Drones & OSINT: What Flies Ahead
We know about the OSINT tools and techniques for boats, planes and trains, but what about drones? This blog aims to fill that gap.
What Are Drones and Why Are They Important?
Drones are like little computers in the sky, also referred to as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Drones provide live-streamed, real-time video and image capture, used for so much more than just great wedding photos and real estate imagery. They can also be used for intelligence collection, emergency response, search and rescue operations, crisis management, transportation of goods, and recreational use.
Like most things unfortunately, drones can be used for good and for bad, as it has been used for malicious purposes by criminals and cyber criminals. Drones can be used for targeted assassinations and killings, physical attacks, surveillance, strikes and creating online propaganda. They also cause physical/location privacy concerns for potential victims, and are a threat to information security prone to location spoofing, malware infection, data interference and hijacking through Wi-Fi jamming.
Intelligence Gathering
DROSINT? (Sorry I had to!). Drones can be used to collect information also, importantly, in places or circumstances where humans would not be able to. Drones are also being used for intelligence purposes by intelligence agencies worldwide. It helps agencies gather intelligence on targets and areas of interest, and to provide an operational advantage. Drones can also make HUMINT (human intelligence) a lot simpler.
A recent case study revealed that OSINT investigators at Bellingcat cross referenced satellite imagery and social media posts to assess a possible link of drone software between Iran and Ethiopia. This is one of the many cases whereby drones and their software were investigated and aided in analysis (pictured below). Bellingcat also located various drones via satellite imagery in Iran.
Identifying Factors of Drones
Serial Numbers
Drones (except those that weigh 0.55 pounds or less) must be registered with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but as Micheal Bazzel highlights in his “The Privacy, Security and OSINT Show” podcast, no one does.
Every drone has a unique serial number, which is good to know as an OSINT analyst. To locate a serial number for a drone, they are usually on the bottom, near the battery compartment or on the battery compartment itself.
The serial number prefix actually matches with what type of drone it is, and these are listed on this website. This can assist with identifying exactly what drone it is.
Look & Shape of the Drone
All drones look different, which is why it is helpful to understand the different types and shapes. There are differing drones that serve different purposes from recreational to military, and naturally they have different shapes. Here are some websites that showcase different types of drones which you can cross reference or refer to: Aerocorner, Oryxspioenkop, Properlrc.
OSINT Tools & Techniques Available
Registration Status Search
If a particular drone is registered with FAA, you can find the owner and other details for those residing in the United States and Canada by entering the registration number if this is known.
In the United Kingdom, there is a similar service available online, noting that registration numbers should be visible on the drone itself.
DroneSec - Stolen Drone Info (SDI)
This is a fantastic platform (shoutout to Dronesec for this), whereby anyone can report their drone as lost, or if a drone was found. You are able to search by using a serial number, which can also provide an indication of the location. Here is a link to the tutorial of the website, noting that results on this site can be cross referenced with Facebook Marketplace, social media accounts and other platforms to locate the sale of a stolen drone . From an OSINT/SOCMINT perspective, this website can be really helpful, especially if your POI is a drone enthusiast.
You can also use the website to determine the possible make/model of a drone based on the serial number, tutorial here.
Websites Featuring Publicly Available Drone Footage
There are several open-source websites which upload drone footage taken by others and can provide unique insight and assist with geolocation of certain areas. Here is a list, thanks to OSINTCurious and @Ohshint_ for these:
Dronestagram as pictured above provides a huge range of drone images. This website provides photos based on categories, one of them being “dronies”, meaning, selfies uploading your drone. This could provide important insight from an OSINT perspective.
Travelwithdrone as pictured above, provides a worldwide map with various drone footages which have been uploaded online.
Airvuz as pictured above (details redacted for privacy) is a website which allows for users to create a social media profile whereby you can upload a profile picture, have followers/following, upload videos/photos, and link your other social media profiles. In other words, a SOCMINT goldmine.
Community Groups
There are several community groups on Facebook and other platforms for drone owners and enthusiasts, where you may be able to gather interesting and important information about your POI. Listed are a few of them focusing on Sydney and Australia, noting that there are several for differing regions worldwide:
DJ Owners of Australia, Drone Sales Aus, Drones Australia, The Drone Community, Sydney Drone Club, Australian Army Drone Racing Team, DIY Drones.
Flightradar
Most of you know Flightradar through the visualisation of planes worldwide, in real time. I am yet to see drones listed on this website, however there has been sources online showcasing the spotting of drones, especially the military type, pictured below.
Worthwhile Drone Apps to Download
APP: Airmap For Drones provides real-time feedback of airspace rules and weather conditions in 20 countries, examples shown of the application in Australia and United States.
Other apps involving air-space management, planning your flight, and similar features to the Airmap for Drones app includes Open Sky: App for Drones, Aloft, Air Control: Utm + Drone Safety, Drone Buddy: Fly Drone Safely, Dronelink Flight.
Reverse Image Search & Google Dork
Considering the different shapes/types of drones, its important to use the tools available to identify them, one way by using reverse image search. This may be able to generate similar drones where you may find a match.
In addition, by having a rough idea of where a drone is located or originated from (in terms of country) this can also assist when reverse image searching to narrow down results.
As explained on the investigation conducted by Tom Jarvis and Robin Taylor for Exposing the Invisible, there are various images and videos on military blogs that showcase different drones, where you will be able to compare and contrast to the one which you are investigating.
Intelligence Gaps for OSINT Analysts
Apps like Aerial Armour are only available to security professionals and are not available to the general public. Most of the intelligence gathered from drones are not publicly available unless voluntarily shared online, which is an intelligence gap.
Additionally, due to radar clutter being programmed out, most drones (especially those of recreational use) are not detected on websites like Flightradar. The reasonings for this are further explained here.
There are certain instances for example drone strikes at night which produce videos that are grainy, unclear, and thus make geolocation very difficult.
The Future of Drones and its Analysis
In the future there may be an AI tools (like carnet.ai) that can determine a drone based on the image uploaded (fingers crossed).
Currently drones are accessible, and I believe this will only continue in the future. This means that we may see more recreational drone usage in future, and this may become a topic of importance for OSINT analysts.
Drone footages can be used to combat fake news/propaganda based on topics such as climate change, natural disasters, and can even be an aid to reduce the impacts of deepfake satellite imagery.
There may be a radar and website in the future that is open source (like Flightradar) which can track small objects like drones, which would be really interesting.
Snapchat began developing a drone in order to take photos of users, however the development of this has currently ceased. We could see other big tech entities producing similar products in future.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the blog and learnt something new!
