Creating a link between parties in complex relationships is one example of how digital intelligence investigations, OSINT, can bring substantial value. Recently, I have noticed The Links can often be that missing link.
The emergence of golf social networks has proven to be a fantastic information source for many of my recent intelligence investigations. Although there are countless golf applications, today, we will focus on what I believe to be the most popular, TheGrint.
The home screen below appears once a burner account is created and logged in through the web or mobile application.
Labelled with the red arrow is the “filter” icon on TheGrint activity feed. Once clicked, the user is greeted with multiple filtering options: location, media file type, golf course, and player handicap. Previously, one could use the search bar, which is meant to filter hashtags. This feature doesn’t seem to be fully functioning at the time of writing.
As an example, let’s say I have an investigation subject that frequently golfs at Cabot Links in Cape Breton, Canada. Using the golf course filter, I selected Cabot Links, and all photo or video publications appear from that location.
Let’s say I was able to identify the investigation subject or an associate of the Subject. You can pivot from this finding by re-typing the username into the “find friends” search bar.
All user activity can be viewed from the profile page, including “like” and “comment” interactions by associated accounts.
Thank’s for letting me caddie today, and I hope your next open source intelligence investigation is … subpar.
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