For this episode, we get to talk with Maxie Reynolds about her new book, " The Art of Attack: Attacker Mindset for Security Professionals ". She talks about her four laws of attack and the skills necessary to be successful. These skills can help you as a social engineer as well as in other areas of life. Maxie is the Technical Team Lead at Social Engineer LLC where she also co-teaches the Advanced Practical Social Engineering course, co-hosts the Social Engineer Podcast , is involved with the In...
Aug 09, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 39
For this episode, we get to talk with Sinwindie . He got his start in law enforcement, learning tools of the trade in open source investigations. Eventually, Sinwindie had the idea to create the OSINT Dojo , a free online resource where people can learn the strategy and methodologies necessary to become better at OSINT investigations. Additionally, if one follows the progression through the Dojo, they'll have tangible results that can be shared with others or assist in job searches....
Aug 02, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 38
For this episode, we hear from Natalia Antonova, a journalist, a researcher and an OSINTer. She frequently posts on Substack at https://nataliaantonova.substack.com/ where she has given Geolocation challenges, tips for spotting a catfish, and using Google Lens, among other topics. She also posts on Twitter at @NataliaAntonova . Check out this episode for her tips on how to avoid online stalkers, why she posts photos of herself and challenges people with "Where am I?" and about learning human psy...
Jul 26, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 37
In this episode, we talk with Kate Kelley, also known as The Photo Angel. Kate connects old photos with relatives of those in the photo. She uses OSINT techniques to locate the family members, often starting with little information. Kate finds the photos in antique stores and then goes to work on finding the family members. She also runs a Facebook group where she and others share stories of successful connections. The group is also named The Photo Angel . Kate was also recently featured in the ...
Jul 19, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 36
In this episode, we speak with @AngusRedBlue , Charles Hein Wroth. Charles founded redherd.io and is a technical recruiter, but not your typical recruiter. Charles is a technical recruiter who understands the technical aspects of security , has given presentations at security conferences, regularly volunteers at conferences and also created Hack South , a South African infosec community. Charles also competes in the Trace Labs OSINT competitions. Charles tells us what he looks for in technical c...
Jul 12, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Micah Hoffman, known as WebBreacher on Twitter is a pioneer in the OSINT field. He created his own company, Spotlight Infosec , he created and teaches SANS 487: Open Source Intelligence Gathering and Analysis and also created OSINT Curious . We talked with Micah about how he got his start in infosec, how he started in OSINT and a little about Impostor Syndrome and feelings. Micah also gives advice on getting started and about OSINT strategy vs. tools....
Jul 06, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 34
The second annual ILFest will begin at 11 am US ET on July 10th and available on Twitch.tv. In this episode, we hear from Shane, Mandy and John about what the Innocent Lives Foundation (ILF) is, the type of work that they do to unmask predators of children online and how they work with law enforcement to take these people off the streets. We'll hear about ways they raise money at ILFest including a " Sandwich of Suffering " which might be much to Chris Hadnagy 's chagrin....
Jun 28, 2021•46 min•Season 2Ep. 33
We are joined by our good friend, Sam Moses, who generally goes by Moses. He tells us two stories of phishing and vishing engagements. He talks about the OSINT he performed and shows its value. He takes us through the ups and downs of calling people and how sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, there can still be an unforeseen curve thrown at you. He also tells us about a really nice conversation with The Sweet Old Lady and all the fun information she shared with him. Moses also gives advic...
Jun 21, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 32
For this episode, we talk with Joe Gray, also known as @C_3PJoe on Twitter. His web site is https://www.theosintion.com , a destination for OSINT and social engineering training. Joe is an accomplished conference speaker and won the social engineering capture the flag competition at DerbyCon. Joe tells us about a couple of his favorite presentations and projects he has worked on, how to get started in the OSINT industry and tells us about his book Practical Social Engineering , available from No...
Jun 14, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 31
On this episode, we talked with Jonathan Younie, aka @InfosecCanuck . Younie is a CISO for a financial services firm and a social engineer. He talks with us about his experience at the recent Human Hacking Conference , and the lessons he brought back for his own company's social engineering training. Younie has also created and is a part of social engineering and OSINT professional networking groups on Clubhouse and Slack . Younie also gives us a little bit of information about the upcoming ILF ...
Jun 07, 2021•35 min•Season 2Ep. 30
On April 3, we re-shared a photo from a friend of a building and asked "Where is this?" People from literally around the world began searching, and it wasn't until the following day when Marlena von Hoffer, aka @Polarisu used her skiptracing OSINT skills to finally locate the building in the image. In this episode, Marlena tells us about the tools, techniques and strategy she used to eventually figure out the location. She also tells us a fun story of how she was able to locate someone using onl...
May 31, 2021•38 min•Season 2Ep. 29
For this episode, Crystal aka UnluckyNum7 joins us to talk about her methods and strategy for bypassing security controls to access buildings. She talks about what she did when faced with locked doors during an upstate New York winter, or when the elevator required a valid badge to get to floors and what she came up with when someone asked what she will bring to the company holiday party. All this and more in today's fun episode!
May 24, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 28
For this episode, we welcome our friend Twig . Twig is a member of IBM’s X-Force Red and a social engineer. She tells us about a lock identification tool that she created and presented at Shellcon. She also takes us through a vishing engagement and the various strategies that she uses.
May 17, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 27
For this episode, we're joined by Siobhan Kelleher, also known as @Secure_Coffee . Siobhan's day job is in higher ed but she got introduced to OSINT by joining in to a Trace Labs Capture the Flag competition at the 2019 Layer 8 Conference. She has worked in sales, so she's also always had a knack for social engineering, plus it appears to run in her family. Let's hear from Siobhan about the strategies and many tools that she has learned to use during her OSINT investigations....
May 10, 2021•23 min•Season 2Ep. 26
The main organizers of the Collegiate SECTF include Temple University 's CARE Lab of Professor Aunshul Rege , Rachel Bleiman and Katorah Williams , plus Patrick Laverty from Layer 8 Conference. In this episode, the team discusses the origins of the SECTF, how it works, who can compete, as well as the impressions of the competition by graduate students Rachel and Katorah. If you are a college student and would like to compete in this tournament, this is a can't miss episode!...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 25
For this episode, we speak with Michele Stuart of JAG Investigations . Michele is a social engineer and OSINT investigator. She also offers training on her strategies and techniques. Michele tells us about the OSINT tools that she used when she first got started in the field, which was before searching on the internet became common. She also tells us how she talked her way into a Super Bowl party and also ended up selling raffle tickets at a holiday party!...
Apr 26, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 24
For this episode, we speak with three social engineers who are also hobbyists in the art of magic. Magic is often about deception, distraction and sleight of hand techniques. We'll talk with Lee , Richard and Chris about how they got started learning these techniques, as well as some of the psychology needed to make people believe the tricks and find the overlaps with social engineering....
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 8 min
What is the dark net, the dark web, the clear web and the differences between them? For this episode, we'll hear some fun stories from Levitannin , an OSINT researcher and Innocent Lives Foundation volunteer. Are Red Rooms real? And what are some of the places to look for some of the rumored illicit information that is on these layers of the internet? Join Levi today and find out all this, plus even more! And you can also join Levi for the Innocent Lives Foundation gamer streams on Twitch ! If y...
Apr 12, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 22
From October 2nd to 4th, six teams competed in the first ever Collegiate Social Engineering Capture the Flag competition at Temple University. They were tested on their ability to perform OSINT, create a phishing email and even make phone calls to gain information. This episode speaks with the creator of the competition, Professor Aunshul Rege and the winner of the competition, a one-woman team from Noroff University College in Norway, Ragnhild "Bridget" Sageng . We also have one of the judges w...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 29 min
For this episode, we welcome our friend Tokyo . Tokyo is a member of Team Searchlight community, and is the author of many blog posts on OSINT investigations. Today, Tokyo shows us the steps, methodology and tools that can be used to trace a single online review all the way to the person who left it.
Mar 29, 2021•13 min
For this episode, we hear from Stefanie LaHart . Stefanie is an expert social media strategist and podcaster who has competed in the Defcon social engineering capture the flag competition twice! She tells us how she got into the competition as someone who was unfamiliar with the terms social engineering and OSINT, showed up to the competition without much of a strategy and figured it out on the spot. She also tells us about what happened when a person from her competition target was in the audie...
Mar 22, 2021•48 min
For this episode, we welcome BOsintBlanc . He loves to use OSINT tools and loves to help others with their OSINT skills. But there's one thing that he'd love to see everyone do before using tools. That is to develop a solid methodology and mindset around the OSINT process. In this episode, he talks about how he got started in OSINT and other tips and tricks to refining your own methodology. Also, he asks that you consider making a donation to the National Child Protection Task Force , where he v...
Mar 15, 2021•21 min
For this episode, we welcome Nicole Beckwith . Nicole is a Staff Cyber Intel Analyst with GE Aviation . She previously worked in law enforcement and was tasked with going undercover into the world of sex work. She played the role of a sex worker and explains all the background and research that went into it, learning the language, the acronyms, the signal words and ways to protect herself in the job. She also tells a second story of a night when one unsuspecting person crossed paths with Nicole ...
Mar 08, 2021•29 min
In this episode, we talk with Phillip Wylie . Phillip is a former professional wrestler turned hacker and now teacher, and an ambassador to the Innocent Lives Foundation . Please donate today on Phillip's page ! Phillip works as an offensive security instructor for INE , he created the Pwn School , co-authored The Pentester's Blueprint with Kim Crawley which he also turned into a conference presentation , and also co-hosts the podcast The Uncommon Journey with Alyssa Miller and Chloe Messdaghi. ...
Mar 01, 2021•45 min
For this episode, we speak with @DeviantOllam who runs both the Core Group and Red Team Alliance . Deviant is also the author of two books, Practical Lock Picking: A Physical Penetration Tester's Training Guide and Keys to the Kingdom: Impressioning, Privilege Escalation, Bumping, and Other Key-Based Attacks Against Physical Locks . Today, Deviant tells us three stories of covert entry, including much of his strategy, tips, techniques and the social engineering that goes into an engagement. He a...
Feb 22, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 14
For this episode, we talk with Ryan MacDougall , the Chief Operating Officer at Social-Engineer.org and Curt Klump , a Human Risk Analyst, also at Social-Engineer.org. They tell two stories of using OSINT during social engineering engagements. In Ryan's, he shows how sometimes no matter how deep you dig, it might not be enough. In Curt's story, he tells us about ways that he was able to use OSINT to find a ghost. Curt and Ryan also join us to talk about the upcoming Human Hacking Conference on M...
Feb 15, 2021•16 min
Доверяй, но проверяй - Doveryai, No Proveryai (Trust, but verify) For this episode, we welcome Zlata Pavlova aka @3latka_ on Twitter. By day, Zlata works with InGuardians but she is also working with OSINT and social engineering. Zlata speaks multiple languages which is a big asset with the type of OSINT she does. Today, she walks us through the steps that a hacker took to take control of a celebrity's Instagram account....
Feb 08, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 15
For this episode, we talk with Jon Nichols, aka @WVUAlphaSoldier and @JohnKirbow , two men trained by the US military in psychological operations and disinformation. We talk with them about current disinformation campaigns, where they come from, how they work and how people can start to understand each other again.
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 44
For this episode, we welcome Benjamin Strick, also known as BenDoBrown on Twitter. Ben tells us of an investigation that he published for Bellingcat where he was seeing contrasting information coming from Indonesia during a genocidal event. He began digging in, starting with a Twitter timeline that was publishing videos and eventually got to the source, but not without experiencing death threats for his work along the way. You can find Ben's writeups here: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/rest-of...
Jan 25, 2021•21 min
We welcome Edward Miro to this week's episode. You can find his work on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/MiroLabs or his own site, https://mirolabs.info . In this episode, Edward walks us through his start in the field as he gave a presentation in the Defcon Social Engineering Village to hundreds of attendees, and he talks about social tips he learned as a rideshare driver and also tells us how we can hack our own brain....
Jan 18, 2021•31 min
