Where is Gary? │ OSINT Challenge #5

Introduction

Gary Ruddell is a Cyber Threat Intelligence professional operating at the front lines of cyberspace, he is also a veteran of the Royal Navy and Army Intelligence.

Find out more about Gary here.

Reason for Sharing

LinkedIn is for me, all about thought provoking content, Gary has recently started to share OSINT challenges. Below I shall outline a little bit about OSINT, and how I was able to get my head around another one of Gary's Challenge.

I am not a fan of using Google Reverse, Google Lens, or other tools, unless absolutely required, I like to give my brain a full work-out first. Complex investigations, and intelligence gathering is sometimes not always available online, utilizing my analytical skills is far more challenging, and rewarding.

What is OSINT?

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is the collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (covert sources and publicly available information ''PAI'') to produce actionable intelligence.

OSINT is primarily used in national security, law enforcement, and business intelligence functions and is of value to analysts who use non-sensitive intelligence in answering classified, unclassified, or proprietary intelligence requirements across the previous intelligence disciplines.

The Challenge

OSINT Challenge #5 by Gary Ruddell.

What is the chef’s special at this restaurant?

#GarysOsintChallenge

Step 1: Photo Analysis

Looking at the photo, I cannot see any logos, or any signage, other than the SUSHI LED sign on the wall, my attention was drawn to several elements in the photo, and some further considerations which I have outlined below. This could of course be anywhere in the world.

My Assumptions

• The kitchen is small, with three staff, to the right of the photo you will see a TV screen, which shows orders, meaning that it is assumed the kitchen/service area is small.
• The clock on the wall states 6:55, this is 1855hrs, unless Gary is having sushi for breakfast, which is possible.
• The outside area is large, the group of people are sat away from the service location, which indicates they are not eating at this restaurant.
• Outside you can see a wooden structure, behind it you can see another sign, above the roofing, this indicates that this is a cluster of restaurants or shops, so possibly a shopping mall, or food hall.
• Lights are also hanging from the ceiling; this is not helpful at this stage.
• Above the kitchen you will see a skylight, and is also shown outside of the kitchen, it is also light outside.
• Large green doors are present at the rear of the area, the doors have glass, rather than mirror, as the wooden structure can be seen through the doors.
• The people outside are dressed in warm weather clothing, t-shirts, and light clothing, the temperature in Edinburgh at present is highs of 18 degrees, but an average of 14 degrees, and at night temperatures drop to 5 degrees, indicating to me this was not taken in Gary's place of residence, Edinburgh.
• Gary could still be in Amsterdam, as he posted a challenge photo on Sunday, please see this one here.
• Amsterdam at present has highs of 25 degrees, and lows of 15 degrees, indicating to me that it is more likely Gary is still in Amsterdam, and this was taken at 1855hrs, rather than 0655hrs.

Step 2: Identification of Key Elements

Below, I have outlined some of the above findings, so you can clearly align my assumptions.

Step 3: Google Earth

Based on the above assumptions, this photo was taken in Amsterdam, Gary is still overseas, rather than in Edinburgh, I came to this conclusion based on the people's clothing, and that sunset is at 2000hrs in Amsterdam, this aligns to the level of natural light at this location.

Just so you are aware, sushi is exceptionally popular in Amsterdam, a quick search brought up over 200 options alone.

My first search was the airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, known informally as Schiphol Airport, however, from looking at the photos, this was eliminated.

Instead of searching for ''Sushi Restaurants'' I opted to narrow this down, instead searching for ''shopping malls'', this was due to the outside area depicted in the above photo.

Magna Plaza is a large shopping centre in Amsterdam, it houses one sushi restaurant named ''Sushito'', upon inspection, this was also not the place. I then looked at another seven locations, none of which matched the architecture, or imagery available.

I then searched Google Earth for ''Food Halls'', the first location that came up was a place named ''Foodhallen'', based on first observations I was getting warmer.

Step 4: Identification of Possible Location

Above is an aerial view of the building, below is my process of confirmation of the location.

Step 5: Confirmation of Location

Building Analysis

You can see from the image below, the building has a lot of skylights, giving the inside of the building a lot of natural light, also apparent is the red brick.

Location Analysis

Based on a quick tour of the building, I was able to see large doors, none of which were green, however the version of Google Earth was dated 2022, upon viewing imagery, I found the below.

Using 谷歌 again, I was able to see a clear photo of the lights, doors, and high ceilings.

Restaurant Confirmation

Searching the area for ''Sushi'', Google Earth produced two options, one, a restaurant named ''Sushi Only'', this was a street facing restaurant, so I eliminated this quickly. The second was a restaurant named ''Maneer Temaki'', ideally located inside the ''Foodhallen''.

Via numerous searches, I was able to obtain imagery to confirm this as the restaurant.

In the above image, taken from Facebook, you will be able to see the aligned items in this kitchen, to the original elements in Gary's, squared in yellow.

A key element I was looking for to categorically confirm, was the clock, you will see clearly that the above photo has all three elements, aligned to Gary's photo. The clock is also the same, with the same numerals, as is the position of the LED sign, based on the tiles, and granite, then finally the machine, with grey treys on the top.

Step 6: Where Was Gary Standing?

Gary did not ask for his location, but we have got this far! Gary was stood here when taking this photo.

• Google Coordinates: 52.36678177272639, 4.868079550971523.
• Restaurant Name: Maneer Temaki, De Hallen Amsterdam, Hannie Dankbaarpassage 16, 1053 RT Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Finally, Gary was facing North when taking this photo, well actually Northwest, at around 10 o'clock, how do I know?

Step 7: What is the Chef's Special?

Now for the complicated part. The resturant does not have a website, nor does it advertise the menu on its social media platforms, other than guest photos of the menu boards, and via food delivery applications, you cannot see a digital copy of the menu.

I paid a visit to the official Foodhallen website, which is here. On the website the food hall lists all vendors within the building, with delight, I managed to find the ''Mr Temaki'' page.

The Chef's Special is.......

Tamaki Salmon Avocado.

Thank you again Gary Ruddell .

Onto the next challenge.

Adam

#OSINT