Physical OSINT
Lukas McCullough
DEF CON 32 Creator Stage · Day 1 · Creator Stage
In his DEF CON 32 talk, "Physical OSINT," Lukas McCullough, a graduate student specializing in cybersecurity and criminal justice, illuminated the critical, yet often underestimated, intersection of open-source intelligence (OSINT) and physical security. McCullough, drawing from his experience with the Physical Security Village and his foundational work with Trace Labs, presented a compelling case for how publicly available information can be meticulously gathered and weaponized to facilitate physical security breaches, social engineering attacks, and ultimately, gain unauthorized access to facilities. The talk served as a stark reminder that robust digital defenses can be circumvented if physical vulnerabilities, exposed through OSINT, are not adequately addressed.