Profile Pictures on Social Media: Operational Risks
The internet has become an incredibly visual medium. Faces are everywhere online, particularly in social media. But, if you are trying to go online under an alias, faces can create a major problem.
02Oct
Dangers of Bitcoin for MA: Risks to Undercover Operations
Bitcoin could actually put you at risk of exposing your alias. But with the proper precautions and rigorous OPSEC, your mission objectives remain feasible, even while manipulating bitcoin.
11Sep
Lightbeam by Firefox Illuminates Managed Attribution Risks
This blog highlights the FireFox Lightbeam tool that shows how many third party sites that are viewing your activity when you visit a given website. I also discuss the only way to mitigate this ubiquitous monitoring—perfecting your OPSEC and managing your online fingerprint.
28Aug
CAKED: Threat Modeling for Managed Attribution Part 3
In this episode of the series, I apply our threat model to a scenario with significantly higher vulnerability than the last. In this example, the client is conducting active engagement with an overseas illegal marketplace operated by the target.
28Aug
OSINT Threat Modeling for Managed Attribution: Part 2
Part 2 of this 3-part series, Lance applies the managed attribution threat model to an OSINT scenario. The MA requirement here is for the operator to blend in with a highly paranoid group while avoiding detection as an alias by the social media platform they are using.
17Jul
Canary Trap: The Biggest Risk for Online Identities
The most effective way to expose online identities and aliases is a technique called the Canary Trap or the Barium Meal Test. None of the standard managed attribution practices are effective in thwarting it because it attacks the human operator, rendering most tools ineffective.
19Jun
What is Managed Attribution?
The definition of managed attribution is the process of controlling the technical and behavioral indicators that comprise your online identity or attribution.
12Jun
OSINT Case Study: Code Name “Arid Hunter”
Sometimes the best way to understand how a solution might work for you is to see how it was used by someone else. One of our customers kindly gave us permission to use them in an anonymous case study.
22May
What is Misattribution – Part 4: Misattribution Challenges
If you read the first blogs of this series, you know what misattribution is, why it’s important, and the various technical and non-technical elements that go into it. You know when to manage your attribution, why that’s often a better choice than being anonymous, and some kinds of tools available to...
08May
What is Misattribution – Part 3: Non-Technical Misattribution
In part three of four of our series on misattribution, I’ll explore non-technical misattribution: basically, everything that identifies someone online other than the information that computers and networks reveal.