STORY DRIVEN OSINT CTF

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The Latvian Connection

Briefing

Greetings, Special Agent.

It’s good to have you back, we were worried for a while you’d be gone forever. Good thing the higher-ups decided you were worth trading for.

Alright to business. Last week a man was apprehended by Latvian authorities on suspicion of espionage. Traveling with suspicious items and brandishing a fake passport. He’s currently being held for questioning in Riga.

As far as the Latvian authorities know, he’s part of a group called Ahemait. They’re a terrorist organization known to operate without borders. Leaving us to believe this might not be local.

Among the items that were confiscated is a USB drive containing safe-house locations. They seem to rotate these locations, as most had past dates on them. However, one of them is currently still active. You might see where this is going, but we need you to figure out where the safe-house is.

As always, Special Agent, the contract is yours, if you choose to accept.

Materials

Answer Instruction

Use the answer to unlock the flagfile, this will reward you with your badge.

Submit your findings in the following format:

country-city-streetname

Flagfile

Be advised, the flagfile is an encrypted ZIP. Make sure your OS supports the ZIP format. Ensure the password contains no hidden characters or formatting, paste in Notepad first if the password doesn’t seem to work.

Download Flagfile here

PS: Don’t forget to claim your Coins and XP, by posting your card in the #card-brag channel in Discord.

Official Write-up

Provided here is the official write-up, it does contain the answer. Use this if you’re stuck, or want to verify if you got the answer correct.

The Latvian Connection

A potential safehouse has been identified in Sweden and we need to determine its exact location from a provided photograph of an apartment building.

Available Materials

  1. High-quality photograph of a multi-story apartment building
  2. Answer format requirements
  3. Context about safehouse location

Solution Path

Image Analysis

  1. Distinctive features to note:
  • 3-story apartment building
  • Pale yellow/cream exterior
  • Specific window arrangement
  • Surrounding greenery
  • Parking area layout

Search Strategy

  1. Use Google Lens or similar reverse image tools
  2. Look for real estate listings in Sweden
  3. Cross-reference with BIGINVEST property listings
  4. Verify location on Google Maps
  5. Confirm exact street address

Answer Format

The flag must be formatted as:

sweden-jonkoping-kungsgatan

Key formatting rules:

  1. All lowercase
  2. No special characters (å, ö, etc.)
  3. Hyphens between components
  4. No spaces
  5. Order: country-city-street

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

  1. Using Swedish special characters (ö → o)
  2. Wrong case usage
  3. Incorrect hyphenation
  4. Misspelling Jonkoping
  5. Including street numbers

Verification Steps

  1. Match building appearance
  2. Confirm street location
  3. Verify city name
  4. Check country
  5. Validate exact format

Remember: Double-check your spelling and formatting – Swedish location names can be tricky to format correctly in English.

Creator(s): Frank Diepmaat