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Deciphering network data - Private Investigations
3 June 2021
Deciphering personal network data for Private Investigators
When gathering personal network data on individuals for further analysis investigators can quickly fall into information overload. Especially when they lack the resources or knowledge to record data effectively for analysis. Social media network connections on public friends list, likes, shares etc can form interesting and insightful links.
This was used very effectively in a recent investigation where an address was proving allusive after Electoral roll, photograph analysis, land registry, ltd searches etc turned up nothing. Council housing based individuals who are not public registers can be difficult. The resulting connections analysis of the persons social media network turned up some interesting relationships. As a result a neighbour who through photographic analysis of a nearby wall of 2 pictures from both shed light on the location of the individual. The 2 stages of gathering and analysis these types of social media and other personal network data available open source can be invaluable.
The first stage is gathering the data and recording it. Sock puppet accounts are best used for collection however on media which does not give indicators of your viewership a more seasoned account may encounter less issues related to DDOS and data scalping protections on many websites. Macros, scripts or other tools can then be used to pull data from the accounts. Data will be in its nature incomplete with a myriad of private accounts and other hurdles.
Data depth is also important, 3-5 connections of depth is usually suitable e.g. friends of friends of friends, any further will stretch your systems resources for little to no benefit.
Most scripts and macros will keep the data in a set format for you to analyse. However not all tools will present or record data in a analysis friendly manner and as such you should consider this first. Are only the necessary data points being collected? Is the text/data presented in a format which can be compiled into groups? Think about your end result.
Once the data has been gathered and stored you can now move to the fun part of your data collection; analysis. There are many good tools however tools which have algorithmic sorting functions are best for user friendliness and relationship analysis. The first piece of data you will be looking at will be the top 5-10 individuals they share common connections with and have the most frequent interactions.
This enables you to perform manual checks of those accounts for clues. Once completed you should then begin pulling more data on the associated individuals from other open source databases for more data. Building profiles around the individuals would hopefully begin to shed led on the person under investigation however sometimes you may need to delve deeper into the persons connections. Useful data points such as large associations with certain groups or interest can reveal new revelations however we must always be careful that associations are not based on location, friends or family members.
A great tool for beginning to manually review data points and formulating further actions plans is using a white board to post data points printed out utilising magnets and strings.
Good hunting.
A trained Private Investigator with years of experience reveals the 3 things you must know about Open Source Intelligence in the context of Private Investigations.
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To understand investigations you must understand OSINT, to understand it you need to know the 5 reasons why it is critical. All Private Investigators use it, this is why.
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A common problem all agents encounter, especially so in cities is the problem of parking. A good parking location for a vehicle is essential in ensuring line of sight (LOS) and gathering recordings behind tint or disguised. Now you may be thinking, you would solve this problem through foot surveillance. This isn't always helpful, residential areas may not have many people on foot nearby, there may be nowhere to sit or bled in and a host of other reasons may want your bottom firmly planted in a car seat for this one. So you arrive or even better, as part of a recce (reconnaissance) or planning, you notice a parking problem. I find it helpful to break up the different problems into categories, I will list the types of scenarios. 2 Primary types of areas Urban - City or Town Rural - Villages, farms, greenery or forests Primary types of problems No LOS - Cannot observe the property or points of egress LOS but too distant - Cannot record of observe with any accuracy or with the level of responsiveness needed LOS but blocked - Your vision is obstructed temporarily Too close - The risk of exposure is too high and no places further away are available Primary causes of problems Temporary blockage by vehicle - A behemoth has just parked in your LOS Double yellow lines - No parking here Single yellow lines - Restricted at certain times, they will always be the times you need to be their All spaces are in use - The most frequent issue Moved too many times already - You've been moving around frequently and are reaching a point where further movement between spaces will compromise the surveillance A mixture - A mix of the above It is incredibly frustrating when your turn up to perform your surveillance and have nowhere to park. You know the client will not be happy and your stuck in a tough spot. Parking for private investigators is an essential part of the work and for some cases is strictly required to ensure good results.
Who is able to hire a Private Investigator in the UK? Is it legal?
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How much does a Private Investigator charges for their services, what kind of fees can you expect and what will the cost be?
Many people ask: "What do private investigators get hired for?" So, we've compiled a list: What do private investigators get hired for? 1. Surveillance. 2. Finding addresses. 3. Finding someone. 4. Verifying information. 5. Gathering intelligence for further action. However, this is not an exhaustive list of what a private investigator can do. There are many different applications and benefits of hiring a private investigator. Here are some of the benefits of hiring a private investigator: 1. Save money - Instead of dedicating an in-house employee to do the job, a quick and easy way would be to hire a PI short term to get the job done properly. 2. Save time - Time is money; private investigators investigate for a living, they can do the job quickly, professionally, and accurately getting the best results. The term 'Private Investigator is not that specific', but rather an umbrella term for people that act in the area of investigation - each with varying skill-sets and specialisations. Here are some of he common skill-sets a private investigator may specialise in. 1. Financial & Cryptocurrency investigations. 2. Business intelligence. 3. Surveillance. 4. Social engineering. 5. Tracing. 6. Fraud. 7. Background checks. 8. Employee absenteeism. 9. Property. 10. Company checks. Sometimes private investigators are picking up the pieces of a previous investigation, and can include many of these above listed investigations in one case.
The penal code review in France which made Private Investigator use in civil proceedings legal.