OSINT: Working with Images (Virtual Course)

Open enrolment and in-house options available

Images pose novel challenges to analysts and investigators. They can be hard to find and harder still to verify, analyse and geolocate. This course will give you the tools and resources you need to manage such challenges. We'll walk you through a rigorous portfolio of search strategies to help you find images on the topics and targets of interest to you. We'll then show you how to combine AI tools with human judgement to verify their location and authenticity.

View Dates and Register Request in-house course

Course Outline

Requirements Planning 

Course Introduction

  • Introduction to image search
  • Common research challenges
  • A typology of image types and formats
  • A typology of search strategies

Requirements Planning

  • Defining your image requirements
  • Thinking materially
  • Thinking visually
  • Thinking spatially
  • Thinking temporally
  • Thinking contextually
  • Developing your keyword index

Image Discovery I

Image Search Strategies

  • Image discovery via keywords
  • Image discovery via foreign languages
  • Image discovery via filename conventions
  • Image discovery via URL conventions
  • Image discovery via URL parameters
  • Image discovery via custom search engines
  • Image discovery via image libraries
  • Image discovery via reverse image search tools

Image Discovery II

Working with Social Media

  • Image discovery via social media
  • Image discovery via content delivery networks

Working with Metadata

  • Image discovery via descriptive metadata
  • Image discovery via administrative metadata
  • Image discovery via technical metadata

Image Analysis I

Analysing an Image's Content

  • Manual strategies for image analysis
  • AI-enabled image analysis
  • Checking for manipulation
  • Verifying authenticity

Geolocating an Image

Geo and Chronolocation

  • Understanding the principle of calibration
  • Geolocation via contextual identifiers
  • Geolocation via technical identifiers
  • Geolocation via geographic identifiers
  • Geolocation via geographic identifiers
  • Geolocation via satellite and street view imagery
  • Geolocation via AI tools
  • Chronolocating an image
View Dates and Register Request in-house course

Course Details

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

This course is intended for anyone engaged in online research, including intelligence, security and law enforcement personnel, journalists, investigators, cybersecurity practitioners, business analysts and staff involved in social listening and media monitoring.

HOW YOU BENEFIT

On completion of this course you will have the ability to:

  • Find images online using a broad range of search strategies
  • Analyse an image manually and with the help of AI tools
  • Geolocate and chronolocate images using identifiers

WHAT YOU RECEIVE

  • A certificate of completion
  • A full set of course slides and user guides in PDF
  • Templates to support requirements planning
  • Templates to support data collation
  • Tip sheets and cheat sheets to enable rapid learning
  • Six months of post-course support

COURSE FEE

EUR 1,300

Technical Requirements

Please observe the following requirements:

  • You will need a Windows or Mac laptop (tablet computers are not recommended)
  • Install Google Chrome. You will be required to install a range of browser extensions, so it is important that you have administrative rights to your laptop
  • Install Microsoft Office
  • Install Zoom
  • Set up a Google account to facilitate the use of different tools
  • A second monitor is recommended but not essential

Additional software requirements will be sent prior to the start of the course.