OSINT Training Log: OSINT for ICAC Investigations in Geneva

Our latest OSINT training under the ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) framework took OSINT to the city of European diplomacy.

Geneva, Switzerland — June 2025.

Joining the Brigade de Criminalité Informatique (BCI), OSINT Industries President Megadose Palenath delivered specialised OSINT training under the ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) framework to help better safeguard Europe’s young people.

Mission Objective:

This OSINT training had several clear objectives:

• Expand investigators’ ability to identify and track online offenders
• Introduce advanced, up-to-date OSINT methodologies tailored to ICAC investigations
• Improve knowledge and analysis of anonymised and multi-platform digital footprints
• Support intelligence-led approaches to safeguarding the most vulnerable victims

Effective OSINT is about more than just technical skill; trainees need legal awareness to be operationally effective. For this reason, this training emphasised knowledge of European laws, policies and frameworks like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and respecting the balance between data gathering and data protection. 

Challenge: At Europe’s Humanitarian Heart

“Children deserve digital systems that… protect us from harm.” – Gina, 17, UN 5Rights Foundation Youth Ambassador. [Source: OHCR]

There’s a growing digital paradox for investigators in this global centre for diplomacy and humanitarian coordination.

Geneva houses the United Nations Office, International Committee of the Red Cross, World Health Organisation, and organisations like UNICEF. Still, children in Geneva, Europe and beyond are falling victim to cyber-enabled crimes, with these institutions powerless to stop them.

Most CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) detected in Europe is hosted in Europe. In 2024, 1.3 million reports of child sexual abuse were recorded in the EU, involving more than 3.4 million images and videos. Each of these is a crime scene, frozen in time. They can never be deleted; only shared again and again for new predators’ enjoyment.

“For a truly equitable digital world, children need clear protections, transparency, and… to participate safely.” – Adil, 16, UN 5Rights Foundation Youth Ambassador. [Source: OHCR]

OSINT training equips investigators with skills that can turn a single data point from a space of recurring harm into dynamic intelligence for justice. This power to identify offenders across jurisdictions, disrupt distribution pathways, and translate digital evidence into coordinated, real-world enforcement action is crucial to tackling the European Union’s sickest irony. 

OSINT Training: OSINT for ICAC Investigations

Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Host Institution: Brigade de Criminalité Informatique (BCI)
Trainer: Megadose Palenath
Framework: ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children)

Skills and Methodologies Developed:

OSINT Fundamentals

The OSINT basics, revisited. How to identify, verify, and ethically use publicly available open-source data while maintaining operational security (OpSec).

Digital Footprint Analysis

Both offenders and victims leave trails worth following. Analysing posts, site activity and metadata to identify offender networks, detect grooming patterns and CSAM pipelines, and spot vulnerable victims.

SOCMINT and Advanced Online Investigations

Tracking predators when it gets tough. Techniques for uncovering hidden activity, including both traditional SOCMINT, and cutting-edge OSINT practices for encrypted and private platforms like WhatsApp, Kik, Telegram, Signal and Discord.

Applied Case Scenarios

Real-life OSINT in simulation. Practical exercises allowing trainees to apply OSINT in simulated ICAC cases; identifying suspects, mapping networks, and developing leads in real time, in a supportive and controlled environment.

Operational Impact: 

“Everyone needs to know that the digital world cannot just be handled by ‘going with the flow’. We must open our eyes.” - Sher, 17, UN 5Rights Foundation Youth Ambassador. [Source: OHCR]

Disrupting Europe’s CSAM crisis depends on the ability to take digital intel into operational outcomes. OSINT training helps build that bridge.

Globally, ICAC operations have shown that even highly anonymised offenders can be identified through OSINT and online data: on huge operations like Operation Eclipse in the Americas, or Europol’s Operation Stream. The latter successfully took down pedophile streaming site Kidflix.

There’s still more to do. Reports of AI-generated CSAM surged by over 1,300% between 2023 and 2024. This content is rightly criminal in the EU. As the first arrests are beginning to be made for AI CSAM, OSINT training could be a key element in facing the unique challenges it brings when identifying generators, distributors, and - crucially - the real-life victims with stolen faces.

Trainer Evaluation

“The ICAC framework is changing lives and saving lives, and these BCI investigators are now well-equipped to join the fight. We’re proud to support law enforcement worldwide.” 

— Training Team, OSINT Industries

Mission Accomplished

Geneva is part of a broader mission: sharing the tools, skills, and confidence that proves OSINT is what keeps kids safe.

Ready to join the fightback against online predators? Get OSINT Training here.

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