Do you really know what your social media exposure is? What if you discovered that photographs or videos that you thought were secured, hidden or private, could be exposed with just a click of a button? Worse, how can you figure it out and change it?
Intel Techniques is a website created by “small group of online investigations enthusiasts with a strong interest in privacy and digital security [1].” Intel Techniques mission is to train both government and private sectors with the skills to prevent exposure.
When first introduced to this site, I was frightened and annoyed with how much of my information that I thought was private and for my eyes only was available for the world to see. There were tagged photographs that I had hidden from my timeline on Facebook and photographs from my photo albums that I had placed on private showing up on the search. At this moment, I felt exposed. These images were no longer just mine, but Facebook and the Internet. I then decided to do a little snooping to see how much of my friends’ profiles were hidden. I quickly discovered most people were like me. Although they thought their photographs and videos were for their eyes only, they weren’t.
Through further research, I found out Intel Techniques has online training modules that helps people locate “hidden” information on social network sites. Of course, this comes at a price ranging from $399 to $1199 [2]. What is not shown on the foreground of this website is that the people that created this website and tutorials are doing it because they have backgrounds in cybercrime. The owner, Michael Bazze, is concerned with the issue of how much personal information on users is out there and how we can be aware of this and try to fix it
This site is a great tool for people fighting cybercrime and locating criminals. Still, it is worrisome that in the wrong hands this site could become another platform for cyber bullying.
Have you posted photos or documents in the past that you no longer wish to make public?
How confident are you in the privacy settings of the websites that host your personal images and files?
Additional Links:
https://inteltechniques.com/index.html
https://inteltechniques.com/menu.html
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