CARDINAL CONTROL: UTILIZING SOCK PUPPETS FOR INVESTIGATIONS

Sock puppet accounts are alternative accounts created on social media or online platforms and are incredibly useful for finding information for investigations and intelligence gathering. However, with increasing security implementations on social platforms, more and more accounts are being closed and the difficulty in creating an account is increasing.

Learning Objectives

  • What sock puppet accounts are and why you should use them
  • Address questions of legality, anonymity, and other concerns of using sock puppet accounts
  • Deliver a step-by-step guide for creating sock puppet accounts

MARIEL KLOSTERMAN

Mariel Klosterman, a senior at Dakota State University, is currently majoring in Network and Security Administration. With her areas of interest spanning from defensive security and open-source intelligence (OSINT), Ms. Klosterman has conducted significant research relating to sock puppet accounts, which are an integral part of OSINT and digital investigations. She has organizational experience writing security policies, conducting security assessments, and implementing data protection controls and training. She was the recipient of the Open Source Rising Star of the Year award, issued by the OSMOSIS Institute, awarded to an OSINT professional who exhibits excellent potential through demonstrated investigative skills and talents and leadership at an early stage in their OSINT career.