Mrs. OSINT Challenge 8

Time to find: 44 minutes

Hey! Today we will be working on our eighth challenge from the Mrs. OSINT series. This challenge required me to pay close attention to detail and considerable hard work to double-check and ensure accuracy in order to solve it.

Throughout this process, I encountered various complex elements that tested my analytical skills and pushed me to dig deeper into the available information. Each step of the challenge was a journey, demanding not just meticulous observation but also creative problem-solving and critical thinking.

Let’s get started with our challenge!

Challenge 8

Clue:

“Where ivy climbs and shadows stretch, I listen”
-forum user: phantom_signal001

Tasks:

GEOINT Tasks:

• City and Country – Where was this photo taken?
• GPS Coordinates – Within
• Street Name – What is the name of the street visible or directly facing this building?

Verification & Approach:

4. Methodology – Briefly explain how you located the image. Include tools, search strategies, or visual cues used.
5. Key Detail – What detail helped you confirm the match (architecture, balcony design, vegetation, etc.)?

Surveillance Assessment:

1. Intent – What might make this a strategically useful location for someone like Phantom Signal? Consider nearby institutions, traffic flow, or visibility.

Context Clues:

1. Season/Time of Year – Based on visible environmental features (e.g. ivy, lighting), what season was this likely taken?
2. Reverse Image Risk – Would this image likely match any public dataset or reverse image tool? Why or why not?

Investigation

This picture seemed like Google Lens would find it right away. I tried it and got many results, but none of them were an exact match for our location. We had a clue for this challenge:

“Where ivy climbs and shadows stretch, I listen”
-forum user: phantom_signal001

Tasks Solutions:

GEOINT Tasks:

• City and Country – Copenhagen, Denmark
• GPS Coordinates – Google Maps: 55.6667648,12.5766512
• Street Name – Egilsgade

Verification & Approach:

4. Methodology – This write-up is my answer to this question.
5. Key Detail – It wasn’t until I added “ivy” to my reverse image search that I finally found a match. I would say the vegetation was the key to finding this location.

Surveillance Assessment:

1. Intent – Aside from the dangerously delicious 4.5-star pastries at Hart Bakery, this location is close to several major corporate headquarters, which could be of interest from an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) perspective. This could be an opportunity for information gathering and/or HUMINT by observing or interacting with individuals associated with these corporations.

Context Clues:

1. Season/Time of Year – Autumn/fall. This was my guess, but I always like to double check:

1. Reverse Image Risk – From my experience, using just the image gave a lot of false positives. It might be possible, but I would not recommend taking this approach. I was able to find the location easily multiple times with a search query accompanying it.

This concludes today’s investigation. I hope you enjoyed this challenge as much as I did and invite you to try out the next challenge for yourself. Each challenge offers a unique opportunity to broaden your understanding and push your limits further.

Hope you learned something new reading this blog post, and perhaps it sparked some curiosity or excitement about what lies ahead in your own journey. Remember, every small step counts toward progress, and experimentation fuels growth.

See you next time!

Resources

• https://www.mrsosint.com/challenge-8/
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Islands_Brygge_-_Egilsgade_1.jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/129231073@N06/30999517885/
• https://www.bostonivy.net/#:~:text=The%20glossy%20dark%20green%20leaves,in%20shade%20and%20full%20sun.