OSINT People Search & Identification 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'data aggregator scraping' in the context of people search OSINT?
- Hacking into commercial databases
- Using automated tools to collect publicly visible data from sites like Spokeo or WhitePages (Correct answer)
- Intercepting ISP traffic logs
- Extracting encrypted law enforcement records
Correct answer: Using automated tools to collect publicly visible data from sites like Spokeo or WhitePages
Data aggregator scraping involves programmatically querying people-finder websites that compile public records, social data, and contact information.
Question 2: Which element of a person's EXIF metadata embedded in a photo can directly reveal their location?
- Color profile
- Camera model
- GPS coordinates (Correct answer)
- Image resolution
Correct answer: GPS coordinates
GPS coordinates embedded in EXIF data pinpoint where a photo was taken and can be used to geolocate a subject.
Question 3: An OSINT analyst wants to identify someone from a crowd photo taken at a public event. Which approach is legally and ethically acceptable?
- Running facial recognition against a private law enforcement database
- Comparing the photo against publicly available social media images using open tools (Correct answer)
- Purchasing hacked credential databases to find matches
- Accessing airport surveillance feeds
Correct answer: Comparing the photo against publicly available social media images using open tools
Using open-source facial comparison tools against publicly shared images is a legally and ethically acceptable method in OSINT investigations.
Question 4: Which US public record type often contains a person's full legal name, date of birth, and county of residence?
- FCC license records
- Property tax records (Correct answer)
- OSHA inspection reports
- SEC comment letters
Correct answer: Property tax records
Property tax records are maintained by county assessors and typically include owner names, addresses, and sometimes DOB or identification details.
Question 5: When using Maltego for people search, what does a 'transform' do?
- Encrypts the subject's data for secure storage
- Queries external data sources to expand a graph node with related information (Correct answer)
- Anonymizes the analyst's identity online
- Converts file formats for evidence packaging
Correct answer: Queries external data sources to expand a graph node with related information
In Maltego, a transform is an automated query that pulls related data from APIs or databases and adds new nodes to the investigation graph.
Question 6: Which search engine is particularly well-regarded for finding Russian-language social profiles and can be useful for Eurasian people-search OSINT?
- Bing
- Yandex (Correct answer)
- DuckDuckGo
- Baidu
Correct answer: Yandex
Yandex indexes Russian-language content far more deeply than Western search engines and offers a reverse image search that often outperforms Google for CIS-region subjects.
Question 7: What is 'sockpuppet detection' in people-search OSINT?
- Finding phishing emails disguised as support messages
- Identifying fake online accounts created by the same real individual (Correct answer)
- Detecting malware hidden in social media links
- Tracing VPN exit nodes back to an ISP
Correct answer: Identifying fake online accounts created by the same real individual
Sockpuppet detection involves analyzing behavioral patterns, timing, writing style, and shared infrastructure to link multiple fake accounts to one person.
OSINT People Search & Identification 3
What is 'data aggregator scraping' in the context of people search OSINT?