Hi! I run a monthly newsletter on digital investigations: techniques, developments in the field, and OSINT case studies. I've just published the 10th edition which I am stoked about, and it's a good one. Here are 10 links and helpful hints featured this month 👇🧵

Some people have asked me about the basics of ship tracking, so in this open source investigations tutorial, we look at two sanctioned Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and find where they are and who owns them, all with the power of #OSINT at home. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-xi...

One of the featured tools in Ben's newsletter lets you estimate the heights of structures using satellite imagery. Had a flashback to one of the OG @bellingcat.com tutorials on the same subject www.bellingcat.com/resources/ho...

How Tall is That Gantry? - bellingcat

Translations:English (UK)Русский (Россия)This article was originally posted on Arms Control Wonk.  A little how-to guide to measure the height of any most structures on Google Earth.  As you click thr...

bellingcat.com

Benjamin Strick@bendobrown.bsky.social · 2mo ago

OSINT Field Notes 9 : - A YouTube channel recruiting women into a Russian drone factory ticked the box "made for kids" - A cartel checkpoint sat on Google Street View - A border wall that glows at night - And what your WiFi name gives away And more 👇 osintfieldnotes.substack.com/p/osint-fiel...

Another really great read!

Benjamin Strick@bendobrown.bsky.social · 2mo ago

OSINT Field Notes 9 : - A YouTube channel recruiting women into a Russian drone factory ticked the box "made for kids" - A cartel checkpoint sat on Google Street View - A border wall that glows at night - And what your WiFi name gives away And more 👇 osintfieldnotes.substack.com/p/osint-fiel...

OSINT Field Notes 9 : - A YouTube channel recruiting women into a Russian drone factory ticked the box "made for kids" - A cartel checkpoint sat on Google Street View - A border wall that glows at night - And what your WiFi name gives away And more 👇 osintfieldnotes.substack.com/p/osint-fiel...

OSINT Field Notes #9: Nothing Was Really Hidden

A cartel checkpoint frozen in Street View, metadata showing a drone-factory recruiter's "made for kids" flag, WiFi Exposures and web certificate Fingerprinting.

osintfieldnotes.substack.com

A single Strava run once gave away the position of an aircraft carrier. With 195M+ users, Strava is one of the largest public location datasets online. So here's a new tutorial on how to find locations on Strava, and the settings that keep your own profile private. 👇

Recent border wall construction in southern Arizona is visible not only in daytime satellite imagery, but also at night I made this timelapse w/ NASA Black Marble nighttime lights data, showing light signatures along the border next to Coronado National Forest b/w Jan + Mar 2026

Anyways, this observation originally came onto my radar while playing around with @bendobrown.bsky.social's great Darklight Viewer tool in GEE, which makes it easy to explore changes nighttime satellite data. Worth checking out! gee-night-lights-474517.projects.earthengine.app/view/darklig...

Really good use of open source reporting, despite commercial satellite imagery limitations from the The New York Times team looking at what damage U.S. military sites incurred during the conflict with Iran. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRno...

What Satellite Images Reveal About Iran’s Attacks on U.S. Bases

YouTube video by The New York Times

youtube.com

Great #OSINT read! Fascinating about the #Sentinal-2 satellite imagery showing a huge mass of dead red #shrimp off #Oman (caused by sudden changes in water temperature/oxygen levels.) Und great guide on protecting yourself from #adtech #surveillance 👍 Adding the CIG Blood Money report to my list...

OSINT Field Notes #8

Phone Data Mercenaries, Stolen Wheat, Hormuz Traffic, and How To Shut Down AdTech Surveillance

osintfieldnotes.substack.com

Benjamin Strick@bendobrown.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A device in Darfur connected to a Wi-Fi network named "DRONES". A map automates destruction detection across Iran. An investigation tracked stolen Ukrainian grain to Haifa. And: location data and how to shut it down. OSINT Field Notes 8. Out today. osintfieldnotes.substack.com/p/osint-fiel...

A device in Darfur connected to a Wi-Fi network named "DRONES". A map automates destruction detection across Iran. An investigation tracked stolen Ukrainian grain to Haifa. And: location data and how to shut it down. OSINT Field Notes 8. Out today. osintfieldnotes.substack.com/p/osint-fiel...

What's your OSINT idea? Tell us and submit it for the OSINT+ Investigation Competition 2026! Up to 3 projects will be selected by our jury members: @bendobrown.bsky.social , Celine Nauer, Dongpo Deng and @raebaker.net baker.net ! Submission Deadline: May 6, 2026, at 12:00 noon (Taipei Time).

Meet our jury member: Benjamin Strick @bendobrown.bsky.social is a digital investigator, trainer, and educator specialising in open-source intelligence (OSINT), information warfare, and conflict documentation. More info: www.freiheit.org/global-innov...

Colombian mercenaries were tracked by device data from Colombia to El Fasher, via a UAE base, a Somali compound, and Libya. One device was in El Fasher during the genocidal RSF takeover. It connected to a network named "ATACADOR." Spanish for "attacker." static1.squarespace.com/static/69673...

What if verification can’t keep up with increasingly sophisticated AI-generated media? Bellingcat researcher @koltai.bsky.social spoke with @bendobrown.bsky.social and Reuters' George Sargent at #ijf26 on the role we can play. Watch back here: www.festivaldelgiornalismo.com/programme/20...

Kolina Koltai@koltai.bsky.social · 4mo ago

And that's a wrap on #ijf26! It's never enough sleep or espresso but always so much fun. Thank you to my fellow panelists on peak verification @bendobrown.bsky.social & George Sargent and to @evidentmedia.org @zachtoombs.bsky.social @kevinclancy.bsky.social for screening our Emmy nominated films

Honoured to have been on the “Have we reached peak verification?” panel at the @journalismfestival.com with Joanna Webster, @koltai.bsky.social & George Sargeant A technical conversation on where OSINT, deepfakes, disinfo and news verification are, and where they go next. Link 👇

Meet our jury members: @bendobrown.bsky.social, Céline Nauer, Dongpo Deng, @raebaker.net. Apply now for your #OSINT investigation idea! Anyone can apply! #InvestigativeJournalism #Researcher #Activist #Hacktivist More info: www.freiheit.org/global-innov...

📣FNF OSINT+ Investigation Competition 2026 🏆 FNF Global Innovation Hub is launching this competition to showcase the power of #OSINT. International jury panel of OSINT experts: • @bendobrown.bsky.social • Céline Nauer, FNF • Dongpo Deng, Open Culture Foundation • @raebaker.net

A viral video of a bombed casino in Cambodia got the location wrong. The real building was a scam compound. 250 trafficked workers. Forced to defraud Americans. One of many scam centers across Cambodia. I verified it in under an hour using free tools. Here I show how: youtu.be/4JldlMBxPJo

A jogging app helped expose the location of an aircraft carrier. The same app revealed 500+ UK military staff. A reminder that everyday platforms and tools continue to generate giant exposures. All of which are seen in OSINT Field Notes 7, out today: osintfieldnotes.substack.com/p/osint-fiel...

📌 As tools to spot AI-generated video and synthetic content become more sophisticated, OSINT verification faces an existential challenge.

Amazing data visualisation of historical FIMI operations. Great way to take a step back and look at some of the larger influence operations that have been reported on. euvsdisinfo.eu/fimi-explorer/

After strikes on Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, runway 29R was clearly blocked with as many airport vehicles as they could get. Imagery from March 7

Benjamin Strick@bendobrown.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Clear satellite imagery from Planet of Iran's Mehrabad Airport in Tehran from March 7 after heavy bombings. Imagery shows planes destroyed on the tarmac at the airport, as well as some in bays and one destroyed in plane graveyeard north of the runway.

Clear satellite imagery from Planet of Iran's Mehrabad Airport in Tehran from March 7 after heavy bombings. Imagery shows planes destroyed on the tarmac at the airport, as well as some in bays and one destroyed in plane graveyeard north of the runway.

OSINT Field Notes #6. It's out. This field note unpacks an incredible amount. Iran, Sudan, a disinformation campaign, satellites at night and the facial recognition of a cat that gave away a money launderer. All here 👇 tinyurl.com/osintfieldno...

OSINT Field Notes #6

Satellite imagery, strike denial, a 1,431-page influence leak, and the feline facial recognition that gave away a money launderer.

tinyurl.com

I geolocated Taliban special forces drills in an empty desert using sand dunes. The investigation went from airbase to drop-off point to strike location. Here's how I did it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t9g...

This investigation from OCCRP uncovered how a person running two UK-registered crypto exchanges was actually a fake front linked to laundering for Iran's regime. One of the links in the investigation relied on facial matching a cat. Brilliant. www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

High levels of destruction seen in Beirut today after a wave of Israeli strikes targeted the south of the city. This footage was filmed here: 33.8587, 35.51405