The OSINT Comprehensive course is designed to equip participants with essential knowledge and practical skills in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) over three days. This course is for law enforcement leadership, investigators, and analysts with varying levels of experience who are interested in mastering the comprehensive aspects of gathering, analyzing, and using publicly available data.
Day 1: Foundations of Online Investigations
• Focus on operational security and foundational skills for analyzing publicly available information.
• Learn about risks associated with online investigations and techniques to view websites undetected.
• Gain insights into safer alternatives to proxy servers.
• Understand advanced Google search operators for efficient and targeted searches.
• Cover methods for the evaluation of websites and conducting people searches to gather information about suspects or individuals of interest.
Day 2: Exploring Images, Documents, and Social Media Platforms
• Explore tools for reading embedded information in files and images to detect alterations.
• Learn to extract additional data points for analysis.
• Dive into social media platforms, including Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok.
• Navigate, monitor, and investigate these platforms, incorporating techniques for geolocation data and user account analysis.
Day 3: Facebook, Emerging Platforms, and Advanced Techniques
• Cover Facebook, emerging social media apps, and additional platforms such as Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
• Discover the latest search tools and privacy settings on Facebook.
• Address automation and monitoring of social media using RSS readers and other tools.
• Learn advanced techniques, guidance on continuing education, and computer clean-up best practices.
• Conclude with course evaluations.
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Kirby Plessas, a seasoned professional with expertise in AI and OSINT.
Format: Practical demonstrations and hands-on exercises with participant engagement in discussions and questions.
Course Outcomes: By the end of the OSINT Comprehensive course, participants will have a solid foundation in OSINT, enabling them to gather information from online sources while maintaining operational security. Students will be provided with relevant resources and materials for immediate application in investigations. They will possess the necessary skills to conduct investigations, evaluate websites, perform people searches, work with images and documents, navigate social media platforms, and automate parts of the investigative process.
Training Site: City of Vancouver Washington Police Department West Precinct (2800 NE Stapleton Rd., Vancouver, WA 98661)