “You have to be believe that you are going to win, and be surprised when you lose,” has been Daniel’s mindset and the mindset he encourages other to take taking on a task. Daniel’s investigative experience draws on this mindset to ask the right questions to get the right answers.
\n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date on the latest.
\n\nThank you for listening.
","summary":"In this episode of the Shadow Dragon podcast, the team discussed the innovations and challenges in the development of the Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) platform, Horizon.","date_published":"2024-05-09T01:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/b799fe5a-03f3-4d0c-a7d9-23043daab541.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":50169391,"duration_in_seconds":3134}]},{"id":"237ef928-3ab2-4404-99d1-9af365c6e3e9","title":"S03 Special Episode","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s03special01","content_text":"","content_html":"","summary":"","date_published":"2024-04-02T05:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/237ef928-3ab2-4404-99d1-9af365c6e3e9.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":36851251,"duration_in_seconds":2295}]},{"id":"9f504843-afee-4303-8c9c-851bbf75ddd6","title":"S03 E02: EdgeTheory and Narrative Intelligence","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s03e02","content_text":"Hosts:\n\nJoe Stradinger, EdgeTheory CEO\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO\nDavid Cook, Director – National Security\n\nDaniel and David traveled to University of Mississippi last month to the inaugural National Center for Narrative Intelligence (NCNI) Summit hosted by EdgeTheory. The guys talk about the Summit, Joe’s path to becoming EdgeTheory’s founder and CEO, and the importance of storytelling and narratives in a dynamic world. \n\nThis time around, we spoke about Narrative Intelligence and how OSINT is similar in finding sources but can sometimes produce different products. Today, the amount of publicly available information (PAI) is expanding every day, which gives people, companies, and governments more information to synthesize and investigate than ever before. ‘Chatter’ online can grow and form narratives at incredible speed and resonance, creating often-times outsized impacts in society, markets, elections, and so much more. \n\nListen in as Daniel queues in on EdgeTheory’s “Intercontinental Ballistic Narratives,” or ICBNs, to ask who is the greatest manipulator of narratives? Joe breaks down the different ways EdgeTheory sees between Russia, China and Iran utilizing ICBNs to subvert Western Nations. As geographic borders fade in today’s online struggle, adversaries ‘spoof’ or manipulate where the origin of their cognitive attacks on populations come from, making it more difficult to quantify risk. \n\nListen for more insight on: \n\n• Advanced Persistent Manipulators (APMs)\n• Joe’s take on AI (hint: “AI is a math trick, it’s a very good math trick, but it’s a math trick“)\n• Utilizing OSINT and Narrative Intelligence to gain decision advantage\n• Navigating a ‘post-truth world’\n\nVisit EdgeTheory’s website to learn more: https://edgetheory.com/\nLearn more about the National Center for Narrative Intelligence here: https://ncni.us/\n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date on the latest. \n\nThank you for listening.Special Guest: Joe Stradinger.","content_html":"Hosts:
\n\nJoe Stradinger, EdgeTheory CEO
\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO
\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO
\nDavid Cook, Director – National Security
Daniel and David traveled to University of Mississippi last month to the inaugural National Center for Narrative Intelligence (NCNI) Summit hosted by EdgeTheory. The guys talk about the Summit, Joe’s path to becoming EdgeTheory’s founder and CEO, and the importance of storytelling and narratives in a dynamic world.
\n\nThis time around, we spoke about Narrative Intelligence and how OSINT is similar in finding sources but can sometimes produce different products. Today, the amount of publicly available information (PAI) is expanding every day, which gives people, companies, and governments more information to synthesize and investigate than ever before. ‘Chatter’ online can grow and form narratives at incredible speed and resonance, creating often-times outsized impacts in society, markets, elections, and so much more.
\n\nListen in as Daniel queues in on EdgeTheory’s “Intercontinental Ballistic Narratives,” or ICBNs, to ask who is the greatest manipulator of narratives? Joe breaks down the different ways EdgeTheory sees between Russia, China and Iran utilizing ICBNs to subvert Western Nations. As geographic borders fade in today’s online struggle, adversaries ‘spoof’ or manipulate where the origin of their cognitive attacks on populations come from, making it more difficult to quantify risk.
\n\nListen for more insight on:
\n\n• Advanced Persistent Manipulators (APMs)
\n• Joe’s take on AI (hint: “AI is a math trick, it’s a very good math trick, but it’s a math trick“)
\n• Utilizing OSINT and Narrative Intelligence to gain decision advantage
\n• Navigating a ‘post-truth world’
Visit EdgeTheory’s website to learn more: https://edgetheory.com/
\nLearn more about the National Center for Narrative Intelligence here: https://ncni.us/
This podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date on the latest.
\n\nThank you for listening.
Special Guest: Joe Stradinger.
","summary":"Daniel, Elliott, and David invite Joe Stradinger, CEO and Founder of EdgeTheory to talk about Narrative Intelligence. ","date_published":"2024-03-22T05:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/9f504843-afee-4303-8c9c-851bbf75ddd6.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":58293445,"duration_in_seconds":3642}]},{"id":"1fdfdf21-5120-4cf8-a058-2f7a31e9adab","title":"S03 E01: From Rest to Protecting Your Kids","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s03e01","content_text":"About this Episode\n\nHosts:\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)\nDavid Cook, ShadowDragon Director of National Security\n\nIn this podcast episode, the hosts and guests delve into various topics, from the importance of rest and mindfulness to the challenges of investigative work and the impact of technology on attention spans. Through personal anecdotes and professional experiences, they highlight the need for patience, methodical workflow, and critical thinking in investigative processes, emphasizing the value of asking the right questions rather than seeking immediate answers. They also discuss the evolving nature of technology and its effects on human cognition, cautioning against the pitfalls of constant stimulation and advocating for a balance between productivity and mental well-being. Furthermore, they draw parallels between investigative work and historical societal shifts, reflecting on the tension between industrialism and agrarian workflows and the implications for modern-day practices. Ultimately, the episode offers valuable insights into navigating the complexities of investigative work in an increasingly fast-paced and technology-driven world, emphasizing the importance of rest, reflection, and methodical inquiry.","content_html":"About this Episode
\n\nHosts:
\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO
\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO
\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)
\nDavid Cook, ShadowDragon Director of National Security
In this podcast episode, the hosts and guests delve into various topics, from the importance of rest and mindfulness to the challenges of investigative work and the impact of technology on attention spans. Through personal anecdotes and professional experiences, they highlight the need for patience, methodical workflow, and critical thinking in investigative processes, emphasizing the value of asking the right questions rather than seeking immediate answers. They also discuss the evolving nature of technology and its effects on human cognition, cautioning against the pitfalls of constant stimulation and advocating for a balance between productivity and mental well-being. Furthermore, they draw parallels between investigative work and historical societal shifts, reflecting on the tension between industrialism and agrarian workflows and the implications for modern-day practices. Ultimately, the episode offers valuable insights into navigating the complexities of investigative work in an increasingly fast-paced and technology-driven world, emphasizing the importance of rest, reflection, and methodical inquiry.
","summary":"Daniel, Elliott, Nico, and David","date_published":"2024-02-21T06:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/1fdfdf21-5120-4cf8-a058-2f7a31e9adab.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":91829450,"duration_in_seconds":2860}]},{"id":"32e4c1c3-8871-4a15-80b5-e5ac606f041a","title":"S02 E05: AI Discussion and Projections","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s02e05","content_text":"About this Episode\n\nHosts:\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)\nDavid Cook, ShadowDragon Director of National Security\n\nIn our last podcast of 2023, the ShadowDragon crew talked about the importance of veterans’ service, disinformation, and gave some of our best predictions for 2024. \n\nOne of ShadowDragon’s newest employees, David Cook, talks about running a non-profit focused on Special Operations Forces (SOF) advocacy: \n\n• The Special Operations Association of America (SOAA.org) is a veteran service organization that advocates for the past, present and future SOF community. \n• David first found SOAA during the Afghanistan withdrawal and has been involved ever since. \n• SOAA, Congress, and several other organizations’ use of open-source information during the withdrawal to help Americans and our Afghan allies. \n• Bringing service to veterans everywhere we go – ShadowDragon included. \n• Launching a SkillBridge partnership to assist active-duty service members transitioning to the civilian world. \n• OSINT use in the Afghanistan withdrawal\n• Injection of false information into crisis situations and how to triage fact from fiction.\n\nAutomation in OSINT, according to Nico, the Dutch OSINT Guy: \n\n• OSINT is an arduous process – automation can be a powerful tool in highlighting what’s important. \n• Utilizing ChatGPT to ‘stress-test’ narratives and large amounts of content to narrow down actor motives. \n• Automated image searches are best used in open-source investigations where the margin for human error is high. \n• Automation allows investigators and analysts to scale with the amount and volume of information and data that is ubiquitous today. \n\nDependency of Large-Language Models (LLMs), and other tech: \n\n• Utilizing LLMs for analysis must be used with caution – there are AI ‘hallucinations’ that return false information. \n• Remember: the models are trained using data from humans, so it still has a margin of error. \n• Investigators and analysts should be aware of AI ‘hallucinations’ within their OSINT tools they use. \n• Small cognitive conditioning happens with the dependency of technology and devices – we’re in for an interesting year with external catalysts (election, emerging LLMs/deepfake tech, etc.).\n\n“2024 is gonna be…crazy”, Daniel Clemens, CEO of ShadowDragon\n\n• People are not going to be able to trust what hear and see at the end of 2024 due to deepfake technology advances, segregation in the digital world manifesting itself in the physical world. \n• Regulation for ‘disinformation’ will not go anywhere, but there will be broad discussion and public discourse surrounding automated information – videos, audio recordings, and images. \n• Disinformation needs to be re-branded and specifically defined in contrast to foreign malign influence operations. \n\nElliott’s OSINT recommendations: \n\n• The popularity of OSINT will spurn regulatory action and we’ll see laws made and legal decisions on OSINT. \n\nDaniel’s OSINT recommendations: \n\n• The value of discernment will be ‘gold’ and being able to deconstruct what information is in front of them will need to be developed and honed. \n• The ‘AI’ buzzword in OSINT will start to collapse – but some capabilities will get better because of automation, especially Geo-Spatial Intelligence (GEOINT), geo-political use-cases, and supply chain risk management. \n\nDavid’s OSINT recommendations: \n\n• More people will find they’ve been utilizing open-source information and creating subsequent intelligence than previously thought, re-valuing OSINT as a sector to the upside, broadening and expanding what OSINT is. \n• OSINT as an intelligence discipline will take share from GEOINT and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). \n• AI and automation will create an ‘information inequality’ where a premium is placed on the truth. \n\nNico’s OSINT recommendations: \n\n• More and more people will understand that tradecraft in OSINT is so important. \n• Understanding, or the lack of understanding, the tradecraft, will dictate how good or how bad any regulation or legislation will be surrounding OSINT. \n• There will be more charlatans in the OSINT space. \n\nListen to the full podcast for all the guys’ book and podcast recommendations. \n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date on the latest. \n\nThank you for listening. ","content_html":"About this Episode
\n\nHosts:
\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO
\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO
\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)
\nDavid Cook, ShadowDragon Director of National Security
In our last podcast of 2023, the ShadowDragon crew talked about the importance of veterans’ service, disinformation, and gave some of our best predictions for 2024.
\n\nOne of ShadowDragon’s newest employees, David Cook, talks about running a non-profit focused on Special Operations Forces (SOF) advocacy:
\n\n• The Special Operations Association of America (SOAA.org) is a veteran service organization that advocates for the past, present and future SOF community.
\n• David first found SOAA during the Afghanistan withdrawal and has been involved ever since.
\n• SOAA, Congress, and several other organizations’ use of open-source information during the withdrawal to help Americans and our Afghan allies.
\n• Bringing service to veterans everywhere we go – ShadowDragon included.
\n• Launching a SkillBridge partnership to assist active-duty service members transitioning to the civilian world.
\n• OSINT use in the Afghanistan withdrawal
\n• Injection of false information into crisis situations and how to triage fact from fiction.
Automation in OSINT, according to Nico, the Dutch OSINT Guy:
\n\n• OSINT is an arduous process – automation can be a powerful tool in highlighting what’s important.
\n• Utilizing ChatGPT to ‘stress-test’ narratives and large amounts of content to narrow down actor motives.
\n• Automated image searches are best used in open-source investigations where the margin for human error is high.
\n• Automation allows investigators and analysts to scale with the amount and volume of information and data that is ubiquitous today.
Dependency of Large-Language Models (LLMs), and other tech:
\n\n• Utilizing LLMs for analysis must be used with caution – there are AI ‘hallucinations’ that return false information.
\n• Remember: the models are trained using data from humans, so it still has a margin of error.
\n• Investigators and analysts should be aware of AI ‘hallucinations’ within their OSINT tools they use.
\n• Small cognitive conditioning happens with the dependency of technology and devices – we’re in for an interesting year with external catalysts (election, emerging LLMs/deepfake tech, etc.).
“2024 is gonna be…crazy”, Daniel Clemens, CEO of ShadowDragon
\n\n• People are not going to be able to trust what hear and see at the end of 2024 due to deepfake technology advances, segregation in the digital world manifesting itself in the physical world.
\n• Regulation for ‘disinformation’ will not go anywhere, but there will be broad discussion and public discourse surrounding automated information – videos, audio recordings, and images.
\n• Disinformation needs to be re-branded and specifically defined in contrast to foreign malign influence operations.
Elliott’s OSINT recommendations:
\n\n• The popularity of OSINT will spurn regulatory action and we’ll see laws made and legal decisions on OSINT.
\n\nDaniel’s OSINT recommendations:
\n\n• The value of discernment will be ‘gold’ and being able to deconstruct what information is in front of them will need to be developed and honed.
\n• The ‘AI’ buzzword in OSINT will start to collapse – but some capabilities will get better because of automation, especially Geo-Spatial Intelligence (GEOINT), geo-political use-cases, and supply chain risk management.
David’s OSINT recommendations:
\n\n• More people will find they’ve been utilizing open-source information and creating subsequent intelligence than previously thought, re-valuing OSINT as a sector to the upside, broadening and expanding what OSINT is.
\n• OSINT as an intelligence discipline will take share from GEOINT and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT).
\n• AI and automation will create an ‘information inequality’ where a premium is placed on the truth.
Nico’s OSINT recommendations:
\n\n• More and more people will understand that tradecraft in OSINT is so important.
\n• Understanding, or the lack of understanding, the tradecraft, will dictate how good or how bad any regulation or legislation will be surrounding OSINT.
\n• There will be more charlatans in the OSINT space.
Listen to the full podcast for all the guys’ book and podcast recommendations.
\n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date on the latest.
\n\nThank you for listening.
","summary":"Daniel, Elliott, and Nico invite new panelist David to discuss his work and the current and future landscape of AI.","date_published":"2024-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/32e4c1c3-8871-4a15-80b5-e5ac606f041a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":61027402,"duration_in_seconds":3813}]},{"id":"1e918da7-2c86-45df-b139-ae8f306a18ee","title":"S02 E04: Breaking Down Systems, Breach Data Dumps, A.I., OSINF vs OSINT, and Tech Job Interviews","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s02e04","content_text":"About this Episode\n\nHosts:\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)\n\nThis time around the guys get together and talk about breaking down systems, especially as it relates to online data. You might be surprised to discover how social media algorithms are self-radicalizing people, computer experts are not what they used to be, and artificial intelligence could be headed down a destructive path.\n\nThey visit the past with a look at what open source intelligence was like ten years ago and glimpse what the future might look like with artificial intelligence and Apple Vision Pro goggles. It is all here as three old school open source intelligence investigators once again look at the world through the perspective of analytical intelligence.\n\nReasons we are seeing a recent increase in hacker and breach data activity, likely due to:\n• School summer break gives kids more free time\n• Ukraine war personnel returning to computers from battle lines\n• Hacker message boards feuding and hacking each other\n\nHere is what we are seeing when we interview computer job candidates:\n• Many claim to be an “expert of experts” without the underlying basic knowledge\n• These days people rarely build computers from parts – Apple security may be part of that\n• Programmers throw around the term API and then cannot explain an API\n\nNico gives us a glimpse of the evolution of his OSINT work:\n• Used to manually log into various accounts to make them look active daily\n• Over time the rise of hundreds of viable platforms required scaling account activity\n• Now finds that AI and ML results are outdated, biased, or untrue and does not use them for OSINT\n\nThe guys discuss modern day pros and cons of OSINT data collection:\n• Elliott finds people trust their niche communities and reveal more in those platforms\n• Content is moving from text to photos, moving images, and multiple languages, creating challenges\n• Analysts need to understand various AI programming languages and methodologies to vet the assumptions that produced the results\n• OSINT data collection processed through artificial intelligence is being questioned and invalidated in courts\n\nSocial media continues to influence society in unchecked ways:\n• Social media algorithms have become quicker and more comprehensive in showing content that feeds your interests\n• People are essentially becoming self-radicalized online through constant reinforcement of their beliefs\n• Terrorist groups are getting better at planting seeds pushed by algorithms\n\nThe potential for chaos and societal disruption is increasing:\n• Overloading systems and organizations are old concepts being applied in new ways through technology\n• Immigration policies need to address feelings of displacement, accelerated by slow processes and online radicalization\n• The creation of fake AI-generated content has the potential to push unstable people into violent action\n\nThe guys continue the in-depth discussion, further exploring challenges and scenarios brought on by technology, especially that crossing into the world of OSINT.\n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date on the latest.\n\nThank you for listening.","content_html":"About this Episode
\n\nHosts:
\nDaniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO
\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO
\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)
This time around the guys get together and talk about breaking down systems, especially as it relates to online data. You might be surprised to discover how social media algorithms are self-radicalizing people, computer experts are not what they used to be, and artificial intelligence could be headed down a destructive path.
\n\nThey visit the past with a look at what open source intelligence was like ten years ago and glimpse what the future might look like with artificial intelligence and Apple Vision Pro goggles. It is all here as three old school open source intelligence investigators once again look at the world through the perspective of analytical intelligence.
\n\nReasons we are seeing a recent increase in hacker and breach data activity, likely due to:
\n• School summer break gives kids more free time
\n• Ukraine war personnel returning to computers from battle lines
\n• Hacker message boards feuding and hacking each other
Here is what we are seeing when we interview computer job candidates:
\n• Many claim to be an “expert of experts” without the underlying basic knowledge
\n• These days people rarely build computers from parts – Apple security may be part of that
\n• Programmers throw around the term API and then cannot explain an API
Nico gives us a glimpse of the evolution of his OSINT work:
\n• Used to manually log into various accounts to make them look active daily
\n• Over time the rise of hundreds of viable platforms required scaling account activity
\n• Now finds that AI and ML results are outdated, biased, or untrue and does not use them for OSINT
The guys discuss modern day pros and cons of OSINT data collection:
\n• Elliott finds people trust their niche communities and reveal more in those platforms
\n• Content is moving from text to photos, moving images, and multiple languages, creating challenges
\n• Analysts need to understand various AI programming languages and methodologies to vet the assumptions that produced the results
\n• OSINT data collection processed through artificial intelligence is being questioned and invalidated in courts
Social media continues to influence society in unchecked ways:
\n• Social media algorithms have become quicker and more comprehensive in showing content that feeds your interests
\n• People are essentially becoming self-radicalized online through constant reinforcement of their beliefs
\n• Terrorist groups are getting better at planting seeds pushed by algorithms
The potential for chaos and societal disruption is increasing:
\n• Overloading systems and organizations are old concepts being applied in new ways through technology
\n• Immigration policies need to address feelings of displacement, accelerated by slow processes and online radicalization
\n• The creation of fake AI-generated content has the potential to push unstable people into violent action
The guys continue the in-depth discussion, further exploring challenges and scenarios brought on by technology, especially that crossing into the world of OSINT.
\n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Subscribe to the podcast to stay up to date on the latest.
\n\nThank you for listening.
","summary":"This time Daniel, Elliott, and Nico get together and talk about breaking down systems, especially as it relates to online data.\r\n\r\nThis episode discusses:\r\n• Increases in hacker and breach data activity\r\n• What OSINT work was like ten years ago versus today\r\n• Modern day pros and cons of OSINT data collection\r\n• Pitfalls of artificial intelligence and machine learning\r\n• Interviewing computer job candidates\r\n• Potential for Increased societal disruptions\r\n\r\nThe guys continue the discussion, further exploring challenges and scenarios brought on by technology, especially that crossing into the world of OSINT.\r\n\r\nJoin us regularly for discussions about news stories, current events, and technology updates from the perspective of old school open source intelligence investigators.\r\n\r\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Be sure to subscribe. Thank you for listening.","date_published":"2023-07-17T16:15:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/1e918da7-2c86-45df-b139-ae8f306a18ee.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":49903542,"duration_in_seconds":4900}]},{"id":"426e5c84-88ed-4a4e-828b-db6a9a96f572","title":"S02 E03: Silicon Valley Bank, Protests, Terrorists, Hacker Forums, Deep Fakes & Donald Trump","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s02e03","content_text":"About this Episode\n\nHosts: Daniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO\nNico Dekens (aka Dutch_OSINTguy), ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Collection \n\nThis time it’s a one-on-one conversation as Daniel and Nico cover the latest news in and outside the OSINT world. Their intel perspective on the news is fascinating, but the discussions between the headlines make this episode even more compelling. \n\nListen in as the guys discuss the increasing importance of incident response, crisis management, and operational security, while throwing in advice on protesting, voting, personal security awareness, and more that will add clarity in an ever-changing digital world.\n\nSilicon Valley Bank\n• Learn what went wrong in 60 seconds\n• Keyword monitoring detected early what other banks were at risk (i.e., Credit Suisse)\n• Disruptors started pushing false messages about US and EU bank failures\n• Getting messages, true or false, out to one or two key influencers can topple a company quickly\n• OSINT data could help drive aggressive investment strategies\n\nExtinction Rebellion (XR)\n• Protest group was infiltrated by Dutch law enforcement\n• Group feels abused being investigated by the same technique used on terrorists\n• Amnesty International calls the working method of the police and judiciary \"particularly problematic\"\n• Police have an obligation to maintain public order and prevent civil unrest\n\nUpdate: Stabbing Incidents and Alerts in Europe\n• There have been more stabbing incidents and lone wolf attacks since we discussed the rising trend in a recent episode\n• U.S. defense employee was stabbed in the United Kingdom near her GCHQ office\n• Intel agencies issued alerts for increased risk to Vienna prayer houses from Islamic State jihadis\n• Brussels metro stations are on high alert; U.S. embassy issued an alert for stabbing threat\n\nTerrorist Threat Response\n• Islamic terrorists may go silent for a while, but they are playing a long game and will return\n• Include native foreign language and dialects for OSINT search queries\n• Individuals need to increase situational awareness and safety protocols\n\nBreached.vc Hacker Forum Owner Arrested\n• Young man arrested and labeled “kingpin” of hacker info sharing stie\n• Suspect Conor Brian Fitzpatrick of Peekskill, NY looks like every hacker kid of the last 25 years\n• Profile does not fit old school hardcore criminal type\n• Hacker surprisingly made basic mistakes with operational security (opsec) \n• Unless law enforcement has a replacement in place, the forum will re-emerge elsewhere\n\nDonald Trump Announced Pending Arrest\n• More social media responses are from the left than the right\n• Messages are so extreme there is an indication they may be generated by bots\n• People on the right are not responding or mobilizing as they did with January 6th events\n• The realistic deep fake photos have had a limited effectiveness\n\nDeep Fake Tools Are Getting Better\n• The quality of fakes is getting so good they are making into mainstream media\n• Nico likes tools from Open AI, Midjourney, and HuggingFace.co\n• With text to image get very specific with visual details, but also perspective, camera angle, lens, etc.\n• People are creating AI-generated text and visual content without proper attribution\n\nJoin us again for more fun discussions about social media, open source intelligence, law enforcement, media manipulation, and the world at large. Look for upcoming guest appearances by other intelligence professionals.\n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast.\n\nThank you for listening.","content_html":"About this Episode
\n\nHosts: Daniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO
\nNico Dekens (aka Dutch_OSINTguy), ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Collection
This time it’s a one-on-one conversation as Daniel and Nico cover the latest news in and outside the OSINT world. Their intel perspective on the news is fascinating, but the discussions between the headlines make this episode even more compelling.
\n\nListen in as the guys discuss the increasing importance of incident response, crisis management, and operational security, while throwing in advice on protesting, voting, personal security awareness, and more that will add clarity in an ever-changing digital world.
\n\nSilicon Valley Bank
\n• Learn what went wrong in 60 seconds
\n• Keyword monitoring detected early what other banks were at risk (i.e., Credit Suisse)
\n• Disruptors started pushing false messages about US and EU bank failures
\n• Getting messages, true or false, out to one or two key influencers can topple a company quickly
\n• OSINT data could help drive aggressive investment strategies
Extinction Rebellion (XR)
\n• Protest group was infiltrated by Dutch law enforcement
\n• Group feels abused being investigated by the same technique used on terrorists
\n• Amnesty International calls the working method of the police and judiciary "particularly problematic"
\n• Police have an obligation to maintain public order and prevent civil unrest
Update: Stabbing Incidents and Alerts in Europe
\n• There have been more stabbing incidents and lone wolf attacks since we discussed the rising trend in a recent episode
\n• U.S. defense employee was stabbed in the United Kingdom near her GCHQ office
\n• Intel agencies issued alerts for increased risk to Vienna prayer houses from Islamic State jihadis
\n• Brussels metro stations are on high alert; U.S. embassy issued an alert for stabbing threat
Terrorist Threat Response
\n• Islamic terrorists may go silent for a while, but they are playing a long game and will return
\n• Include native foreign language and dialects for OSINT search queries
\n• Individuals need to increase situational awareness and safety protocols
Breached.vc Hacker Forum Owner Arrested
\n• Young man arrested and labeled “kingpin” of hacker info sharing stie
\n• Suspect Conor Brian Fitzpatrick of Peekskill, NY looks like every hacker kid of the last 25 years
\n• Profile does not fit old school hardcore criminal type
\n• Hacker surprisingly made basic mistakes with operational security (opsec)
\n• Unless law enforcement has a replacement in place, the forum will re-emerge elsewhere
Donald Trump Announced Pending Arrest
\n• More social media responses are from the left than the right
\n• Messages are so extreme there is an indication they may be generated by bots
\n• People on the right are not responding or mobilizing as they did with January 6th events
\n• The realistic deep fake photos have had a limited effectiveness
Deep Fake Tools Are Getting Better
\n• The quality of fakes is getting so good they are making into mainstream media
\n• Nico likes tools from Open AI, Midjourney, and HuggingFace.co
\n• With text to image get very specific with visual details, but also perspective, camera angle, lens, etc.
\n• People are creating AI-generated text and visual content without proper attribution
Join us again for more fun discussions about social media, open source intelligence, law enforcement, media manipulation, and the world at large. Look for upcoming guest appearances by other intelligence professionals.
\n\nThis podcast is available in video and audio versions at your favorite podcast outlet, popular video platforms, and the ShadowDragon website. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast.
\n\nThank you for listening.
","summary":"This time it’s a one-on-one conversation as Daniel and Nico cover the latest news in and outside the OSINT world with a fascinating intel perspective. In between the lines catch discussions about the increasing importance of incident response, crisis management, and operational security, while picking up advice on protesting, voting, personal security awareness, and more that will add clarity in an ever-changing digital world.","date_published":"2023-04-12T18:45:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/426e5c84-88ed-4a4e-828b-db6a9a96f572.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":35128389,"duration_in_seconds":2927}]},{"id":"0c3a0aac-d2e6-43c9-8c9f-127c91d34bed","title":"S02 E02: Chinese Spy Balloon, Outing Spies, Islamic Attacks, & Human Trafficking As Seen Thru OSINT","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s02e02","content_text":"About this Episode\n\nHosts: Daniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)\n\nThe guys are on top of the latest espionage and OSINT news around the world. From lone wolf activity to coordinated attacks, they examine recent events from an intelligence perspective, discussing new methodology and emerging patterns.\n\nIn a world where it isn’t always easy to know what’s real and what to dismiss as disinformation, we look at data to tell the true story.\n\nIslamic Terrorism:\n• An uprise of lone wolf attacks by the Islamic State have been observed in in Europe. Different than the terrorist cells we saw around 2015, but similar methods for achieving maximum damage with a knife.\n• There is more activity than the last five years so there's clearly something going on. We hope to get more insight on if these were orchestrated or coordinated attacks.\n• Islamic State simply wants to show they are still present and can do whatever they want when they want. That scares people and also makes some people choose sides.\n\nTyranny Against Farmers:\n• Farmers in Europe are rising up against strict limits on emissions and nitrogen and have been aggressively protesting, blocking roads and going to politicians’ homes to make their point.\n• Farmers seek to work out a long-term plan with the government, but so far it hasn't been going that well. It takes time to make big changes. The US took 12 years to switch consumers from analog to digital TV.\n• Reminiscent of how the United States was started with overburdensome government interference impacting those without appropriate representation.\n\nIrregular Warfare/Asymmetric Warfare:\n• It is all about disrupting society through pinching. Russian election influence didn’t just pick one side, they picked both sides.\n• It took a long time for many to realize the ability of the internet to interfere with geopolitics. The vast majority will never spot the manipulation.\n• Irregular warfare uses hacker math to find two or three low-risk vulnerabilities that can affect one super critical vulnerability. Smaller groups can exploit weaknesses and tilt the scales in their favor.\n\nData Dumps:\n• Super spies that successfully worked covertly for many years are being exposed with data dumps. Also revealing their families disrupts their daily lives for maximum damage.\n• Foreign policy connections and illegal surveillance on Russian citizens are being exposed through a Snowden type of leak. What we're seeing with data dumps is similar to the Berlin Wall coming down. We believe WWIII has started.\n• We are now seeing ransomware groups incorporate public relations and openly post job openings with benefits.\n\nData Collection:\n• People don't question the tech they use like they should.\n• Vulnerability is on the rise with smart devices and household appliances transmitting usage data across the web and basic apps requesting access to phone data for no good reason.\n• In China, TikTok users that had anti-government pictures on their phone suddenly found those pictures deleted from their camera roll. We should rename TikTok to DickTok.\n\nSplintered Social Media:\n• People are being pulled out of their comfort zone on certain platforms. It is hard for them to adjust to new restrictions. Splintering mostly affected right-leaning groups. Now we see the same pattern with the left.\n• Social aspects of the internet started in a very raw state with IRC type things and Yahoo chats. After that it became more polished like Instagram. Parents have stayed but kids have moved on.\n• Every 7-10 years there is a generational change in social media platforms. The new wave of social media is a little more personal. To some extent it started with Snapchat and now with Be Real.\n\nState of OSINT:\n• For a few years we saw a mass exodus from platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. New groups rose but most have died off.\n• In smaller ecosystems users tend to trust each other and act more extremely. Bad actors can do a lot more damage in these small groups.\n• This is great for OSINT investigation and attribution. We can target them easier in a smaller space and get better results.\n\nHuman Trafficking:\n• Sex workers tend to advertise online, which can lead to a trove of open source intelligence.\n• We see handlers slip up on operational security when they get into new platforms.\n• Even with faces blurred, connections can be made through identifying the same phone number, lingerie, hotel décor, bedspread, carpet, and power outlets.\n\nCatching Spies:\n• Spies are being outed at a high rate through open source intelligence, similar to that used in the Ukraine war. Spies in Russia, Brazil, Sweden, U.S., Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and more have recently been exposed.\n• Searching for those 35-65 is ideal. Younger people have more knowledge of online intelligence and older people have little or no online presence.\n• At-home spy hunters are now finding people and “unlocking achievements” like a video game.\n\nChinese Spy Balloon:\n• Hobbyists were tracking and identifying the Chinese spy balloon starting in the Western United States.\n• A low-cost RTL USB stick and antenna has democratized the radio spectrum, enabling anyone to access the signals. People use the Flight Aware app to monitor local air traffic.\n• Databases like ADS-B exchange will also give you free access to their global coverage for planes and boats. There are also weather balloon tracking apps.\n\nUsing Data To Tell The Story:\n• News today can cause anxiety from not knowing what is the real truth or what is behind it.\n• Figuring out what is going on is a rush. It lowers the anxiety level and lets you be at peace with whatever is the conclusion.\n• With OSINT investigations, data tells the unbiased story.\n\nShadowDragon is excited to have Nico Dekens officially join the team. For those interested in improving their open source investigative techniques and methodology, ShadowDragon now offers a special 5-day OSINT training class that is not advertised on the website. Contact us for details.\n\nThank you for joining us. You can look forward to more interesting news and information from the OSINT perspective in new episodes coming soon.","content_html":"About this Episode
\n\nHosts: Daniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO
\nElliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO
\nNico Dekens, ShadowDragon Director of Intelligence and Innovation Collection (aka Dutch_OSINTguy)
The guys are on top of the latest espionage and OSINT news around the world. From lone wolf activity to coordinated attacks, they examine recent events from an intelligence perspective, discussing new methodology and emerging patterns.
\n\nIn a world where it isn’t always easy to know what’s real and what to dismiss as disinformation, we look at data to tell the true story.
\n\nIslamic Terrorism:
\n• An uprise of lone wolf attacks by the Islamic State have been observed in in Europe. Different than the terrorist cells we saw around 2015, but similar methods for achieving maximum damage with a knife.
\n• There is more activity than the last five years so there's clearly something going on. We hope to get more insight on if these were orchestrated or coordinated attacks.
\n• Islamic State simply wants to show they are still present and can do whatever they want when they want. That scares people and also makes some people choose sides.
Tyranny Against Farmers:
\n• Farmers in Europe are rising up against strict limits on emissions and nitrogen and have been aggressively protesting, blocking roads and going to politicians’ homes to make their point.
\n• Farmers seek to work out a long-term plan with the government, but so far it hasn't been going that well. It takes time to make big changes. The US took 12 years to switch consumers from analog to digital TV.
\n• Reminiscent of how the United States was started with overburdensome government interference impacting those without appropriate representation.
Irregular Warfare/Asymmetric Warfare:
\n• It is all about disrupting society through pinching. Russian election influence didn’t just pick one side, they picked both sides.
\n• It took a long time for many to realize the ability of the internet to interfere with geopolitics. The vast majority will never spot the manipulation.
\n• Irregular warfare uses hacker math to find two or three low-risk vulnerabilities that can affect one super critical vulnerability. Smaller groups can exploit weaknesses and tilt the scales in their favor.
Data Dumps:
\n• Super spies that successfully worked covertly for many years are being exposed with data dumps. Also revealing their families disrupts their daily lives for maximum damage.
\n• Foreign policy connections and illegal surveillance on Russian citizens are being exposed through a Snowden type of leak. What we're seeing with data dumps is similar to the Berlin Wall coming down. We believe WWIII has started.
\n• We are now seeing ransomware groups incorporate public relations and openly post job openings with benefits.
Data Collection:
\n• People don't question the tech they use like they should.
\n• Vulnerability is on the rise with smart devices and household appliances transmitting usage data across the web and basic apps requesting access to phone data for no good reason.
\n• In China, TikTok users that had anti-government pictures on their phone suddenly found those pictures deleted from their camera roll. We should rename TikTok to DickTok.
Splintered Social Media:
\n• People are being pulled out of their comfort zone on certain platforms. It is hard for them to adjust to new restrictions. Splintering mostly affected right-leaning groups. Now we see the same pattern with the left.
\n• Social aspects of the internet started in a very raw state with IRC type things and Yahoo chats. After that it became more polished like Instagram. Parents have stayed but kids have moved on.
\n• Every 7-10 years there is a generational change in social media platforms. The new wave of social media is a little more personal. To some extent it started with Snapchat and now with Be Real.
State of OSINT:
\n• For a few years we saw a mass exodus from platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. New groups rose but most have died off.
\n• In smaller ecosystems users tend to trust each other and act more extremely. Bad actors can do a lot more damage in these small groups.
\n• This is great for OSINT investigation and attribution. We can target them easier in a smaller space and get better results.
Human Trafficking:
\n• Sex workers tend to advertise online, which can lead to a trove of open source intelligence.
\n• We see handlers slip up on operational security when they get into new platforms.
\n• Even with faces blurred, connections can be made through identifying the same phone number, lingerie, hotel décor, bedspread, carpet, and power outlets.
Catching Spies:
\n• Spies are being outed at a high rate through open source intelligence, similar to that used in the Ukraine war. Spies in Russia, Brazil, Sweden, U.S., Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and more have recently been exposed.
\n• Searching for those 35-65 is ideal. Younger people have more knowledge of online intelligence and older people have little or no online presence.
\n• At-home spy hunters are now finding people and “unlocking achievements” like a video game.
Chinese Spy Balloon:
\n• Hobbyists were tracking and identifying the Chinese spy balloon starting in the Western United States.
\n• A low-cost RTL USB stick and antenna has democratized the radio spectrum, enabling anyone to access the signals. People use the Flight Aware app to monitor local air traffic.
\n• Databases like ADS-B exchange will also give you free access to their global coverage for planes and boats. There are also weather balloon tracking apps.
Using Data To Tell The Story:
\n• News today can cause anxiety from not knowing what is the real truth or what is behind it.
\n• Figuring out what is going on is a rush. It lowers the anxiety level and lets you be at peace with whatever is the conclusion.
\n• With OSINT investigations, data tells the unbiased story.
ShadowDragon is excited to have Nico Dekens officially join the team. For those interested in improving their open source investigative techniques and methodology, ShadowDragon now offers a special 5-day OSINT training class that is not advertised on the website. Contact us for details.
\n\nThank you for joining us. You can look forward to more interesting news and information from the OSINT perspective in new episodes coming soon.
","summary":"The guys are on top of the latest espionage and OSINT news around the world. From lone wolf activity to coordinated attacks, they examine recent events from an intelligence perspective, discussing new methodology and emerging patterns.\r\n\r\nIn a world where it isn’t always easy to know what’s real and what to dismiss as disinformation, we look at data to tell the true story.\r\n\r\nThis episode we cover:\r\n• Chinese Spy Balloon\r\n• Hunting for Human Traffickers\r\n• Exposing Spies\r\n• The Current State of OSINT and More\r\n\r\nJoin us for looking at the news through data and more thought-provoking conversations with experts from within the OSINT world. Video versions of the podcasts can be found on YouTube, Vimeo, Rumble, and the ShadowDragon website.","date_published":"2023-03-02T17:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/0c3a0aac-d2e6-43c9-8c9f-127c91d34bed.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":62381955,"duration_in_seconds":5108}]},{"id":"199ee2ed-3d70-47bc-b169-8f4f5292f2b1","title":"S02 E01: What We’ve Learned In The Last Year About Social Media, OSINT, and Russia","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s02e01","content_text":"About This Episode\n\nHosts: Daniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO; Elliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO\nGuest: Nico Dekens, Dutch_OSINTguy\n\nAfter an extended layoff, the team returns with Dutch OSINT guy Nico Dekens to discuss changes and lessons learned during that time in the world of OSINT. They cover everything from the evolution of the internet landscape to the latest trends in counter social media and the use of technology in cybercrime and modern warfare.\n\nThe guys get right into a no holds barred conversation including methodology, tactics, and the current state of affairs.\n\nOn social media:\n• For many, the newest social media is like a new drug\n• Social media gave everyone a voice, but no one is actually listening\n• More free speech alternatives will rise over the next 24 to 36 months\n• Twitter model has always been broken, but remains a great source for breaking news\n• Segmentation of social audiences will see more disinformation with less accountability\n\nThe war in Ukraine revealed:\n• Russia was only a regional power, never a global power.\n• Disinformation was defeated with even quicker counter disinformation\n• OSINT can be an effective weapon against asymmetrical warfare\n• Truth beats lies. War is cognitive. Input validation is important.\n\nOSINT investigation tips:\n• Honest intelligence from people with smart phones replaces spy craft\n• Use the connector of a group to get to the hidden individual\n• “Pinch” bad guys with a curiosity or provocative action to reveal themselves\n• Food reviews, dating sites, sports sites, and gaming forums are valuable resources.\n• Google is good but it is not the internet. Use varied sources.\n\nWhat the near future holds:\n• Energy prices are contributing to inflation and a weak economy, signaling ongoing instability\n• Unsophisticated criminals with easy access to phishing tools may increase cybercrime\n• The power of drones to be used a weapon is much higher than people realize\n• Organizations give low priority to cyber investigations, acting tactically instead of strategically\n• OSINT provides more pieces for putting the puzzles together.\n\nNico Dekens teaches OSINT methodology, critical thinking, proper intelligence analysis, and how to interpret large datasets.\n\nFor tools to help you apply some of the “pinch” techniques mentioned in the podcast, check out Spotter by ShadowDragon. You can also find other great cyber investigative tools and training from ShadowDragon.\n\nJoin us for more thought-provoking episodes and conversations with experts from within the OSINT world.Special Guest: Nico \"Dutch Osint Guy\".","content_html":"About This Episode
\n\nHosts: Daniel Clemens, ShadowDragon CEO; Elliott Anderson, ShadowDragon CTO
\nGuest: Nico Dekens, Dutch_OSINTguy
After an extended layoff, the team returns with Dutch OSINT guy Nico Dekens to discuss changes and lessons learned during that time in the world of OSINT. They cover everything from the evolution of the internet landscape to the latest trends in counter social media and the use of technology in cybercrime and modern warfare.
\n\nThe guys get right into a no holds barred conversation including methodology, tactics, and the current state of affairs.
\n\nOn social media:
\n• For many, the newest social media is like a new drug
\n• Social media gave everyone a voice, but no one is actually listening
\n• More free speech alternatives will rise over the next 24 to 36 months
\n• Twitter model has always been broken, but remains a great source for breaking news
\n• Segmentation of social audiences will see more disinformation with less accountability
The war in Ukraine revealed:
\n• Russia was only a regional power, never a global power.
\n• Disinformation was defeated with even quicker counter disinformation
\n• OSINT can be an effective weapon against asymmetrical warfare
\n• Truth beats lies. War is cognitive. Input validation is important.
OSINT investigation tips:
\n• Honest intelligence from people with smart phones replaces spy craft
\n• Use the connector of a group to get to the hidden individual
\n• “Pinch” bad guys with a curiosity or provocative action to reveal themselves
\n• Food reviews, dating sites, sports sites, and gaming forums are valuable resources.
\n• Google is good but it is not the internet. Use varied sources.
What the near future holds:
\n• Energy prices are contributing to inflation and a weak economy, signaling ongoing instability
\n• Unsophisticated criminals with easy access to phishing tools may increase cybercrime
\n• The power of drones to be used a weapon is much higher than people realize
\n• Organizations give low priority to cyber investigations, acting tactically instead of strategically
\n• OSINT provides more pieces for putting the puzzles together.
Nico Dekens teaches OSINT methodology, critical thinking, proper intelligence analysis, and how to interpret large datasets.
\n\nFor tools to help you apply some of the “pinch” techniques mentioned in the podcast, check out Spotter by ShadowDragon. You can also find other great cyber investigative tools and training from ShadowDragon.
\n\nJoin us for more thought-provoking episodes and conversations with experts from within the OSINT world.
Special Guest: Nico "Dutch Osint Guy".
","summary":"After an extended layoff, Daniel Clemens and Elliott Anderson of ShadowDragon connect with Dutch OSINT guy Nico Dekens to discuss changes and lessons learned during that time in the world of OSINT. The team gets right into it with discussions about:\r\n\r\n• Shifts in the social media landscape\r\n• Information uncovered by the war in Ukraine\r\n• Next level OSINT investigative tips\r\n• The road ahead as seen through OSINT\r\n\r\nJoin us for more thought-provoking episodes and conversations with experts from within the OSINT world.","date_published":"2022-12-08T02:00:00.000-05:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/199ee2ed-3d70-47bc-b169-8f4f5292f2b1.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":52385799,"duration_in_seconds":4293}]},{"id":"1fb9c794-1200-4f40-891b-b4704a8597da","title":"S01 E08: Exploring OSINT, War Stories & OSINT with (Nico Dekens) Dutch_OSINTguy","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s01e08","content_text":"Nico shares his origin story along with war stories old, and new. \n Topics the following:\n * Leadership seems to want visualization, analyst don't care. Discussions evolve about how heat maps/crap maps may or may not be relevant. \n * Geographical visualization helps with different types of investigations. \n * Mapping Tactical Data is useful, timelines are helpful with pruning as well as mapping money laundering while other types of data fall short. Special Guest: Nico \"Dutch Osint Guy\".","content_html":"Nico shares his origin story along with war stories old, and new.
\n Topics the following:
\n * Leadership seems to want visualization, analyst don't care. Discussions evolve about how heat maps/crap maps may or may not be relevant.
\n * Geographical visualization helps with different types of investigations.
\n * Mapping Tactical Data is useful, timelines are helpful with pruning as well as mapping money laundering while other types of data fall short.
Special Guest: Nico "Dutch Osint Guy".
","summary":"We explore the topic of OSINT, War Stories, and the value of heat map visualization with Nico Dekens (aka Dutch_Osintguy). ","date_published":"2020-09-25T02:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/1fb9c794-1200-4f40-891b-b4704a8597da.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":96802770,"duration_in_seconds":4828}]},{"id":"49e11625-41a8-436b-bd0b-158f0dcc7f5c","title":"S01 E07: Charl van der Walt on red team vs blue team, history, threat intelligence, infosec rockstars, and striving for excellence. ","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s01e07","content_text":"Red team versus blue team. All should become a purple team!! Searching for a way around the rockstar mentality all too common within the infosec industry, as the proposal to build a team of teams is announced. Deception technology mixed with an actual true cost analysis of threat intelligence lending questionable returns. The roller coaster of topics reaches a pinnacle with a reflection on being allocentric within the security industry versus viewing security solely through the lens of industry growth.\n\nTopics include:\n\n\nCharl shares his history, growth, and maturity within the industry.\nRed team vs. blue team, and how everyone should be a purple team.\nDeception technology, honeypots, forensics, and storytelling with data.\nGetting around the rockstar mentality within infosec, and teamwork produces a higher ROI.\nDemystifying the value of threat intelligence.\n\n\nNotable Quotes:\n\n\n\"Think about what you do as something that matters and approach it in that way and the rest will follow.\" - Charl van der Walt\n\n\nSpecial shout outs to:\n\n\nHaroon Meer from Thinkst \nRoelof Temmingh from Vortimo. \nSpecial Guest: Charl van der Walt.","content_html":"Red team versus blue team. All should become a purple team!! Searching for a way around the rockstar mentality all too common within the infosec industry, as the proposal to build a team of teams is announced. Deception technology mixed with an actual true cost analysis of threat intelligence lending questionable returns. The roller coaster of topics reaches a pinnacle with a reflection on being allocentric within the security industry versus viewing security solely through the lens of industry growth.
\n\nTopics include:
\n\nNotable Quotes:
\n\n\n\n\n"Think about what you do as something that matters and approach it in that way and the rest will follow." - Charl van der Walt
\n
Special shout outs to:
\n\nSpecial Guest: Charl van der Walt.
","summary":"Red team versus blue team. All should become a purple team!! Searching for a way around the rockstar mentality all too common within the infosec industry, as the proposal to build a team of teams is announced. Deception technology mixed with an actual true cost analysis of threat intelligence lending questionable returns. The roller coaster of topics reaches a pinnacle with a reflection on being allocentric within the security industry versus viewing security solely through the lens of industry growth.","date_published":"2020-06-18T11:30:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/49e11625-41a8-436b-bd0b-158f0dcc7f5c.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":77291456,"duration_in_seconds":4826}]},{"id":"e2adb3c2-4f4e-43cb-9a40-2fb0a5d7dcc0","title":"S01 E06: Blake Butler Interview - Intel CTF, Hacking Back, Actor Engagement & Synthetic Identities in the Cognitive Warfare Landscape","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s01e06","content_text":"Actor engagement, and physical security intersect when active shooter situations or heightened security threats are targeted against executives or physical locations. Naturally, the topic of hack-back arises but this takes us down the rabbit trails of the roles synthetic identities play in the cognitive landscape, actor engagement and experiences found only in the trenches. Blake Butler from Paypal joins us in exploring very specific topics that are not discussed enough. \n\nTopics include:\n\n\nUsing OSINT, and Targeting in Active Shooter or physical security situations. \nHack back or Long Term Investigations \nActor engagement is a must for gleaning better intelligence. This isn't hack back, but to non-technical folks it sounds like hackback. Clarification is needed.\nCognitive Warfare landscape coupled with Synthetic Identities. \n\n\nActor engagement and physical security intersect when active shooter situations or heightened security threats are targeted against executives or physical locations. Naturally, the topic of hack-back arises, but this takes us down the rabbit trails of the roles synthetic identities play in the cognitive landscape, actor engagement, and experiences found only in the trenches. Blake Butler from Paypal joins us in exploring particular topics that are not discussed enough.\n\n\"For me its about being a story teller when presenting to the CISO in the organization... it is a story telling process, you have to have great writing skills... you can be the most technical person in the room but can't articulate in a calm and concise manner it doesn't matter. \"\n\n\"There are a whole bunch of skills that are not being taught, to bring use cases back to business need. At the end of the day, when you are doing a pentest, you aren't writing rop gadgets on the side, you are going to be looking for a way to leverage trust... it is those subtle relationships that need to be focused on\".\n\n\"There have been incidents where adversarial engagement was critical, especially with physical acts of violence, it was critical to save peoples lives, and the tooling ShadowDragon provides allows you to do that\". (Blake Butler)\n\nBlake Butler is one of the premier investigators on fraud, money laundering, OSINT, and offensive security at PayPal. He also spends a great deal of time, creating realistic intel-ctf scenarios at BlackHat and Defcon. Mr. Butler has quietly been apart of many complex investigations and takedowns and practices as a quiet professional within the United States. He has spoken at many of the private who's who security conferences Cymru, Underground Economy; NCFTA, Microsoft DCC. He has been one of a few practitioners that have been involved in high-risk-live attribution of active shooter situations, bridging both the physical and cyber realm while under pressure.Special Guest: Blake Butler.Links:Intel CTF Video SnippetHacking Back VideoVideo of EpisodeShadowDragon OIMonitorShadowDragon Spotter","content_html":"Actor engagement, and physical security intersect when active shooter situations or heightened security threats are targeted against executives or physical locations. Naturally, the topic of hack-back arises but this takes us down the rabbit trails of the roles synthetic identities play in the cognitive landscape, actor engagement and experiences found only in the trenches. Blake Butler from Paypal joins us in exploring very specific topics that are not discussed enough.
\n\nTopics include:
\n\nActor engagement and physical security intersect when active shooter situations or heightened security threats are targeted against executives or physical locations. Naturally, the topic of hack-back arises, but this takes us down the rabbit trails of the roles synthetic identities play in the cognitive landscape, actor engagement, and experiences found only in the trenches. Blake Butler from Paypal joins us in exploring particular topics that are not discussed enough.
\n\n"For me its about being a story teller when presenting to the CISO in the organization... it is a story telling process, you have to have great writing skills... you can be the most technical person in the room but can't articulate in a calm and concise manner it doesn't matter. "
\n\n"There are a whole bunch of skills that are not being taught, to bring use cases back to business need. At the end of the day, when you are doing a pentest, you aren't writing rop gadgets on the side, you are going to be looking for a way to leverage trust... it is those subtle relationships that need to be focused on".
\n\n"There have been incidents where adversarial engagement was critical, especially with physical acts of violence, it was critical to save peoples lives, and the tooling ShadowDragon provides allows you to do that". (Blake Butler)
\n\nBlake Butler is one of the premier investigators on fraud, money laundering, OSINT, and offensive security at PayPal. He also spends a great deal of time, creating realistic intel-ctf scenarios at BlackHat and Defcon. Mr. Butler has quietly been apart of many complex investigations and takedowns and practices as a quiet professional within the United States. He has spoken at many of the private who's who security conferences Cymru, Underground Economy; NCFTA, Microsoft DCC. He has been one of a few practitioners that have been involved in high-risk-live attribution of active shooter situations, bridging both the physical and cyber realm while under pressure.
Special Guest: Blake Butler.
Links:
","summary":"The topic of hack-back takes us down the rabbit trails of the roles synthetic identities play in the cognitive landscape, actor engagement and experiences found only in the trenches.","date_published":"2020-04-29T12:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/e2adb3c2-4f4e-43cb-9a40-2fb0a5d7dcc0.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":77120253,"duration_in_seconds":4773}]},{"id":"362c10b8-4805-4169-a9d1-fb7a85765daf","title":"S01 E05: Matt Devost Interview -Disinformation Attacks Against Institutions of Trust, Turing Assessments for Datasets, Exploration of Red Teaming Innovation","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s01e05","content_text":"Risk management strategies that work are hard to find in such a noisy infosec buzzword filled industry. Our guest Matt Devost, offers perspective on subjects which will be helpful for beginners, advisors or CISO's.\n\nWe cover some of the following items:\n\n\nAI & Turing Integrity Assessments\nRisk Management strategies that work. \nHistorical reference points to the beginnings of the threat intelligence industry. \nSimilarities between an evolving TI landscape, and red teaming over the last 20 years. \nWhere bad threat intelligence can take you. \nInsider threats are always constant. \nContext and discussion on disinformation.\n\n\n\n\"Here are the threat actors that likely to target you, here are the goals that they are trying to achieve, here are the attack surfaces that presented themselves, here is the outcome we could achieve, here is the mitigation strategy. Metrics and measurement matter, but strategic outcomes must be pursued. Risk management should always focus on time to detection.\".... (Paraphrased from Matt Devost)\n\n\nMatt Devost was one of the first white hat hackers to bridge the gap between the top-secret / national security circles and the hacker world. He was one of the few to have a masters degree in political science with a focus on national security, while also having the skills to attack and defend. He has been renowned as one of the few that had a world of \"first's\" within the industry. Matt was one of the first pulled into the United States Presidential commission on critical infrastructure protection in the 90s. The Presidential commission had a significant focus on cyber risks associated with the United States' critical infrastructure. Something that affects most of our careers in one way or another today. Special Guest: Matt Devost.","content_html":"Risk management strategies that work are hard to find in such a noisy infosec buzzword filled industry. Our guest Matt Devost, offers perspective on subjects which will be helpful for beginners, advisors or CISO's.
\n\nWe cover some of the following items:
\n\n\n\n\n"Here are the threat actors that likely to target you, here are the goals that they are trying to achieve, here are the attack surfaces that presented themselves, here is the outcome we could achieve, here is the mitigation strategy. Metrics and measurement matter, but strategic outcomes must be pursued. Risk management should always focus on time to detection.".... (Paraphrased from Matt Devost)
\n
Matt Devost was one of the first white hat hackers to bridge the gap between the top-secret / national security circles and the hacker world. He was one of the few to have a masters degree in political science with a focus on national security, while also having the skills to attack and defend. He has been renowned as one of the few that had a world of "first's" within the industry. Matt was one of the first pulled into the United States Presidential commission on critical infrastructure protection in the 90s. The Presidential commission had a significant focus on cyber risks associated with the United States' critical infrastructure. Something that affects most of our careers in one way or another today.
Special Guest: Matt Devost.
","summary":"Risk management strategies that work are hard to find in such a noisy infosec buzzword filled industry. Our guest Matt Devost, offers perspective on subjects which will be helpful for beginners, advisors or CISO's.","date_published":"2020-04-20T04:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/362c10b8-4805-4169-a9d1-fb7a85765daf.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":65131255,"duration_in_seconds":4053}]},{"id":"bba56d7f-4657-420f-a880-ffab594b32aa","title":"S01 E04: Covid19 Conversation and Observations","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s01e04","content_text":"In our podcast, we aren’t always the experts in all of the topics at hand, but we know where to get experts and have candid conversations.\n\nStandard Disclaimer\nThe intent is to explore information around this topic. This episode is long, and we will get a bibliography put together. In no way should the questions fan the flame of conspiracies, fear or panic. The information discussed are opinions and dialogue. Please verify the information or theories shared on your own time. The doctor Interviewed had requested to not publish his identity in this piece. We respect that and hope you will as well. ","content_html":"In our podcast, we aren’t always the experts in all of the topics at hand, but we know where to get experts and have candid conversations.
\n\nStandard Disclaimer
\nThe intent is to explore information around this topic. This episode is long, and we will get a bibliography put together. In no way should the questions fan the flame of conspiracies, fear or panic. The information discussed are opinions and dialogue. Please verify the information or theories shared on your own time. The doctor Interviewed had requested to not publish his identity in this piece. We respect that and hope you will as well.
The hack of old Zack Payton describes his role in pushing the boundaries of incident response, threat hunting and scaling up SOC teams and MSSPs with the innovations Westward.AI is pushing. Mr. Payton spent years providing in the trench incident response, reversing, exploit development and so much more.
\n\nSpecial mentions to the following:
\n\n@insanitybit
\ngrapl project: https://github.com/insanitybit/grapl
@rw_access Ross Wolf designer of EQL
\nhttps://github.com/endgameinc/eql
@Cyb3rWard0g Roberto Rodriguez Inventor of Mordor, HELK, and OSSEM
\nhttps://github.com/hunters-forge/mordor
\nhttps://github.com/hunters-forge/OSSEM
\nhttps://github.com/Cyb3rWard0g/HELK
@john_threat - making memory thieves
Special Guest: Zack Payton.
","summary":"Daniel Clemens, Brian Dykstra, and Zack Payton grok over story telling of investigations and the need for deeper innovation in EQL. \r\nInnovations in Event Query Language Implementations, AI, from Zack Payton at Westward.AI. ","date_published":"2020-04-13T05:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c94d80a4-45a7-44df-b108-8b5d810b42ac/cda25ee0-9a2b-422f-b856-5de91f091aee.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":77706075,"duration_in_seconds":4838}]},{"id":"5545f2ea-e871-4a90-9e6d-3ea3c978fc8a","title":"S01 E02: Cyber Cyber Bang Bang - Attacks Exploiting Risks within the Physical and Cyber Universe. Poor Security can get someone killed. ","url":"https://podcast.shadowdragon.io/s01e02","content_text":"Truly Advanced Persistent attacks where physical exploitation and even death are rarely discussed. We cover some of this along with security within the Healthcare and Government space. \n\nSecurity Within Healthcare and government is always hard. Tensions between information security and the business make this harder. Hospitals hit in fall of 2019 had a taste of exploitation. Similarly, state governments have had issues with cartel related attackers. CISO's that enable assessment, and security design around systems that cannot be fully hardened can kill two birds with one stone. \n\nWeighing authority versus influence, FDA approved equipment, 0day discovery within applications. \nDesigning security around systems is a must when unpatchable vulnerabilities exist. ","content_html":"Truly Advanced Persistent attacks where physical exploitation and even death are rarely discussed. We cover some of this along with security within the Healthcare and Government space.
\n\nSecurity Within Healthcare and government is always hard. Tensions between information security and the business make this harder. Hospitals hit in fall of 2019 had a taste of exploitation. Similarly, state governments have had issues with cartel related attackers. CISO's that enable assessment, and security design around systems that cannot be fully hardened can kill two birds with one stone.
\n\nWeighing authority versus influence, FDA approved equipment, 0day discovery within applications.
\nDesigning security around systems is a must when unpatchable vulnerabilities exist.
*A variety of topics are covered in this episode. *
\n\nDan's Inbox review:
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