Somewhere in a public photograph, a street sign is partially visible. The shadow falls at a specific angle. Someone left a comment years ago that does not quite add up. These details are not hints, they are evidence, sitting in the open the whole time.
This workshop is a two-day journey into modern OSINT methodology. On the first day, we'll break down real investigations live, showing how publicly available information can be turned into precise, defensible conclusions. On the second day, the theory disappears and the investigation begins, as participants tackle a series of increasingly challenging OSINT cases in a competitive CTF-style hackathon. Bring a laptop, a browser, and a willingness to chase rabbit holes.
The workshop is split across two conference days.
Day one is a practical introduction to investigative methodology through live demonstrations and guided walkthroughs. Rather than memorising tools, participants learn how to think like investigators: building hypotheses, verifying evidence, eliminating bad assumptions, and documenting conclusions that others can reproduce. Topics include geolocation, image verification, archive research, metadata, social media investigation, and practical search techniques, all demonstrated using publicly available information.
Day two is a competitive OSINT CTF/Hackathon where participants apply those techniques to solve a series of progressively harder challenges inspired by real investigations. Teams of up to three compete to identify people, places, events, and relationships using only open sources. Challenges reward both speed and investigative rigour, with recognition for the fastest verified solutions as well as the most elegant investigative process.
After spending several hours forcing ambiguous information into defensible answers, participants often find themselves applying the same methodology everywhere else, from incident response and threat intelligence to random travel photos and breach data. The goal is not simply to teach OSINT, but to develop a way of approaching problems that remains useful long after the workshop ends.