Russia Surrounded

[version]

I haven't heard of that, but I wouldn't necessarily put it past them. All it takes is one unscrupulous officer exhibiting a lack of precaution or internet street smarts, and their administrative capabilities can be compromised.

The story isn't that they literally called in an airstrike. It's that they spotted a potential target, handed over the information and it led to an airstrike.

 

[Clinamenic]

Re: OSINT, Bellingcat put out some report that confirmed the whole kindergarten destruction thing (haven't looked into it myself, so I don't know the details).This sort of thing can be done with basic techniques like geolocation, chronolocation by shadow measurement, etc.

I haven't seen anything from Forensic Architecture yet, but I'd assume they're making similar efforts re: human rights violations, which I'd assume this conflict is awash with.

Another point that ties into what @version said about the Jan 6 Capital Insurrection, one of the video essays I watched referred to the conflict as the Russo-Ukranian War, which I hadn't heard until then. Crazy how history is being dissected and analyzed in real time.

 

[Clinamenic]

The story isn't that they literally called in an airstrike. It's that they spotted a potential target, handed over the information and it led to an airstrike.

Oh well thats much more plausible then.

 

[version]

Has a state retaliated against anyone doing open source stuff yet? That would be quite a wake up call.

 

[version]

Another point that ties into what @version said about the Jan 6 Capital Insurrection, one of the video essays I watched referred to the conflict as the Russo-Ukranian War, which I hadn't heard until then. Crazy how history is being dissected and analyzed in real time.

There's already a pretty substantial Wikipedia page on it,

Russian invasion of Ukraine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Clinamenic]

Has a state retaliated against anyone doing open source stuff yet? That would be quite a wake up call.

Probably, but not that I'm aware of. I do know that the US intelligence community recognizes the legitimacy of OSINT, seeing as the actual information obtainable by open source methods can provide the basis for premier intelligence, but I don't know what kind of national security policies exist vis a vis non-state intelligence actors.

 

[version]

You have to consider just how "non-state" a group like Anonymous really is too.

 

[Clinamenic]

Bellingcat recently opened up volunteer OSINT training and operations. Should be interesting to see how that develops.

 

[Clinamenic]

You have to consider just how "non-state" a group like Anonymous really is too.

Very true. You can have mercenary groups, hactivist groups, etc, that are state proxies, i.e. de facto state actors. Really seems like an intractable problem re: governmental accountability.

 

[shakahislop]

one thing that i find when stuff like this happens is that checking the guardian livefeed adds an extra interest to my day. something exciting might have happened at any moment. or at least something more interesting than the work i'm supposed to be doing. so i keep having a look.

 

[Clinamenic]

"Private military contractor" being practically a euphemism for mercenary, although academic distinctions can be made.

 

[shakahislop]

I was just thinking about how far tech's pulled the general public into a given war effort. Anyone with a device is a potential foot soldier in the information war and people do it of their own volition.

it's definitely a tool for making people feel strongly pro- or anti- one side or another. at the moment, we are experience the tech-news thing being used to help us empathize with the Ukrainian people and even the Ukrainian state

 

[Leo]

In another crushing blow, Sean Penn has apparently fled to Poland.

 

[shakahislop]

what a beautiful avatar i have now, look at it, absolutely imbued with meaning

 

[Leo]

turning into an NYC subway trainspotting forum

 

[version]

This stuff reminds me of something Luke and I discussed a while back about how you can get really into things like finance to the point where global events like wars become part of a sort of virtual game you're playing, insulated behind a screen.

That's how I sometimes feel about this open source stuff too. You can pick it up as a hobby and just jump into an actual conflict as though you're playing Football Manager. It's mind boggling when you think about it.

 

[Leo]

the G was the absolutely worst, most neglected, least reliable train for decades...until white people started moving into neighborhoods along the route. funny, that.

 

[Clinamenic]

This stuff reminds me of something Luke and I discussed a while back about how you can get really into things like finance to the point where global events like wars become part of a sort of virtual game you're playing, insulated behind a screen.

That's how I sometimes how I feel about this open source stuff too. You can pick it up as a hobby and just jump into an actual conflict as though you're playing Football Manager. It's mind boggling when you think about it.

True, but with some of this OSINT stuff, you can be taking real risks by leaving your digital fingerprints all over sensitive info, leaving breadcrumbs that can be traced back to your legal identity and those of your loved ones.

 

[version]

True, but with some of this OSINT stuff, you can be taking real risks by leaving your digital fingerprints all over sensitive info, leaving breadcrumbs that can be traced back to your legal identity and those of your loved ones.

Yeah, that's what I mean. It's a game with real consequences and no barrier to entry.

 

[Clinamenic]

True, but with some of this OSINT stuff, you can be taking real risks by leaving your digital fingerprints all over sensitive info, leaving breadcrumbs that can be traced back to your legal identity and those of your loved ones.

You'd need to be doing some high-stakes stuff to warrant such retaliation, but it does come with the territory.