OSINT: Searching the Russian Internet (3 Days)
This course is dedicated to helping researchers, academics and business professionals make better use of Russian-language internet and social media sources. The course begins with a general introduction to the Russian language and the Russian Internet. From there, we will demonstrate how to set up your desktop and mobile devices to support data collection, processing and translation. We will then walk you through the different strategies, tools and resources you can use to research or investigate Russian-language sources and content on popular social media platforms. We will also show you how to identify and validate Russian companies. Throughout, emphasis will be given to those aspects of the language and culture that you should be sensitive to as a researcher. The course will be delivered in-person over 3 days in different venues.
Course Outline
Russian Media / Searching the Russian Internet
Introduction to the Russian Web
- The Russian Internet ecosystem
- RuNet: forces and expressions
- The Russian language
- Setting up a Russian-language keyboard
- Typing in Russian
- Translation tools setup and use (web and mobile)
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
- AI tools for working with the Russian language
Russian Mass Media
- The Russian media landscape: players, propaganda and control
- Russian bots
Search Tools and Strategies
- Searching Google in Russian
- Searching Yandex in Russian
- Reconciling information inconsistencies in English and Russian
- Satellite imagery, location-specific searches, Russian addresses
- AI tools for online research
- Investigating web resources
People Search and Social Media
People Search
- Working with Russian names
- Finding Russian email addresses
- Investigating Russian phone numbers
- Understanding Russian personal documents
- Facial recognition and the Russian internet
Social Media Research
- Working with Russian content on Western social media platforms
- Working with Russian social media and messaging platforms
- VKontakte
- OK
- Moi Mir
- Telegram
- Rutube
- Working with Russian forums
- Working with breached data
Corporate Research in Russian
Corporate Research
- Introduction to the Russian business landscape
- Corporate research methodology
- Identifying and verifying Russian companies
- Mapping a company’s online footprint
- Russian business registries and databases
- Russian company identifiers
- Verifying and researching ownership and control
- Investigating sanctioned entities
- Investigating leaked databases
Exercises / Case Studies / Additional Resources
- Applying lessons learned through practical training exercises
- Additional OSINT resources for the Russian internet
Course Details
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?
This course is intended for anyone wishing to make better use of Russian language resources on the Internet. The course is recommended for business professionals, academic researchers, due diligence specialists and social media investigators.
HOW YOU BENEFIT
On completion of this course, you will have the ability to:
- Understand the main characteristics of the Russian language
- Navigate Russian sources with greater confidence
- Find specific content in Russian (news reports, documents, etc.)
- Find people through their web and social media footprints
- Apply a range of tools to tackle the problem of translation and transliteration
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
- A full set of course slides in PDF
- An index of recommended tools / resources
- A course certificate on completion
COURSE FEE
EUR 1,300
COURSE PREREQUISITES
Trainees do not need prior knowledge of the Russian language; basic knowledge of the Internet suffices.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Please observe the following technical requirements:
- You will need the following devices:
- A desktop or laptop PC (Windows or MacOS)
- A mobile device. Please ensure this device has a working camera
- You will need to install:
- Zoom on your PC
- Google Chrome on your PC
- Google Translate dictionary app on your mobile device
- You will need the following accounts (preferably, uniquely created for the course):
- Google Account
- Vkontakte (VK) Account
- Odnoklasniki (OK) Account
- Facebook Account
- Instagram Account
