OSINT with ShadowDragon & Digital Tools For Modern Investigations

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.

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.

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.

Don't miss this compelling conversation about unconventional influence and its applications in modern warfare and beyond!

Special Guest: Russ Robson.

Podcast Summary: ShadowDragon - Malware Alert on Social Media

In 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.

These 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.

The 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.

Listeners 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.

Podcast Summary

In 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.

The 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.

Overall, 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.

Please like, subscribe, and share the podcast to stay updated on these important developments.

ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics and More Podcast Summary

Host: Nico Dekens, “The Dutch OSINT Guy” (follow Nico on X: @dutch_osintguy)

Episode Focus: Critical cybersecurity advisory on state-sponsored Russian media using advanced software for foreign malign influence activities.

Key Points Covered:

Closing Remarks:

Thank you for tuning in to the ShadowDragon OSINT Geopolitics and More Podcast. See you in the next episode!

Show Notes:

Follow ShadowDragon on social media for more up-to-date news and information

Key Points Discussed:

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

The Shadow Dragon Special Edition Podcast

Introduction:

Military Alert in Europe:

Global Protests:

Elections and Political Disturbances:

Conclusion:

Nico, 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.

The 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.

Nico 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:

• Speed of Horizon is unmatched

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.

The 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.

David 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.

Daniel 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.

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.

Thank you for listening.