Thread by @JustenCharters

🧵Here’s how I identified the online alias of a U.S. spy for Russia.

Yes, this is a true story.

After reading the press release and indictment from the Department of Justice about Peter Debbins, I researched his professional history and military and national security background.

One of his businesses wanted to conduct commerce in Belarus and Kazakhstan, which was interesting, given the charges against him.

I reviewed anything I could find about his role as a national security consultant. The companies he worked for, his speeches, events he attended, and webinars. Everything.

I researched on the U.S. and Russian internet.

Any public photo or video of Debbins I reviewed at least ten times. I wanted to know exactly who I was looking for so that if I found him, there would be no doubt.

I continued to run into a problem as I researched: Debbins kept a relatively low profile, and bread crumbs were getting harder to find.

But what about his associates and his relatives? They weren’t spies that we know of, so maybe their digital footprints would give me something to follow.

After several hours of going through associates and relatives, I struck gold.

I found a Facebook account under the name Peter Alcuin. It was, without a doubt Debbins. In addition, I confirmed an associate and a few of the spy’s relatives on the account.

Then I found an Instagram profile under the same alias.

This was done from the comfort of my home at the computer. All information was public. You just had to know how to find it. That’s the power of open-source intelligence.