Chapter II
Exif-Metadata
In the courtyard, I come across good old Piney Sappington, who offers to help if I can help him first:
Piney Sappington
Hi ho, Piney Sappington at your service!
Well, honestly, I could use a touch of your services.
You see, I've been looking at these documents, and I know someone has tampered with one file.
Do you think you could log into this Cranberry Pi and take a look?
It has exiftool installed on it, if that helps you at all.
I just... Well, I have a feeling that someone at that other conference might have fiddled with things.
And, if you help me figure this tampering issue out, I'll give you some hints about OSINT, especially associated with geographic locations!
Time to complete the Exif-Metadata Terminal Challenge!
Upon completing that, Piney gives me more to go on:
Piney Sappington
Wow, you figured that out in no time! Thanks!
I knew they were up to no good.
So hey, have you tried the Caramel Santaigo game in this courtyard?
Carmen? No, I haven't heard of her.
So anyway, some of the hints use obscure coordinate systems like MGRS and even what3words.
In some cases, you might get an image with location info in the metadata. Good thing you know how to see that stuff now! (And they say, for those who don't like gameplay, there might be a way to bypass by looking at some flavor of cookie...) And Clay Moody is giving a talk on OSINT techniques right now!
Oh, and don't forget to learn about your target elf and filter in the InterRink system!
Where in the World is Caramel Santaigo?
After hearing this, I sidled on over to Tangle Coalbox to hear what they had to say:
Tangle Coalbox
Hey there, Gumshoe. Tangle Coalbox here again.
I've got a real doozy of a case for you this year.
Turns out some elves have gone on some misdirected journeys around the globe. It seems that someone is messing with their travel plans.
We could sure use your open source intelligence (OSINT) skills to find them.
Why dontcha' log into this vintage Cranbberry Pi terminal and see if you have what it takes to track them around the globe.
If you're having any trouble with it, you might ask Piney Sappington right over there for tips.
Time to take on the Caramel Santaigo Objective!
Upon completing that, I get a hearty pat on the back from Tangle, saying "You never cease to amaze, Kid. Thanks for your help." I smiled sheepishly and moved on to the next objective on my badge.