The digital trail we leave behind

Canadian non-profit Trace Labs crowdsources open-source intelligence to crack missing persons cold cases.

Ordinary people from all over the world begin trawling the internet, scanning for snippets of predefined information that will win their team the most points and some Twitter bragging rights. They’re playing an online capture the flag game, but one that generates fresh leads for missing persons investigations.

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is a method of collecting and analysing the extensive amount of information overtly accessible to the public such as news, research or social media content.

Tom Hocker is a Director of non-profit organisation Trace Labs and their global capture the flag events.

“OSINT is amazing because anyone can do it. If you have access to a web browser, you can conduct an open-source intelligence investigation.”

Trace Labs crowdsources OSINT through focused events as well as ongoing operations. Their team of experienced analysts collate members’ findings of a missing persons case into a report for law enforcement agencies to pursue further.

Mr Hocker says, “We’re trying to collect those digital traces of a person. Who are they? What did they think? What kind of content did they engage with? Who did they engage with? More importantly, we’re going to find all those accounts that are under the surface.”

While OSINT isn’t a new investigative technique, its prevalence has skyrocketed in recent years as our everyday lives shift increasingly online.

The idea for Trace Labs was sparked three years ago by founder Robert Sell, combining his extensive background in both IT and as a search and rescue volunteer in Canada.

“There was one search called the Tyler Wright search, it’s the biggest search in BC history. There were a lot of helicopter flights going over the terrain with a camera underneath looking for the person, and we crowdsourced that on YouTube for people to watch hours of video.”

Within three years, the non-profit has built a global community of 20,000 volunteers that have assisted on over 300 active missing persons cases.

Mr Hocker says, “It’s obviously not a game, but by gamifying it, it’s allowed us to engage the community in a fun and safe way while still contributing to a very serious mission.”

The National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC) says that more than 140 people were reported as missing every day in Australia last year, over 51,000 in total.

While 98 per cent of missing persons are found, often alive and well, the families and loved ones of those still unaccounted for are left heartbroken and wondering.

NMPCC data reports that two per cent of missing persons cases in Australia may never be solved.

Mr Sell says, “Every time we do an event, you learn a lot about the people that you’re looking for. That’s always a double-edged sword, right? Because I find that after the event, that remains with you a little bit.”

Trace Labs provides comprehensive training and resources in the lead up to events, and emphasise that it is not the contestants’ role to actively chase any leads they discover, such as making contact with a person of interest.

Mr Hocker says, “I think the most important guideline we have in place is that we’re only using passive reconnaissance techniques. And that’s a fancy way of saying, look, but don’t touch.”

“Someone can just stumble in and maybe end up in over their heads. They can make some mistakes, they can put themselves in a bad position or even jeopardise an ongoing law enforcement investigation with all the best intentions. OSINT can get very dark, very quick.”

There are a multitude of reasons that people go missing including misadventure, mental health, drugs and alcohol, or as a victim of crimes ranging from abduction to domestic violence.

The NMPCC reports that there are 2,600 long-term cases in Australia, where the person has been missing for more than three months.

In 2019 and 2020, AustCyber, the Australian Federal Police and Trace Labs joined forces to coordinate the National Missing Person’s Hackathon. The 24-hour events were the first of their kind in Australia, crowdsourcing OSINT that focused on a selection of these long-term cold cases.

Zac Barnes (left), Tej Chitnis (centre) and Tanya Buckland (right) have been missing without a trace for several years, and were a few of the featured cases in Australia’s first Hackathon event (NMPCC).

NMPCC Coordinator Jodie McEwan says, “Combined, the two events have resulted in over 8,000 information submissions and reached a potential media audience of 3.5 million through articles and promotion. This was an incredible outcome both in terms of investigative outcome and awareness.”

Interest in Trace Labs has only grown during the COVID-19 pandemic, with digital OSINT gathering particularly conducive to the nature of remote work.

However, the organisation is looking forward to the return of in-person events that work side-by-side with law enforcement, allowing both parties to discover and pursue lines of enquiry in real time.

But until then, Mr Sell says, “From a contestant point of view there’s lots of opportunities for people, even if you’ve never done OSINT before and you’re wondering, ‘Oh I don’t know if I could do this.’ Yes, you can.”