OSINT Weekly Review 2025.43. Painting a clearer image of AI, OSINT…

Painting a clearer image of AI, OSINT, fraud, and security studies.

Recommended Reading:

🏢 From The Wall Street Journal, an interesting investigation into renter fraud that took off in 2020 and has since escalated to new heights. As rental properties have reached higher and higher prices, social media promoters “charge hundreds of dollars for fake rental-application packages, which they say include doctored financial documents, fake social-security numbers and false employment letters.”

🚛 You don’t typically expect a Food Network Star to be taken down by supply chain fraud, but that’s what happened to Mayor of Flavortown, Guy Fieri, and his tequila brand. Open Corporates tells the tale of how this happens from the perspective of freight fraud, and 60 Minutes (US) tells it from Guy’s.

🚓 FutureScot, in conjunction with Penlink, published an interesting paper on the role of technology and OSINT collection in preparing for the safe policing of special events. Drawing on real-life examples such as Burning Man and influencer-led events in Times Square, the paper examines how OSINT can be used at each stage of event planning, execution, and monitoring during the live event to protect attendees and first responders from nefarious actors.

⚔ In that same vein, SC Media discusses “Six Ways to Protect C-Suite Execs from OSINT Exploits.” Typically, when working in executive security, we use OSINT defensively to protect C-Suite individuals from adversaries who may wish them harm, but this article looks at offensive measures to protect them from OSINT-driven attack vectors.

🔮 There were quite a few AI-related articles of note this week, and I wanted to highlight them for those who may be tracking the use and utility of AI in the OSINT, investigative, and/or analytical space. As always, please use good OPSEC and check your privacy settings often.

• Have you tried using an AI web browser yet? This journalist at the WSJ did, and she’s never going back to traditional browsers.
• Geoffrey Fowler, intrepid privacy red-flag-waver from The Washington Post, tried ChatGPT’s web browser and is warning users of its potential pitfalls and tracking mechanisms.
• In Virginia, a candidate running for Lt. Governor in this year’s election created an AI-generated version of his opponent and staged a ‘debate’ against her after she refused to debate him for real.
• Jeremy Caplan, Director of Teaching and Learning at CUNY’s Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, has developed a method for using a private AI on your own computer or network to search your own data privately. For free.
• Lastly, the fine folks over at Authentic8 recently published a blog post titled “How AI can be used for threat detection,” which demonstrates how AI can be used for a variety of cybersecurity and fraud-detection purposes, with safety protocols in place.

🧠 As seen above, there’s so much talk about how AI can be used for OSINT, investigative methods, or cybersecurity. There’s even more discussion about how it can be used for nefarious purposes. Still, it’s important to consider how it may hamper our critical thinking and the overall damage it does to the creative arts. In this piece from The Washington Post, several students, tech workers, and artists reject the notion that AI should take over the world. This is a must-read no matter where you stand on AI. https://archive.is/k9z5v

Selected Recommended Training:

🛠️ The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) will host a webinar entitled “Tips and Tools for Uncovering Online Scams.” For investigative reporters and researchers, “uncovering the individuals, platforms, and financial flows behind these operations is essential to protect the public interest and expose the broader systems that enable online fraud.

“In this webinar, you’ll gain practical strategies and tools for tracking, verifying, and reporting on online scams. Whether you’re new to the topic or looking to deepen your expertise, this session will provide advice for impactful reporting on one of the world’s most urgent issues.”

When: Tues, 28 Oct, 9:00 a.m. EDT
Where: Online, click the link below to register

🌎 From the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), a new webinar on “Unregulated Fentanyl in North America.” Recorded on 23 Oct, this webinar is now available for viewing.

“This webinar answers key questions about the unregulated market of fentanyl in North America. For instance, how do production and trafficking patterns differ from those of other substances? Is there a Canada–US trafficking route? How will supply chains be impacted by the FTO designation? Join us to examine these issues and reflect on the pathways forward.”

5️⃣ Are you looking to get in some solid training before the end of the year? Consider these “5 Durable Skills to Grow By the End of the Year,” from the Association for Talent Development (ATD), which looks at growing your capacity for leadership, teamwork, performance measurement, and more. These skills make you think — in the best possible way.

🎙️ Dr. Emma L. Briant returns to this week’s update with an appearance on the Saufex podcast to discuss “Privacy, Data and the Digital Influence Industry,” which also happens to be the subject of her latest book. Saufex is the EU-funded Secure Automated Unified Framework for Exchange, a collaborative initiative designed to combat foreign information manipulation and interference.

🇨🇦 If you’re in the Toronto area, you may want to check out “The New Age of Digital Deception: What’s Changed and How to Fight Back,” a discussion with Craig Silverman of Indicator Media and Carolyn Jarvis of CTV News Channel. Tickets are free, and you can register at the link below:

When: Wed, 29 Oct, 6:30 p.m. EDT
Where: Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W, Toronto

🛡️ Join experts from both RANE and Silobreaker as they discuss security threats in Q4 and how to prepare for the challenges they present, including the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War, Israel-Gaza-Iran and regional strategic implications, and critical threats to the global supply chain. This webinar was presented on Thurs, 23 Oct and is available for viewing. Click below to begin watching on the BrightTalk platform.