Signals of Conflict: The Rise of OSINT in Cyber and Information Warfare.
2025-10-24 , Hollenfels

In a world where conflicts unfold as much in cyberspace as on physical battlefields, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) has become a decisive tool in detecting, analyzing, and countering emerging threats. Recent events—from exposing deepfake operations targeting global leaders to tracking covert convoys through flight and ship tracking data—demonstrate that critical intelligence victories are increasingly won through open-source investigation, not classified secrets.
This workshop, Signals of Conflict: The Rise of OSINT in Cyber and Information Warfare, explores how OSINT now sits at the heart of cybersecurity defense, information warfare, and geopolitical strategy. Attendees will gain practical experience in gathering real-time intelligence, validating sources, tracking cyber and physical assets, and decoding signals hidden in the digital noise.

Designed for cybersecurity professionals, threat hunters, and analysts, this session provides the essential frameworks and skills needed to operate effectively in a world where public data often reveals more than espionage ever could. Mastering OSINT today isn’t just an advantage — it's a necessity for survival in tomorrow’s conflicts.


The rise of cyber warfare, disinformation campaigns, and global instability has elevated OSINT from a niche discipline to a mission-critical capability. In 2025, as 80–90% of actionable intelligence now originates from open sources, the ability to find, validate, and exploit publicly available data has become a strategic imperative across cybersecurity, national defense, corporate risk, and policy-making sectors.

Signals of Conflict: The Rise of OSINT in Cyber and Information Warfare is a dynamic, hands-on workshop that bridges foundational skills with real-world strategic applications. Participants will be immersed in a highly practical learning environment using real case studies and active data sources to build a modern OSINT toolkit.

Attendees will learn:
OSINT Fundamentals: Techniques for accurate data gathering, filtering, and validation to extract actionable intelligence.

Real-Time Intelligence Gathering: Tracking aircraft (ADS-B) and maritime vessels (AIS) to monitor global movements and anomalies.

Signals Intelligence Essentials: Capturing and analyzing radio-frequency data using Software Defined Radio (SDR) and WebSDR to gain cyber situational awareness.

Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT): Mining and interpreting insights from platforms like Instagram, X (Twitter) and more for threat detection, crisis monitoring, and incident validation.

Ethical and Legal Frameworks: Understanding the ethical considerations and compliance boundaries critical for responsible OSINT practice.

This workshop empowers attendees not only with tactical OSINT skills but also with the strategic mindset needed to integrate open-source analysis into broader cybersecurity and intelligence workflows.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to detect early warning signs, uncover hidden threat patterns, and better navigate the complex reality of modern information warfare.

In an era where the next major breach, conflict, or crisis could be hidden in open data streams, mastering OSINT is no longer a luxury — it’s survival.

Shubham Kumar is a passionate cybersecurity and OSINT researcher with an insatiable curiosity for unraveling the complex threads of the digital world. As a Senior Information Security Analyst, he brings deep expertise to the table, actively working to secure and safeguard today’s ever-evolving threat landscape. Outside his professional role, Shubham is a committed CTF enthusiast and a core member of the competitive team Fs0ciety00, constantly sharpening his skills through real-world challenges.

He has presented his research at premier cybersecurity conferences, including SANS OSINT Summit (2023 & 2024), BSides Dehradun, BSides Mumbai, DEF CON DC9111 (as a researcher in 2023 and a workshop moderator in 2024), and EOCON. His work has also been selected for presentation at several prestigious international events, such as BSides Dublin (Trinity College), BSides Prague, BSides Sofia, BSides Basingstoke, and COSAC 2025—a testament to the impact and relevance of his contributions to the OSINT and cybersecurity community.