Gregory's ServerBellingcat’s Galen Reich is presenting his latest tool! The Bellingcat Filename Finder is a browser extension that shows you the original filename of images on Google Maps. This can provide useful clues for your investigations. https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2024/10/15/google-maps-image-filename-finder-tool/?utm_source=mastodon
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Depending on the type of file, filenames can include the time and date of when the picture was taken. And in some cases can give some information about the type of device used to create the image. In this example the file is named: PXL_20240830_150806479.jpg. “PXL” indicates that it was taken on a Google Pixel device. The date format indicates it was taken on Aug. 30, 2024, but in some cases the filename can change to the date the photo was uploaded. That could look like this: “2024-08-30.jpg”. Our recent investigation into the AI-platform OpenDream demonstrates perfectly how this tool can be useful. A Google Maps listing for an associated company in Malta, included the following photo uploaded by the company. This filename turned out to be “CMTeam.jpg”, implying that it showed the team of the company we were investigating (CasinoMentor). We were able to geolocate the photo and found that the team was in Vietnam despite the company’s address in Malta. We found that the OpenDream platform had been used to generate instances of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). You can read the full investigation into OpenDream here: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/14/opendream-ai-image-generation-csam-vietnam/ |
When an image is uploaded to Google Maps it gets tagged to a location, either directly or as part of a review. Anyone on the internet can view the image, but the filename is not visible by default.